Kids (and grown ups!) in Sunny Isles Beach can enjoy plenty of Halloween fun on Friday Oct 30th and Saturday October 31 at Pelican Community Park, 18115 North Bay Road

The city promises “Games, Rides, Music, Food, Contests” and what it calls “the spookiest Haunted House in town”.

The events run from 7pm to 11pm and further details are available on this flyer from the city.

The highlight comes on Saturday, October 17 from 7:00 – 10:00 PM when The Neville Brothers, take the stage at the beachfront Samson Oceanfront Park, 17425 Collins Avenue. Opening for the brothers is South Florida’s own Nicole Henry – an exciting talent and the exceptional jazz harpist Roberto Perera.

Tickets are $25.00 for all ages, and are available at www.sunnyislesbeachjazz.com, or at the door.

The weekend kicks off on Friday, October 16 from 8:00 to 11:00 PM with a performance from Jazz Vibrations and Libations at Acqualina Resort & Spa in the Aaria Bar & Lounge, located at 17875 Collins Avenue. Admission is $20.

The final event of the Festival is a sumptuous Sunday brunch on Sunday, October 18 from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM featuring the jazz sounds of Sammy Figueroa and Angela Liano at the Newport Beachside Hotel & Resort, located at 16701 Collins Avenue. Admission is $20.

“The 2nd Annual Sunny Isles Beach Jazz Fest” promises to be bigger and better than last year’s,” said Ibis Romero, executive director of the Sunny Isles Beach Resort Association. “We look forward to welcoming the residents who live in South Florida and the tourists who will be visiting, for this 3 day Festival,” added Romero.

For more information on the Sunny Isles Beach Jazz Fest or for an updated list of scheduled performing artists, visit the website at www.sunnyislesbeachjazz.com

According to the South Florida Caribbean News – former President Bill Clinton will be visiting our Sunny Isles Beach to address the 2009 Haitian Diaspora Unity Congress which will take place at the Trump International Beach Resort on August 6-9, 2009.

The report says:

The purpose of this congress is to combine and capitalize on the Haitian Diaspora resources to develop solution-oriented strategies to aid Haitians at home and abroad.

This event brings together Haitians from all over the world, government officials and leaders from aid organizations to discuss assisting development in Haiti. Topics scheduled include boosting the island’s agriculture, promoting education and health, and building tourism, among others.

You have to wonder though if President Clinton will take some time out – maybe head down the beach or to the Pelican Bar for a quick beer? Keep your eyes and ears open….we will.

Good news for jazz lovers in Sunny Isles and for all those who love a bit of live music while lounging near the sea — Sunny Isles Beach’s Jazz Festival, premiered last year, will return in the weekend of October 16-18, 2009.

“The 2008 Jazz Fest weekend was such a huge success and by popular demand we are bringing it back to Sunny Isles Beach,” said Mayor Norman Edelcup. Certainly it is good for everyone in the city to have events such as this to bring in more local visitors and add to the growing image of the city as a place for relaxed fun and entertainment.

The event, produced by the City of Sunny Isles Beach in partnership with the Sunny Isles Beach Resort Association, will benefit Joshua’s Heart Foundation. Performing will be featuring world-renowned jazz entertainers, notable local jazz artists and several illustrious music groups from major universities around the South Florida area.

The 2008 event featured The David Sanborn Group as well as local artists and we look forward to finding out which musicians will be performing this year.

“The 2nd Annual Sunny Isles Beach Jazz Fest promises to be bigger and better than last year’s,” said Ibis Romero, executive director of the Sunny Isles Beach Resort Association. “Moreover, corporate sponsors will benefit by receiving an unprecedented amount of earned media impressions and recognition before, during, and following the festival through our agency’s aggressive marketing campaign,” she added.

For more information on Sunny Isles Beach Jazz Fest visit the Festival’s official website and for corporate sponsorship information, email Ibis Romero at ibis@sibfl.net.

It is hard to find many images from the days gone by but one of the things we want to do here is to dig out whatever can be found online to give a taste of what life must have been like in this area. Tourists need cars and the area has most of the major auto rental companies and indeed some have been here a long time ago.

At Don Boyd’s wonderful photography website we discovered, in his section on cars, these wonderful pics from Sunny Isles Beach in the 1960’s.

