Calling All Bands! The City of West Palm Beach Department of Parks and Recreation is holding a Battle of the Bands at South Olive Community Center. The event will take place on Saturday, April 18, 2009 from 4:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. The deadline for band applications and demos is March 31. Band members must be 12 – 20 years old. Please call (561) 804-4945 to obtain an application or for more information. South Olive Community Center is located at 345 Summa Street in West Palm Beach.
For Additional Information:
Please contact Ben Halladay at (561) 804-4945

The City of West Palm Beach Department of Parks and Recreation is holding an overnight camp out at Jonathan Dickinson State Park for children ages 8-12. We will depart from South Olive Community Center at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 21 and return at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, March 22. Children will be able to play games, cook hamburgers, roast marshmallows, and tell spooky stories around the campfire. Tents will be provided or children may bring their own if they wish. Children must supply their own sleeping bags. The cost for this program is $30 for City of West Palm Beach residents and $38 for non-residents.

For more information, please call South Olive Community Center at
(561) 804-4945.

For Additional Information:
Please contact Ben Halladay at (561) 804-4945

When:  Saturday, February 21, 2009 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Where:  937 Bradley Court; PB County Jail

(02/20/09)  Students from the City’s Youth Empowerment Center are producing a training video for area law enforcement and will be conducting video shoots throughout the day on Saturday, February 21, 2009.  The teens will be shooting video from 9:00 a.m. to Noon at 937 Bradley Court and from Noon to 4:00 p.m. at the Palm Beach County Jail.

Teens from the Youth Center were chosen to write, edit and produce the training video for the Deaf Service Center.  The video will help train law enforcement as to what steps to take when dealing with the deaf in emergency situations.

For more information, please contact Dwayne Taylor at 408-690-5999.

The Youth Empowerment Center is designed to give at-risk teenagers productive, educational ways to spend their time, keeping them out of trouble and on the path to responsible adulthood.  Programs at the center include anti-gang intervention, video production, mentoring and more.

WEST PALM BEACH, FL – Access to the palm Beach Zoo and South Florida Science Museum became easier today, when Mayor Lois Frankel cut the ribbon on a new access road into Dreher park off of Southern Boulevard.

 Mayor Frankel was joined by City Commissioner Molly Douglas, Dr. Terry Maple, CEO of the Palm Beach Zoo, Mary Sellers, CEO of the South Florida Science Museum and board members and guest from both organizations to ceremoniously cut the ribbon on the new access road.

 “People ask me what I like best about being Mayor,” Mayor Frankel started the event. “These little things make it very special. This new road will make it much easier to get to three of West Palm Beach’s jewels: Dreher Park, the Palm Beach Zoo, and the South Florida Science Museum.

The new road demonstrated a full public/private partnership involving the City of West Palm Beach, the Palm Beach Zoo and the South Florida Science Museum. The Zoo received donations to purchase and install a new monument sign which will be installed this week. Hardrives Construction donated the full cost of the road to the South Florida Science Museum in order to make the project happen in time for the grand opening of the museum’s newest exhibit, the Max Plank Society’s Science Tunnel, which opens Friday.

 Including permits, labor and materials, the entire project cost just under $200,000 with all partners sharing in the cost of materials and labor.

 Dreher Park is the City of West Palm Beach’s largest park at 101 acres. Named for former Parks and Recreation Director Paul Dreher, Dreher Park embodies the combination of passive and active recreation activities that make this amazing park unique.

 In 1951, the City of West Palm Beach purchased 76 acres of swampland from the State of Florida for $100. Paul Dreher, then Superintendent of Parks for the city, began creating what would become the city’s largest park. The state land was combined with a small park known as Bacon Park which was known as a “tourist park” because people could rent lots and pitch tents as far back as the late 1920s. With $18 of his own money, Paul Dreher bought two chickens, two ducks, a goose and a goat named Pepe and opened the first zoo in a small red barn. Dreher Park was the Spring Training home of the Philadelphia A’s from 1946 until 1954.

 Today, Dreher Park combines the best in both passive and active recreation facilities. It’s lakes, designed to aid in stormwater draining in surrounding neighborhoods, are home to turtles, fish and birds of all kinds. they are surround by picnic pavilions, playgrounds, a multi purpose field, running paths and exercise stations. The city’s largest dog park, “Canine Corner” is in Dreher Park.

Kids Take Part in Preparations for 17th Annual Share-A-Supper Thanksgiving Dinner

WHO:      Kids from the Pleasant City Community Center along with Chef David Pantone and Students at the Florida Culinary Institute and Mayor Lois Frankel

WHAT:    Cupcake Making Lesson – Florida Culinary Institute will be hosting kids from the Pleasant City Community Center for a lesson in cupcake making.  It’s no cake walk making desserts from scratch, but these kids are learning from the best.  The kids will also be helping Chef Pantone decorate a dessert centerpiece that will be presented at the Share-A-Supper Thanksgiving feast on Tuesday, November 25.

WHEN:    Kids Cupcake Making Lesson on: Monday, November 24, 2008 from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m.

