Tobin Bennison
Article Category: Restaurant Review
The 3rd Annual Cocoa Beach Wine & Food Festival In the two short years since its inaugural event, the Cocoa Beach Wine & Food Festival has grown from a mere blip on the local radar into a nationally recognized culinary gathering. Putting more emphasis on the “foodie aspect” of the event, says 2012 Festival Director Tony Hernandez III, entailed the enlistment of celebrity chefs Beau “Beau Mac” MacMillan and Lee Hillson, the addition of five popular Orlando food trucks... [Read more...]
Tobin Bennison
Article Category: Skilled Labor
Mike Wittman By Tobin Bennison It’s not unusual to meet young artists who’ve been inspired by skate culture, but it’s rare to come across one as humble as local graphic designer Mike Wittman. Skateboarding’s inherently solitary, DIY aesthetic tends to breed brasher artists who can’t wait to strike out on their own. Wittman, however, saw the benefits of a traditional apprenticeship early on. Born in Virginia Beach, VA, Wittman, 24, has lived in Cocoa Beach since the... [Read more...]
Tobin Bennison
Article Category: 20 Questions
Wendy Brigham of Crossfit Cocoa Beach Tobin Bennison You’ve likely heard a lot about CrossFit, a relatively new fitness discipline, probably from friends who swear by it. You’ve also likely heard from a fair share of detractors. So what is CrossFit? What makes it different from other fitness programs? Since they opened in October 2010, Cocoa Beach CrossFit has grown by leaps and bounds, having recently moved to more spacious digs in the Bailiwick Mall on Brevard Avenue. “The Box,”... [Read more...]
Vern Hobbs
Article Category: Get Out Of Town
Rocky Mountain National Park By Vern Hobbs “Man, when you’re out there, surrounded by fourteeners, I dunno … just does something to your soul!” my gypsy-blooded neighbor exclaimed, struggling to find words that adequately described his latest pilgrimage to the western mountains. The term, “fourteeners,” refers to mountains exceeding 14,000 feet in elevation. The soulful effect, for which my neighbor could not find words, may well be what singer John Denver called... [Read more...]
Tobin Bennison
Article Category: Skilled Labor
Dirk Strangely Edgar Allen Poe with the body of a raven perched on a spindly branch; a zombie-like Pac Man surveying the graves of his victims; Strawberry Shortcake as a hobbling, wrinkled crone; a skeletal, empty-eyed gardener futilely sprinkling seeds on a desiccated twig; a quartet of sweet sixteen partygoers devouring a clown… These are just a few of the paintings to have sprung from the skewed mind of Houston, TX-based artist Dirk Strangely. Due to arrive on April for a showing at Café... [Read more...]
Tobin Bennison
Article Category: Restaurant Review
THE SANDBAR SPORTS GRILL “You’ve been here how long?” I had to ask Andrew Bunin a second time, because it seems like his Sandbar Sports Grill has been here far longer than seven years. It’s a short span of time when you consider older places that enjoy an equally loyal following here. And it’s not very long in which to have made it such a strong Cocoa Beach mainstay, as Bunin and his staff impressively have. In many ways, it’s the quintessential Cocoa Beach eatery... [Read more...]
Tobin Bennison
Article Category: 20 Questions
Matthew Ericson of the Cocoa Beach Professional Firefighters Thanks to the Cocoa Beach Professional Firefighters, some students from Cocoa Beach High had a slight change in curriculum this past January. Several kids who recently completed a CPR and AED training course were visited by members of the CBPF to discuss advanced life support and the weighty responsibilities firefighter paramedics carry. Gloved hands at the ready, students were exposed to advanced airway techniques, intravenous... [Read more...]
Tobin Bennison
Article Category: Get Out Of Town
THE BLASKET ISLANDS By Tobin Bennison “One day there will be none left in the Blaskets of all I have mentioned in this book — and none to remember them. I am thankful to God, who has given me the chance to preserve from forgetfulness those days, that I have seen with my own eyes and have borne their burden, and that when I am gone men will know what life was like in my time and my neighbours that lived with me.” So wrote Tomás Ó Criomhthain in “An t-Oileánach” (translated... [Read more...]
Tobin Bennison
Article Category: Restaurant Review
Cocoa Beach Thai & Sushi Tobin Bennison It was the kind of day that made you proud to be a Cocoa Beach resident. It was neither too warm, nor too cold — ideal for a family bike ride — and the river at Dempsey Park was bubbling with activity. Dolphin gamboled playfully, and the herons could barely contain their pleasure at the sight of all the leaping mullet. Since leaving the house, we’d passed and greeted at least 15 friends and neighbors, and now a couple waved to us enthusiastically... [Read more...]
M. Alberto Rivera
Article Category: 20 Questions
Tim Dorsey Interview by M. Alberto Rivera Tim Dorsey is the man responsible for creating Florida’s most beloved serial killer and amateur historian, Serge A. Storms. For 15 novels, starting with 1999′s “Florida Roadkill” to 2012′s “Pineapple Grenade,” Serge has managed to endear himself to readers by killing off the unsavory characters who infect Florida and make real headlines regularly. This cathartic purging of the kind of people most Floridians wish... [Read more...]
