Take a break from shopping this weekend at the Belmont
THINGS TO DO

The Belmont Arts Center will hold its next Hot Glass, Cold Beer (HGCB) open house fundraiser Friday, Dec. 14 from 5 to 9 p.m. The event, sponsored in part by New York Nick's and the Handlebar, will begin at 5 p.m. at the Belmont, 401 North Reus St., located inside the window factory in downtown Pensacola. This increasingly popular event will feature glass blowing demonstrations, complimentary beverages and snacks, artwork in the gallery, hand blown cups, and more.

Patrons who donate $20 towards the Belmont Arts Center's glass blowing programs and studio will receive a hand blown glass to keep. Patrons who attended the previous HGCB event are invited to return to show off their glass. All ages are invited to attend, however patrons must be 21 years of age with valid photo ID for consumption of adult beverages. Please drink responsibly.

In addition, the evening will also feature glass bead making demonstrations with Great Gulf Coast Arts Festival award winning artist Meredith Hartsfield and the Florida Society of Goldsmiths who will be giving jewelry making demonstrations all evening long. As a special treat a holiday jazz trio will give holiday sounds to the evening!

For more information, call 850-429- 1222 or visit www.belmontartscenter.com.

The Belmont Arts and Cultural Center is a nonprofit center dedicated to excellence, experimentation and education in the visual, performing and literary arts, while being a working studio center for artists. Since 1999 the Belmont Arts and Cultural Center has been a part of a revitalization effort to transform the Belmont-Devilliers community into a thriving artistic, commercial and residential area. Through multidisciplinary activities the Belmont Arts and Cultural Center is able to contribute to Pensacola's art scene by offering exposure to local, regional, national and international artists, thus enhancing the culture of the Greater Pensacola area.

Artel show opening Friday

Artel Gallery's 2007 Members' Show will run through Jan. 4 with an opening reception on Friday, Dec. 14, from 6 to 8 p.m. The un-juried show is open to all current members.

This exhibit is sponsored by Mike Hill State Farm Insurance and by Varona's Catering.

Artel is a not-for-profit educational gallery located at 505 South Adams Street near Seville Square and is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information call the gallery at 850 432-3080. Visit Artel's website at artelgallery. org for more information.

Santa's Secret Shoppe opens tomorrow

The Early Learning Coalition of Santa Rosa County is holding a special holiday shopping event for children. Santa Rosa County children from birth to 12 will be given the opportunity to shop for holiday gifts for their parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters, or for other special people in their lives.

Santa's Secret Shoppe will be held on Saturday, Dec. 15, from 10 a.m.

until 5 p.m. at the Early Learning Coalition office, 6555 Caroline Street in Milton. Children can select two gifts free and each additional gift will cost fifty cents. Volunteers and staff will be on hand to assist the children and to wrap the gifts. A bake sale will be held in conjunction with Santa's Secret Shoppe. While one of the purposes of the event is to provide an avenue for children to purchase gifts for their loved-ones, another is to promote literacy and its importance in early childhood development. Children need to be exposed to books at a very early age. Research has repeatedly demonstrated that when children listen to stories, they gain crucial language skills. The Coalition sees a critical need to reach out to parents to help them make reading and books an important part of every child's life. Parents will be asked to sign a pledge that they will take time to read with their

take time children, and Santa Claus will be on hand with the gift of a free book for each child. For more information about the event or to donate new or gently used items for gifts, please contact the Coalition's Milton

office at 850-983-5313. Garden Street holds auditions next week

The Garden Street Playhouse, located at 1625 Garden Street West in Pensacola, will hold open auditions on dec 17 and 18 from 3 to 5p.m. Playhouse casting directors are looking for experienced singers and actors "who move well."

All productions are paying gigs and interested parties are advised to make reservations ahead of time. For more information, call 850-417-7970 or visit www.gardenstreetplayhouse.com.

Take a holiday tour of Fort Barrancas

The public is invited to join park rangers for daily tours of Fort Barrancas during the holiday season. Fort Barrancas, located on board Pensacola Naval Air Station, normally features daily tours at 2 p.m. and will also have additional tours at 11 a.m., on Dec. 26 through 28 and Dec. 30 through Jan. 5. There will also be a tour of Advanced Redoubt at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 29.

For additional information on these or other programs offered at the Seashore contact the Naval Live Oaks Visitor Center at 850-934-2600 or visit our website at www.nps.gov/guis.

The Arts Council of Northwest Florida (ACNWFL) is sponsoring a design competition to select the official Outside Art Fair poster for 2008. The winning artist will receive a $250 cash award.

Creative artists of all ages are encouraged to submit their designs. Entries should be appropriate for replication for posters, silk screened T-shirts and other ACNWFLpromotional items. Judging criteria will include viability of sales potential and submissions should be thematically related to the Art Fair.

Design entries must be received by 4 p.m., Dec. 18 in the ACNWFLoffice located at 3 West Garden St., Suite 335 in Pensacola. For more information, visit www.artsnwfl.org or call 850-432- 9906.