Avis Car Rental, 1964, Collins Avenue (A1A), Sunny Isles

Hertz Rent a Car, 1964, on Collins Avenue (A1A), Sunny Isles

Yellow Car Rental, 1963, on Collins Avenue (A1A), Sunny Isles Beach.

We’d love to publish any pictures you or your family may have of Sunny Isles Beach of yesteryear. Drop us a line at visitsunnyislesbeach@gmail.com

And do check out the rest of Don’s pics here.

Date/Time: Saturday June 20th 03:00PM – 07:00PM
Location: Samson Oceanfront Park, 17425 Collins Avenue

Contact Person: Cultural & Human Services
Phone Number: 305-792-1706

All teens grades 7th-12th are invited! Bring your student ID to get in! This is a FREE event! Food, music, volleyball, and sun! Call 305.792.1706 for more information.

Source: City of Sunny Isles Beach

This really does capture the old-time Sunny Isles – the space, the beach, the lazy summer days. Even though the coast is no longer home to many little motels, the high-rise hotels and condos having taken their place, Sunny Isles still has the kind of old-school, slip on your flip-flops and shorts and hang out by the beach feel that has been lost to too many resorts.

Anyway, we are suckers for vintage postcards so if you find any drop us a line to visitsunnyislesbeach@gmail.com and we’ll stick them up!

In a nutshell, the site will be a living resource for anyone interested in our city. If you are thinking of visiting our city for a vacation then we will have a full listing of the hotels in the area and our own reviews of the facilities available. For visitors from near and afar, we will have information and reviews about shopping, dining and nightlife in Sunny Isles Beach.

We will also provide real estate information for those looking to move into this small but dynamic community by the blue Atlantic Ocean. And the most fun part of the site will be our Living section – devoted to stories about everyday life in a city which is just 12 years old but which is already capturing the attention of people who love the idea of a South Florida beach lifestyle while not wanting to pay South Beach prices or deal with the whole ‘attitude’ you find further down Collins Avenue.

This site is above all a constantly evolving online resource and social-network for anyone with an interest in Sunny Isles Beach and we look forward to your involvement in our site. Because we don’t just want readers who pass through – we want your reviews on the bars and restaurants, we want your take on life in Sunny Isles – whether it be as a local or as a visitor and we want your feedback on our efforts.

If you wish to be kept informed about the launch date for the site then email me at visitsunnyislesbeach@gmail.com and I will make sure you receive notification and our newsletter. Likewise if you are interested in advertising your business to the thousands of people who are looking online for info about Sunny Isles Beach then get in touch.

I’m really excited about this project and glad you popped by to say hello! Keep coming back because like our city itself, visitsunnyislesbeach.com is just going to get bigger and better every day!

Thanks and have fun!

Emily Evans
Director of Sales and Marketing
www.visitsunnyislesbeach.com

We are currently putting together the design concept and producing the initial content for the site but I just wanted to let you know what you can expect from the site in the near future.

In a nutshell, the site will be a living resource for anyone interested in our city. If you are thinking of visiting our city for a vacation then we will have a full listing of the hotels in the area and our own reviews of the facilities available. For visitors from near and afar, we will have information and reviews about shopping, dining and nightlife in Sunny Isles Beach.

We will also provide real estate information for those looking to move into this small but dynamic community by the blue Atlantic Ocean. And the most fun part of the site will be our Living section – devoted to stories about everyday life in a city which is just 12 years old but which is already capturing the attention of people who love the idea of a South Florida beach lifestyle while not wanting to pay South Beach prices or deal with the whole ‘attitude’ you find further down Collins Avenue.

This site is above all a constantly evolving online resource and social-network for anyone with an interest in Sunny Isles Beach and we look forward to your involvement in our site. Because we don’t just want readers who pass through – we want your reviews on the bars and restaurants, we want your take on life in Sunny Isles – whether it be as a local or as a visitor and we want your feedback on our efforts.

If you wish to be kept informed about the launch date for the site then email me at visitsunnyislesbeach@gmail.com and I will make sure you receive notification and our newsletter. Likewise if you are interested in advertising your business to the thousands of people who are looking online for info about Sunny Isles Beach then get in touch.

I’m really excited about this project and glad you popped by to say hello! Keep coming back because like our city itself, visitsunnyislesbeach.com is just going to get bigger and better every day!

Thanks and have fun!

Emily Evans
Director of Sales and Marketing
www.visitsunnyislesbeach.com