November 2020

The Christmas carol is a classic component of the global holiday tradition; with vocalists everywhere gathering each Yuletide to sing in celebration.

The popular Brooksville Main Street event ‘Small Business Saturday’ returns 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 28, when the business of beauty and artistic inspiration will be celebrated in grand fashion at the Hernando County Courthouse.

Remember that old movie starring “James Stewart,” “Donna Reed” and “Lionel Barrymore” as the hateful Mr. Potter?  Once again Brooksville’s Live Oak Theatre is bringing back to the stage this beloved albeit quirky old-time classic titled: It’s a Wonderful Life Radio Show. This unique play within a play is absolutely amazing, comical, and an evening you will ponder happily for a long time. 

That time-honored piece of correspondence known as the Christmas card finds its origins in 1843, when Victorian-era educator Henry Cole found that he had insufficient time to answer all of his holiday correspondence. So he collaborated with artist JC Horsley to create a small work of art that bore a festive Yuletide greeting.

With this holiday season comes a new tradition in Hernando, as Live Oak Theatre and Conservatory debuts its First Annual Christmas Festival, to be celebrated from 1 p.m. until dusk December 12, following the Brooksville Downtown Parade. This colorful outdoor festival of the arts, set to take place on Live Oak grounds at the Carol & Frank Morsani Center for the Arts, 21030 Cortez Boulevard, Brooksville.

by BRANDON KATHMAN

Boy Scouts of America

For most of its tenure as an incorporated city, Brooksville has been home to the youth of Boy Scout Troop 71. Among the great Hernando County institutions, the troop predates most, aside from the oldest churches, the sheriff’s department, and the post office.

It’s the time of year when cookbooks come out to remind us how to make those special holiday treats or meals if we haven’t committed the recipes to memory. Food traditions are often close to the hearts of families. Cookbooks and recipe boxes are cherished and handed down from generation to generation.

During the Saturday morning Shabbat Service on November 14, 2020, Temple Beth David in Spring Hill, honored the Jewish War Veterans with a gathering of temple members and guests outside in front of the temple building. Invited guests Commander Larry Jasper from JWV Post 373 in Tampa, his wife Georgi and Bruce and Phyllis Shur were present.  Commander Jasper noted that the JWV is the oldest organization in our country and he emphasized the important role Jews have held in every war.

“It is estimated that one in ten teens will experience violence in their lifetime,” reads an article on youth.gov. Yet thanks to the efforts of a Hernando student, compassion and awareness are spreading far and wide across the area; this young lady is spreading rays of sunshine to offer endless hope and infinite knowledge.