Upcoming Events
• The 22nd Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony will take place at The Landing on November 28 at 7 p.m. This year the 50 foot tree is artificial and will feature “greener” LED lights, which consume less than 10 percent of the electricity used in the past.
• As part of the Make a Scene Downtown series, the city’s Office of Special Events is working with several local artists who are designing and installing holiday window decorations in downtown stores. The storefront windows along Laura and Hogan streets between The Landing and City Hall will be decorated and will be unveiled on November 28 in conjunction with the annual tree lighting at The Landing. Windows will be on display from November 28 through January 2.
• The 23rd Annual Jacksonville Light Parade is Saturday, November 29 at 7 p.m. on the downtown riverfront. The First Coast boating community will decorate their vessels from bow to stern to compete in the largest lighted boat parade. Fireworks will follow the parade.
• Have breakfast with Santa Claus on November 30 or December 7 at the Omni Jacksonville Hotel to benefit the Safe Harbor Boy’s Home. Breakfast will be available at 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. and tickets are $9.95 per person. For reservations, call 355-6664 ext. 7209.
• The 2nd Annual Downtown Historic Church Tour is Saturday, December 6 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The tour will highlight the architectural and historical significance of eight historic churches in Downtown. Participants can walk the tour route or take advantage of the complementary trolley service provided with the tour. The tour will begin and end at the Main Library and tickets are $5 per person. For more information call 904-451-3344 or visit www.DTJAX.org.
New Pizza Place Opens on Bay Street
• Northstar Substation, a pizza and sub restaurant, recently opened in the space once occupied by Nicky G’s at 119 East Bay Street. The restaurant is open everyday for lunch and dinner and stays open until early in the morning on Friday and Saturday nights to catch the late night crowd leaving the bars. For exact hours, contact 301-1183.
Enterprise Zone Tour
• The JEDC hosted a tour of the Enterprise Zone on November 14. The tour highlighted available real estate, success stories and developments and also included a behind-the-scenes look at Trend Offset Printing. The entire Northbank of Downtown is part of the Enterprise Zone. To learn more about the state and federal tax incentives available to businesses in the Enterprise Zone, click here.
Best of Downtown Awards
• Downtown Vision, Inc (DVI) held their annual meeting in conjunction with 904 Magazine’s Best of Downtown Awards earlier in November. The JEDC accepted an award for “Improvement of the Year” for the newly completed Northbank Riverwalk Park. The park signifies a unique private/public partnership between the City of Jacksonville and Fidelity National Financial and is located on Forest Street and features public access and parking to the Riverwalk. The “Outstanding Economic Development Initiative” award went to the “Make a Scene Downtown!” event series which was created by the city’s Office of Special Events under the volunteer leadership of Jim Bailey.
