CARL MCKINNEY/Alachua County Today

Santa waves to the crowd as his car moves down Main Street.  About 60 local businesses and organizations had a presence in the parade.

Residents of the Good Life Community gathered around Main Street to see the annual Christmas parade on Saturday, Dec. 14.

As the show started around 2 p.m., floats came rolling in representing this year's theme, “Christmas at the movies.”

City Commissioner Ben Boukari, Jr., Alachua recreation director Hal Brady and resident Gussie Lee announced each float as they drove by, offering commentary and chit-chat as the event went on.

Chamber of Commerce members Linda Chapman and Jim Brandenburg and Alachua Elementary principal Eva Copeland judged each participant who passed by.

“Most took great pains to express the theme of the parade,” Chapman said. “The attention to detail was impressive.”

The Alarion Bank float, featuring the Grinch and Dr. Suess-inspired scenery, won first place in the for-profit category of this year's event. The other winners were Matchmaker Reality and the Marlowe L. Smith Electric Company.

The three judges picked the City of Alachua, the High Springs Art Co-op and Lee's Preschool as the winners of the non-profit category.

“A lot of people put a lot of effort into all this,” said Mayor Gib Coerper. “Everybody is having a great time, and that's what this is all about.”

Mayor Coerper made an appearance near the beginning of the event, riding in a motorcycle side-car and donning a Santa hat, red clothes and sunglasses.      

Other local elected officials made an appearance, including County Commissioner Lee Pinkonson, who walked alongside a black car while waving at the crowd.

While many of the onlookers were current Alachua residents, there was at least one person from outside of town.

Pegg Dodson, from St. Augustine, moved out of the city of Alachua about 10 years ago. Whenever she goes to the annual parades in the spring and winter, she misses the small-town atmosphere, she said.

“It brings back Alachua memories,” she said.

Around 60 local restaurants, shops, non-profit organizations and other businesses participated, showing off colorful and detailed floats.

As the streets were flooded with candy thrown by costumed characters, eager children ran and dived to collect their prizes.

Sherrie Dyal, who lives near LaCrosse, was impressed by the variety of the parade.

“It's certainly colorful,” she said. “For the size of the city, it's a pretty good deal.”

For her, the Alarion float was the winner. Not only because of its recreation of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” but also at least partly because her daughter manages Alarion.

The parade ended around 3 p.m., just in time for it to finish before the rainfall to start. People packed up their chairs and said their goodbyes to friends as they got in their vehicles. The City of High Springs wasn't as lucky, its parade having been rescheduled to next Saturday due to the weather.

Sue Kreft, who lives near Jacksonville, saw the annual event as a good way for people to really learn what the city is about.

"We're getting to know Alachua in a neat way," she said.

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CARL MCKINNEY/Alachua County Today

Students check out the booths from around 30 area businesses. Teachers signed up around 450 pupils to go to the career fair.

ALACHUA - For the students of Santa Fe High School on Thursday, Dec. 5, the gymnasium was filled with possibilities.

For the first time in several years, the school played host to a career fair for its pupils.

Attendees walked around the gymnasium, talking to local employers and exploring potential paths for the future.

“The event is intended to raise awareness for all the options that are out there,” said school counselor Pamela Gonzales, who organized the fair. “This is going to be broadening that knowledge base for them.”

Around 450 students participated in the fair, which started at noon and lasted around two hours. Employers such as Publix, the University of Florida and Alachua's own RTI Surgical had booths set up to let the students know what kind of jobs are available for what education levels, as well as what kind of training they might need.

Ivelisse Munoz of RTI Surgical was handing out pamphlets about some of the entry-level jobs available with the company, some of which do not need a college degree. Around 30 people visited her booth to learn about available positions, such as a tissue processing technician, which only requires a high school diploma or GED.

The ideal employee, Munoz said, is someone who can handle responsibility, is dependable and hardworking and communicates and works well with others.

Several military recruiters from the U.S. Army, Marines, Navy and National Guard were there, showing off careers in engineering, medicine and vehicle repairs, among others.

As students tested out their upper-body strength with the pull-up bars next to the recruiters’ table, senior student Cody Cole walked by. He was interested in learning more about joining the U.S. Marines as an infantryman.

“It’s just what I’ve always wanted to do,” he said. Cole talked to the recruiters and learned about what physical criteria and specialized training he would have to go through for each role.

There were 30 tables in total, including Clay Electric, the VA Medical Center and even a local beekeeper.

Chad Osborne, senior class president, said the career fair was probably the biggest event he’s gone to at the school since he’s been there.

Osborne plans on majoring in political science at the University of Florida. He was surprised at the amount of employment opportunities the university has for students while they are going to school, such as working as a clerk in the labs.

“I didn’t know they offered jobs to you while you were at school,” he said.

While most employers were just at the event to educate prospective employees, some were ready to start hiring.

“Some of these kids might get jobs today,” Gonzales said.

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CARL MCKINNEY/Alachua County Today

A child sits on Santa's lap as the Grinch closes in. The line to get into Theatre Park and see Santa spilled into the streets of downtown Alachua filled with parents and eager children.

ALACHUA – Moonlight glowed over the Christmas tree as the crowd gathered for the celebration.

For over a decade, the City of Alachua has marked the start of the season with their Christmas tree-lighting ceremony. This year, the festivities were held on Friday, Dec. 6 in the lot next to Bev's Burgers in downtown Alachua.

For many of the residents, it is a tradition that brings everyone together.

