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Registration for the Third Annual Lemonade Day Coastal Alabama is now open to school children enrolled in kindergarten through fifth grade.
The nationwide education program based out of Houston, Texas, first came to the Coastal Alabama area back in 2018.
The 2021 event is scheduled to take place Saturday, May 15. Participants can attend various workshops on topics (such as recipe development and stand building) to help prepare them for the big day where they will be running their own stand at a designated location in the community. Not only are we actively engaging and educating our elementary students once again with a nationally proven entrepreneurial program, but through regional collaboration this experience has now been expanded to include children in Foley as well as Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. Across our tri-city region small-business owners, educators and retired professionals alike are working together to mentor our young people and help secure their bright
By Melanie LeCroy
The Coastal Alabama Business Chamber presented Orange Beach Police Officer Matthew Stringer with the January Island Spirit Award.
Stringer’s nomination letter stated, “Officer Stringer has worked in a part-time capacity for the Orange Beach Police Department for approximately 22 years and he has a love for Orange Beach and our island. During the events of Hurricane Sally, Officer Stringer went above and beyond tending to the needs of residents and visitors including helping provide food, water, generators and so much more. Nothing stopped him to ensure people got the supplies that they needed.”
The Island Spirit Award committee was accompanied by several City of Orange Beach employees in surprising Stringer.
Staff Report
Planning for the 49th Annual National Shrimp Festival is underway. The Festival, dubbed “Alabama’s Original Beach Party” will take place Oct. 7 - 10 where Hwy. 59 meets Beach Blvd in Gulf Shores.
Produced by the Coastal Alabama Business Chamber, the Festival is regularly named one of the Southeast’s most popular festivals. “Although the pandemic forced us to cancel last year’s Fest to ensure the safety and well-being of our locals and visitors, we plan for our 49th edition to take place in October, as usual,” Chamber President & CEO Greg Alexander said.
The Shrimp Festival Committee, which consists of more than 80 volunteers, has resumed their meeting calendar to restart plans for this year’s event. “The situation with COVID-19 seems to be going from worse to better,” Shrimp Festival Chairman Spencer Cade said. “We are very optimistic and hopeful that conditions improve enough for us to produce our event as normal this year.”
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The Coastal Arts Center’s Brandy Thomley named Island Spirit Award winner Brandy Thomley of the Coastal Arts Center of Orange Beach is the Island Spirit Award winner for December 2020. Coastal Arts Center of Orange Beach Posted Tuesday, December 22, 2020 12:01 pm Brandy Thomley of the Coastal Arts Center of Orange Beach is the Island Spirit Award winner for December 2020. Melanie LeCroy/Staff Photo
By Melanie LeCroy
The Coastal Alabama Business Chamber is a sneaky bunch when it comes to surprising the Island Spirit Award winners. A group of chamber members and staff, Orange Beach City employees and community members snuck in through a side door at the Coastal Arts Center of Orange Beach Dec. 15 to surprise Brandy Thomley the Island Spirit Award winner for Decem