Easter Fun

Families had a fun day in the park for Easter, face painting, egg hunt, music, and more.  Happy Easter Everyone!

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.

Beach Side Art Class

As I was driving down by the beach I saw this art class in progress and thought it was a great photo opportunity.  It's an great opportunity for many classes  are taught for free by Madge Meyer a former art teacher for eighteen years. 

Drawing classes on Saturdays are at the pavilion close to Sharkey's Restaurant and Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays they are here in the park between Venice Beach and the Army Air Base Sign.  Paper and pencil are provided or you nay bring your own, bring a chair.  Ask Madge about the advanced drawing class as well.

Hecksher Park

On Venice Ave. about half way between Tamiami Trail and the beaches (right in the heart of town) is this park full of tennis and other sport courts.  Actually I had thought that was all there was to it, today I discovered there is also a nice picnic and play area on the Barcelona Ave. side.

The Venice Bridge

As things are really coming together for this site, the thought came to me that I should share the full photo of the bridge that I use in the masthead, on business cards, etc.

This is the south bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway, one of three bridges connecting Venice Island to the mainland.  All three are draw bridges allowing taller vessels to sail these waters. 

It as my hope that this site will also serve as a great connection for people to Venice.

The building at the base of the bridge is the home of Venice Area Beautification Inc. a non-profit with a mission to make Venice a more beautiful place to live, work. and play.

One of their biggest accomplishments the Intracoastal Waterway Park with walking and biking trails that extend along both sides of the waterway for miles.  The northern island side of the park ends around their building with landscaping, benches, tables, a playground, and public restrooms.

Heritage Park

It's good to see someone besides myself enjoy this delightful park.  I know other people do, but most drive right by it heading for the beach.   

Heritage Park is a four block long narrow park between the East and West bound lanes of Venice Ave. that ends right at the beach.


Here you will find very pleasant winding trails, several monuments, and wonderful landscaping including some very impressive banyan trees.

One Last Christmas Photo

One of the more unusual, but tropical, holiday displays at the Venice Arboretum was my pick for last Christmas photo of the season.  Nothing about this display is typical Christmas, except ornaments and tinsel, but it has a very Florida beach feel. 

I've enjoyed sharing a bit of Christmas in Venice Florida and hope you enjoyed it too.

Ribbons and Shells

One of many decorated tropical plants at the Venice arboretum decorated by different groups.  I thought this one did a great job of giving the holidays a more tropical feel.

Flamingo's like Christmas too

 Not your traditional snowy themed Christmas display!  Not very typical of Venice either.  This display brings a bit of Christmas glitter with more of a funky Key West feel.  This is one of the many unique displays at the Venice Arboretum.

Christmas at the Historic Triangle Inn

Originally built as an inn today this beautiful building is residence to the Venice Archives with changing exhibits on the history of Venice Florida.  Through the holidays it is featuring "Yes, Venice, there is a Santa" A delightful fun exhibit if Santa's donated over the years.  See photo below.

The Inn is officially open Mon - Wed 10 am to 4 pm in season, however someone is usually there every weekday and will always open to the public if someone would like to stop by.  It is located at 351 S. Nassau St. behind the library and community center.  It is also right across from the Venice Arboretum.  With a park full of tropical trees decked out for the season, this makes for a wonderful holiday destination in Venice.

 

Park Tree Lighting Festivities

 Last night there was a very nice holiday celebration at West Blalock Park, this is the location of the Venice Arboretum and the trees here are lit up for Christmas.  The festivities included a choir, Santa Claus, hot chocolate, hammered dulcimers (pictured here), and lot's of lights.

 Different groups decorated trees in the park and are quite interesting day or night.  Many of them are palms giving it a distinctly Florida feel.  I will be sharing other photos from this park as well.

The park is located right behind the library, art center, and community center, if you'd like to see it for yourself.  There is also a nice Santa Display across the street at the history center in the Historic Triangle Inn

On the Trail

One of many nature trails in Shamrock Park, it's a great place to get close to nature, close to the city.  The park also features a nature center with educational programs as well as a great play area, picnic area, tennis courts and more.

Camping

If you enjoy RV Travel I highly recommend Oscar Scherer State Park in the Venice area. It has very beautiful secluded campsites and lots to see and do including 15 miles of trails.

For me this photo is inspiration for my goal of getting a Motor Home and seeing more of this great country. From more charming small towns like Venice to natural wonders and big cities.

Pocket Park

Small pocket parks like this are one of the things I love about the planning and design of Venice. There are several of these around town nestled between streets and they really add a lot of character to the community. In many towns things like this don't even seem to be considered, I certainly haven't seen them in other communities in this area.

Saturday Market

This is a reminder for any local people following this blog that the Farmers Market is tomorrow. It's right downtown in Centennial Park and it's a great opportunity to get some fresh locally grown produce and support local growers. It's also a great opportunity to get out and socialize, you never know who you might meet at the farmers market.

Contrast

It's the 1st and theme day in the City Daily Photo community. Today's theme is Contrast. Normally a bridges support structure will be in shadow and the water will be bathed in light, so I though the support structure being bathed in light with the water in shadow made for a good contrast.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants in today's City Daily Photo theme day.

Mangroves

Just across the road from Manasota Beach in yesterdays photo is a tranquil inlet that has a boardwalk around the mangroves. It's a very relaxing and beautiful spot that I feel many people who go to the beach never realize is just a few feet away.

Jazz Festival

Yesterday there was a Jazz Festival downtown in Centennial Park. I'll admit that I'm not a huge Jazz fan but events like this are always good for photos and the music was good too. If you are a Jazz fan the festival continues today so go on downtown to the park and enjoy some good music with some friendly people.

Big Waterway

Today is theme day in the City Daily Photo community and the theme for Sept is "BIG" The Inter-coastal Waterway is absolutely the biggest thing in these parts, I mean it's over 3000 miles long! Not our section of course.

The water way was design to provide safe inland water passage along the Eastern Seaboard and Gulf Coast of the United States. Our section was built in the 1960's and turned Venice into an Island. This photo also shows part of the first 10 mile stretch of Venetian Waterway Park this is a trail along both sides of the waterway and another big project for this area.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Downtown Tennis

Here in Venice you can play tennis in the heart of downtown across the street from city hall. I wonder how often city staff come out here to work out their frustration. Might be a good idea. Anyway it's a great setting that is very accessible.