100 Turkeys will be cooked on Monday, November 24, 2008 from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m.
Side Dishes for 1000 people will be cooked on Tuesday, November 25 from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m.

WHERE:    Florida Culinary Institute, 2410 Metrocentre Blvd., West Palm Beach, 33407
Phone: 561-688-2001

SPONSORS:    Turkeys are provided by WPEC News 12’s Project Thanksgiving and the United Way.  Thanksgiving dinner is prepared by the Florida Culinary Institute.  Additional sponsors include Cheney Brothers, Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Publix, Sysco, Rachel’s, Melanie Barnum of Mac Fabrics, “4 Ever Praise” Dance Group, Margaret Hawkins, Cynthia Sanders, “The Dream Builders,” Blum Foundation, and all the supporters of the Pleasant City Multicultural Community Center.

FUN FACTS:    Over 500 Florida Culinary students help prepare the Share-A-Supper meal.
The students fit this community outreach program into their regular curriculum.
The entire meal for over 1000 people is prepared in two days.
The bake shop turns into a mashed potato station for an entire day.
In 17 years, over 1700 turkeys have been served to over 17,000 people.

When: Saturday, October 25, 2008
Time: 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Where: South Olive Community Center

The City of West Palm Beach Department of Parks and Recreation is presenting “Fun and Fairytales,” an event in which children will walk through a series of fairytale scenes, complete with costumed characters. There will also be a hayride around the park, arts and crafts, and a pumpkin patch storytelling area. This all ages event will be held on Saturday, October 25 from 2:00 – 4:00 pm. The fee is $3 / City of West Palm Beach residents and $4 / non-residents, or $7 / resident family and $9 / non-resident family. South Olive Community Center is located at 345 Summa Street in West Palm Beach.

For more information, please call South Olive Community Center at
(561) 804-4945.

When: Friday, October 24, 2008
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Where: South Olive Community Center

The City of West Palm Beach Department of Parks and Recreation is holding a Haunted Hayride at South Olive Community Center on Friday, October 24, 2008 from 7:00 – 9:30 pm.  Participants will be able to take a scary hayride around the park, listen to spooky stories, and roast marshmallows around a fire. This event is for all ages. The fee is $2 / City of West Palm Beach residents and $2.50 / non-residents, or $5 / resident family and $6.25 / non-resident family. South Olive Community Center is located at 345 Summa Street in West Palm Beach.

For more information, please call South Olive Community Center at
(561) 804-4945.

What:  Report Issued on Success of City’s Youth Empowerment Center
When:  Tuesday, April 22, 2008 at 3:00 p.m.
Where:  Palm Beach County Commission Chambers.

(04/21/08)  A report written by Florida State University evaluating the West Palm Beach Youth Empowerment Center and Palm Beach County’s Youth Violence Prevention Project will be issued at a Palm Beach County Commission Workshop on Tuesday, April 22, 2008 at 3:00 p.m. at County Commission Chambers.

The report is expected to announce findings that the City’s Youth Center, which targets at-risk teens, has helped cut crime, provided a “turning point” in the lives of the teens who attend programs there and has saved taxpayers millions of dollars in the process.

What:  Drought-proof your yard with native plants
When:  Saturday, April 5, 2008 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Where: Grassy Waters Preserve Everglades Pavilion, 8537 Northlake Blvd.

(04/04/08)  Learn how to make your yard more drought tolerant, find out how to select the best Florida native plants for your home and browse beautiful landscape possibilities at the Grassy Waters Preserve Native Plant Sale on Saturday, April 5, 2008 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.  The plant sale is located at the Everglades Pavilion at 8537 Northlake Boulevard, which is on the north side of the preserve.

The Native Plant Sale encourages people to make “green” and responsible choices for landscaping, which beautifies their yards and conserves water.  The native plants and wildflowers on sale require very little watering or care when properly planted.  You can also visit the sale’s Florida Yards and Neighborhoods Demonstration Garden for beautiful examples of landscaping.

(Thursday, April 3, 2008)  The City of West Palm Beach is continuing its commitment to protecting the environment and beautifying the city by completing the replacement of more than 350 trees that had been damaged or destroyed by recent hurricanes.

A total of 358 trees were replaced, all of which suffered damage during hurricanes Francis and Jeanne in 2004.  The replacement trees are Florida native species and hurricane resistant, and include Live Oaks, Crape Myrtles, Pigeon Plums and Green Buttonwoods.  They were planted by the City’s Department of Parks and Recreation in parks throughout the City.

“This tree planting program will beautify our wonderful and diverse network of City parks, as well as further our efforts to protect the environment,” said Mayor Lois J. Frankel.

The City paid for the tree replacement program with a $100,000 grant from the United States Forestry Service through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Urban and Community grant program.

The City of West Palm Beach was recently recognized as a “Tree City USA” by the National Arbor Day Foundation, honoring the City’s commitment to planting and preserving trees as part of an ongoing community forestry program.  This marks the seventeenth year the City of West Palm Beach has received this national recognition.