Green Living Expo

There was actually a lot happening in Venice FL this last weekend, but the big thing for me was the first annual Green Living Expo put on by the Venice Board of Realtors to support Habitat For Humanity and promote greener living.  It was a great first event, with about 30 vendors, speakers, good food, and music from the Venice High School Orchestra.

Origami Swans

With the untypical cool weather it had actually been some months since I've been to the Saturday Farmers Market.  As I was visiting with a friend in one booth I was commenting on the wonderful Origami Swans in the next booth.  Just as I was taking a photo the lady in the booth poked her head around the corner with a big smile.  Great candid shot!

On the Corner

I've been by and in this old building in downtown Venice many times but sometimes it pays to look up.  I got an angle on it with the palm tree that I really like.

Burgundy Square

Many times I have been by Burgundy Square on Miami Ave. in Venice Florida but I hadn't noticed it in the morning light from this angle before.  I thought it looked very inviting over the knoll and through the trees. 

Island View

 

This view of Venice Florida is taken from a balcony on the towers shown in the Feb 3rd photo.  These towers sit on one side of the island with this view to the other side.  It's really not that far across but there is a lot here.  

One example is the Venice Theater  in the bottom left of this photo.  I will be talking much more about the theater on this site.  It is amazing, Venice FL really isn't that large of a community, yet this is the third largest community theater in the United States!

Johnson-Schoolcraft Building

One of the earliest buildings in Venice Florida is the Johnson-Schoolcraft Building.  Built in 1926 originally it had a pharmacy with a soda fountain.  Today it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has a wine shop, a kitchen/gourmet store and a bunch of nifty nic nacs.  Umm, I meant there is a gift shop here called Nifty Nic Nacs that has a bunch of well, nifty nic nacs!

Biehl Park

Sandwiched between the back wall of the Venice Theater and the ramp of the north bridge this property is one of the most visible on the island.  It is a highly visible yet oddly a terrible location for a business, thus for years it was sitting as a vacant eyesore. It wasn't a very inviting welcome to Venice Florida.

Today it is a wonderful, delightful and very inviting welcome to the island with a large mural of local wildlife, fountains, the city plan etched in stone, and beautiful landscaping.  This property is a great real life example of an ugly duckling that has been transformed into a gorgeous swan.

Not so mellow yellow!

While this may look like construction scaffolding to some, it's part of the finished design of a local mid-century modern building here in Venice Florida.  I'm not sure what the building was built as but today it is a Japanese Restaurant downtown on Venice ave. where most of the buildings have an Italian look. I feel the building style fit's it's current use very well.

There was a boom in Venice in the 1950-60's which brought a lot of mid-century style to town, some of it very well done, which I feel this is, some not so much. 

I very much like the pattern of the yellow on blue in the top photo.  Today I'm adding another photo to put this in context of the building.

Artful Steps

This colorful stairway leads to Venice West Gallery and Hand Crafted Gifts which I profiled on my local small business blog yesterday.  Linda made the mosaic stair a wonderful invitation to her gallery.  It makes you want to know whats at the top of the stairs, at least it did me.  Climb the stairs and discover what's there, you'll be glad you did!

Fountain Park

This is my favourite small park in Venice.  Right at the end of a line of antique and other shops on Miami Ave. this park offers a delightful, shady respite. 

Changes

I meant to share this yesterday but had a computer problem.  A friend had to wipe my PC clean and I'm working on getting things reloaded and working again.

The theme day for City Daily Photo was Changes this month, and while a construction photo is an obvious choice, it's what I wanted to share.  To me it's an indication of positive changes not just for Venice FL, but for our national and even world economy.

This site is one of the most desirable in Venice and the building has been sitting vacant for at least six years.  That is changing now, it is being converted to (I believe) a restaurant/night club.  That and other new construction in the area is an indication that things are picking up and 2010 holds promise to be a better year.

Happy New Year, I wish you a prosperous one.

Florida Ice

In the six years I've lived in Florida I have never seen ice cycles.  So to get that shimmering look here we have to hang fake ice. I'm sure there are a lot of people up north that would rather have that then the real thing!

Christmas Tree On Miami Ave

Just one block south of Venice Ave., Miami Ave. is a destination for antique shops, restaurants, and more. I found this nice Christmas display in a shopping arcade there.  Merry Christmas, just one more day to go!

Chrismas on Venice Ave.

Venice Ave through the heart of downtown is a wonderful divided street with with palms and landscaping down the center.  Closer to the beach it becomes an even wider, full fledged, delightful park.  During the holidays the three blocks of palms in shopping district are bedecked with lights. 

I was able to get this shot of one block after the lights had come on and there was still just enough background light to see the outlines of the palms.

Venice Mall Tree

The Venice Mall has a very nice tree and other Christmas decorations among it's shops.  This is not one of those big suburban malls. This delightful mall is in the old historic KMI building in the heart of downtown next to Centennial Park.  It is a delightful place with some great shops, but sadly most people seem to miss it.  It just doesn't get the foot traffic that Venice Ave. on the other side of the park does.  If you are downtown I encourage you to walk across the park and see what you've been missing.

Under the Sea Christmas

Sirene Coastal Interiors holiday window on Venice Ave. downtown is a wonderful display of aqua blue and white with an under the sea feel.  Very beautiful and appropriate for this area.

Holiday Farmers Market

The Farmers Market is a fixture in Centennial Park on Saturday's year around.  This time of year it's a bit bigger and takes on festiveness of the season with candy cains attatched to several palm trees.

Red Christmas Window

This elegantly simple arrangement of red ornaments is in the window of The Tabletop a wonderful store on Venice Island for fine china, glassware, cutlery, and more.

I have to admit though that the reason I chose this photo today is the white string background reminds me of the heavy rain we are having today.  A bit unusual for this time of year.

Dreamy December Evening

How about a dreamy December evening at the Dream Cafe in Venice?  I haven't eaten there myself yet, but it does look good, and always seems to be busy, a very good sign.  These folks look like they are enjoying a good meal before the Christmas Parade.  Folks up north would be jealous to see they are in short sleeves!

Christmas Parade

The largest Christmas Parade in Florida is right here in Venice.  As you can till it's after dark with lots of light, rather difficult to shoot with my camera but I got some worthwhile images that I will share over the next few weeks.  I highly recommend the parade if you are in the Venice area on Thanksgiving weekend in the future.