January 2025 is here and Winter Storm Cora is bringing in the chilly new year with forecasts of ice and snow from Texas to the Carolinas. The Scenic 98 Coastal Community will be spared the worse of it, but temperatures above 60 degrees look to be few and far between in the coming weeks.

Poking around the shops in Downtown Fairhope last week, hoping to get an idea or two for gift-giving, I couldn’t help but notice how decked out the streetscapes were. Every store had a creative holiday decoration. 

Where to begin? I had so much fun with this story, that I had to rewatch Almost Famous again to see the reference to Topeka, Kansas, the inspiration for the parent company that produces Moon Crush Curated Music Vacations. This classic 2000 movie is about a band on the rise, and the story fits like a glove for the journey of Andy Levine, Chief Promise Maker. He created and launched the Moon Crush concert series in Destin, Florida, and hosts it several times a year. It’s the industry of cool!

With the holiday season upon us, I decided to visit the folks at Beau Rivage & Casino in Biloxi to see what they have in store to get us into the spirit. Turns out, there are a lot! The resort is celebrating its 25th anniversary and has dressed up for the holidays. The fun is on full display.

December brings the magic of the holidays to the Scenic 98 Coastal Community with an array of festive events for all ages. There's no shortage of seasonal cheer, from sparkling tree lighting ceremonies and vibrant parades to captivating holiday concerts and theatrical performances.

Felder Rushing is a celebrity: an author of eighteen books, thousands of newspaper and magazine articles, a radio talk show host (The Gestalt Gardener) on Mississippi Public Broadcasting, and a guru to plant people all over the United States. He lives in Jackson, Ms., and is a horticulture specialist. Recently, I met and heard him speak in the Daphne Senior Center courtyard. Why? A Plant Swap!

Summer 2024 is officially in the rearview with October bringing visions of Fall, Festivals, and Football. Dramatic sunsets paint vivid hues of red, orange, yellow, pink, and sometimes purple across the sky, as Autumn days grow shorter and the sun sinks lower. Sun rays have a larger distance to travel before reaching our eye, interacting with more air molecules, while the dryer, cooler fall air allows more of these colors to pass without being scattered by water molecules.