A Friday night in the OB

Ormond Beach Observer
Neighbors

It’s like crashing a bunch of parties I wasn’t “technically” invited to.

About once a month this really neat thing happens where nearly four or five awesome Ormond Beach events fall around the same time on the same Friday. It’s exciting, busy, and when it’s over, I’m usually sweaty in places I didn’t know could get sweaty (like behind your knees?!).

Thankfully, this past Friday’s carnival locations were all conveniently five minutes away from each other, so no extra driving was involved. Though I may have went back to my car to take advantage of the air conditioning a few times.

My first stop was at the Ormond Memorial Art Museum where it’s members were holding their Free Family Art Night. These events are always my favorite because it’s like a live episode of “Kids Say the Darnest Things.”

Scarlett Verzal, 3, looked completely distraught as she stared down at her paper bird that she was currently coloring in. Upset with the amount of green she used, she left the room in a huff saying “I can’t mom, I can’t.”

Outside an adorable girl her with curly hair up in pigtails (who by her lack of speaking I believe wanted to remain anonymous), was asked if her bird was a boy or a girl.

She shriveled up her face and said “Ew, I don’t know.”

Two-year-old Lincoln Hill’s face lit up when he saw his bird cut out and attached to string.

“Woah,” he said, obviously enamored with his own artistic ability.

“It’s a shame we lose our sense of wonder of what we’ve done,” Executive Director Susan Richmond is always throwing random words wisdom or thought-provoking ideas. Another reason why the museum is my favorite.

Next on the list was a fish fry at St. James Episcopal Church. Sometimes I’m able to sneak in and out to take a few pictures without causing too much of a scene, but this was not the case tonight. Upon arrival I was immediately escorted to meet Ruth Dodson, who is in charge of Friends of St. James, the mission dedicated to raising money to pay off the church’s debt. A sweet woman who was determined to introduce me to everyone, Dodson was one of those rare breeds who you could tell takes extreme pride in everything she does.

“People have a good time, and we are insistent on very hot food.”

After saying goodbye to the sweet folks at St. James, I made my way to my final event: movie night in Rockefeller Gardens. Per usual, I saw too many cute dogs that distracted me, and almost missed the opportunity to take some photos before the sun went down. I laughed with a father and son who were feeding fruit to crabs, and bothered 10-year-old Noah Steves into getting his pictured taken. Due to the 15 minutes I spent coaxing him out from under a blanket, I’m making every effort I can to make get his face on the front page.

As I walked back to my car and prepared for where the rest of the evening would take me, I had to remind myself that I spent the better half of it “working.”