“I’m so proud to be able to work and live in a city that honors such a tradition,” said City Manager Traci Cain.

Cain and other members of the community gathered around the tree in the hour before the ceremony started at 6 p.m. Children played football in the lot, while residents and city officials gathered and talked with traditional Christmas songs playing in the background courtesy of a local music teacher.

Dustin Adams, music teacher at Alachua Elementary, volunteered to sing and play songs on his keyboard after the last three musical acts had to cancel, said Diana Felver, event planner for the city.

When Felver first moved to Alachua, every business and organization did their own Christmas celebration. The city’s event gives them a chance to all take part in the same ceremony, she said.

“It brings the community together,” she said.

Carolers from the United Methodist Church also lent their talents to the celebration, while costumed characters such as the Grinch made appearances to entertain the children.

“I just like seeing the joy on their faces,” Felver said as she talked about how she likes watching the youths enjoy the evening.

Around 6:15 p.m., City Manager Cain began her speech welcoming the community and introducing the city commissioners and Mayor Gib Coerper to the crowd.

As she spoke, police sirens could be heard in the distance.

Recreation director Hal Brady led the crowd to the tree to begin the countdown. The police sirens grew closer.

When the countdown hit zero, the Christmas tree came to life with lights, as the sirens nearly arrived at the lot.

Police pulled up after clearing the way for a horse-drawn carriage carrying a special guest.

Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus arrived to greet the children.

“It was very cold coming through Canada,” Santa said.

The carriage went on its way to Theatre Park where the young event-goers could sit on his lap.

Youngsters waited in line to spend a moment with Santa and tell him what they want for the holiday. As they left, they were awarded a box with a toy in it.

They took their prize with smiles on their faces as they walked, skipped and ran out of the theatre with their parents, talking about what's coming for Christmas this year.

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Artwork special to Alachua County Today

This piece was inspired by a view from CR 235A in Alachua. Pebbles draws her insiration from scenery.

ALACHUA – It has been a long road for Alachua resident Leslie Pebbles, who started out being a misfit in a New Jersey suburban school and has since become an award-winning artist at the age of 54.

“I just didn’t fit in when I was in elementary school,” she said. “My mother got into an accident when I was in the fifth grade and my grades plummeted.” Eventually, her mother recovered and Peebles was moved to a private school where she was exposed to art instruction for the first time.

“Suddenly, I went from the worst student in school to one of the best,” she said. “In the areas of music, theatre, creative writing and visual arts, I was in my element.”

That success gave Peebles back her confidence and self-esteem and her grades improved dramatically. When she was in the seventh grade, her father gave up his corporate job in New York City and moved the family to a chicken farm in nearby Suwannee County, where she graduated from Suwannee High School.

Living in the country sensitized Peebles to nature, animals and the land.

“That’s where my whole esthetic came from,” she said. “I hated the suburbs and moving to the farm was like waking up in heaven to me.”

Eventually she earned her B.A. in fine arts and found herself teaching art at an area school. That’s where she eventually discovered the perfect artistic medium for her.

“I knew how to produce different types of art, but I just couldn’t wrap my mind around how I wanted to translate what I saw and enjoyed in nature into actual art for others to enjoy,” she said.

As it turned out, one art teacher’s frustration in teaching block-carving turned into a golden opportunity for Peebles and her students. The frustrated art teacher turned over all of her materials to Peebles.

“I couldn’t have afforded to buy all of those items myself at that time,” she said. “So it was a great gift to me and my classes.”

After teaching and working with block-carving and block printing with her students for a few years, she realized she had done a tremendous amount of work and was enjoying it more and more.

“I decided it was the perfect medium for me,” she said, “and have now been doing it seriously for 15 years.”

Block-carving or linoleum-carving, as it is also called, allows her to produce her art in such a way as to make it affordable to the average person, Peebles said.

“As a middle-class girl myself, I wanted my art to be affordable for the average person,” she said. “I can put 20 or 30 hours into a piece and still keep my prices reasonable,” she said.

In addition, Peebles finds block carving to be a portable medium. “I can work on it at home or go into nature with it,” she said.

Living on five acres of land in Alachua, she finds inspiration close to home.

“We have foxes living next door in the woods, we have a neighborhood gopher tortoise and various other animals that travel through from time-to-time,” she said.

She also finds inspiration at the local springs, on Rum Island and at the Santa Fe River, but does not limit herself to local areas. Although her Swallowtail Kites composition was drawn from a view of a field off of County Road 235A, her Alligator composition was inspired partly by Paynes Prairie and partly by a trip to the Everglades.

As part of her process, Peebles draws or photographs items on the spot when she finds something interesting. Once the block has been carved, Peebles prints her carvings at Sweetwater Print Cooperative in Gainesville, using an oil-based ink. She is then able to hand paint using water colors onto each one of her prints.

Peebles taught art for 17 years, but has been a fulltime artist for only the past four years. She was 50 before she started going to art shows and festivals.

“I applied to the prestigious Coconut Grove Show my first year, which is a very difficult show to get into,” she said.

Not only did she get in, but she won first place in printmaking in her first year.

“That was a complete surprise,” she said. Since then, she has won awards each year at Coconut Grove and several others.

Peebles will be demonstrating her linoleum block-carving and art-printing processes on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 14 and Dec. 15, at the Third Annual Gathering of the Artists holiday show in Gainesville, her second year being invited to the event.

“It’s a wonderful show and I enjoy doing my demonstrations and answering visitors’ questions,” she said.

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