SOUTH BATON ROUGE CHRISTMAS PARADE ROLLS THROUGH TOWN ON SATURDAY ä Page 3G
ADVOCATE THE MID CITY
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THURSDAY DECEMBER 10, 2015 H
GARDEN DISTRICT • SOUTHDOWNS • GOODWOOD • TARA • SPANISH TOWN • CAPITAL HEIGHTS LSU LAKES • MELROSE PLACE • BEAUREGARD TOWN THEADVOCATE.COM
Darlene Denstorff AROUND MID CITY
Breakfast with Santa a joyful event BY C.J. FUTCH
cfutch@theadvocate.com
DDENSTORFF@ THEADVOCATE.COM
Holiday calendar heating up Here’s a few more festivities to add to your holiday calendar: THURSDAY: 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., BREC’s sixth annual Caroling in City Park; featuring a park lighting ceremony, candlelight caroling and other family activities SATURDAY: 5:30 p.m., 64th annual Cortana Kiwanis Downtown Christmas Parade SUNDAY: 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., Magnolia Mound Plantation’s Creole Christmas; free and open to the public
Bessie Carter Jackson helped two other adults, a daughter and granddaughter, corral the 11 children in her large family through the lines at Capitol Middle School’s lobby on Saturday. The family was the 36th in line for Breakfast with Santa, an event put on every year by the Jack and Jill of America’s Baton Rouge Chapter. It’s been an ongoing tradition for the club for more than 30 years, said Vanessa Lafleur, president of the chapter, and a favorite for both patrons and chapter members alike, she said. The event begins with a hot breakfast for all those in atten-
dance, then moves to a photo with Santa Claus, then the line for bikes — which go to the first 300 or so children in line, and toys for the rest, Lafleur said. While the families wait in line, tables keep everyone entertained with crafts, face painting and other goodies, said Katara Williams, spokesperson for the group. “We’ve been doing this for a while, so we’ve learned some lessons over the years,” she said. Williams’ son, Christian, 11, was also at the event volunteering, and he said it was, by far, his favorite event for Jack and Jill. “I like seeing how happy the kids are,” he said. It’s one of many volunteerism opportuni-
ties the club provides for members. The club is primarily a group of mothers, said Vice President Antoinette Patterson, who work together to find ways to make sure their children are exposed to culture, history and education, and give back to their community with philanthropy. “We’re cultivating strong leadership in our children,” she said. “We have been blessed, and we want them to understand that when you are blessed with much, you have the responsibility to reach back and bring someone else up.” Advocate staff photo by APRIL BUFFINGTON Volunteers from Jack and Jill, their children, spouses and oth- Faine Brooks, left, and Fantasia Brooks, right, take a photo er volunteers from high schools with Santa at the breakfast with Santa event hosted by the Baton Rouge chapter of Jack and Jill at Capitol Middle School äSee BREAKFAST, page 3G on Saturday.
‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’
From Friday through Dec. 20, Playmakers of Baton Rouge will present its stage adaptation of the classic animated TV special “A Charlie Brown Christmas” at the LSU Reilly Theatre. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for children ages 2 through 11 and can be purchased online at playmakersbr.org. Call (225) 5786996 for information.
An afternoon of ‘Star Wars’
Advocate photo by C.J. FUTCH
The Main Library will host a “Star Wars”-themed afternoon for teens from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Friday in the Teen Room. Play trivia for prizes and build TIE fighters while watching “The Clone Wars.” Refreshments will be served.
Episcopal School student Bella Stephen, center, watches as her mother, Melissa Stephen uses a Google cardboard 3-D viewer Dec. 2 during a Google Expeditions program at the school.
‘Love’ is all around
Carver Branch Library will show the film “Love Actually,” rated R, at 3 p.m. Friday in meeting room 1. The movie tells the stories of eight different couples played out against the backdrop of the Christmas season in London.
Chess tournament
Fall chess classes will wrap up with a tournament Saturday in the Main Library’s Children’s Storytime Area. Registration is required and begins at 9:30 a.m., with tournament play beginning at 10 a.m.
Overcoming depression
Peoples Health will host a free public lecture on overcoming depression with speaker Dr. Brian P. Schulte on Monday at Baton Rouge General Physicians Family Health Center, 3801 North Blvd., in the Gehringer Conference Room. Registration begins at 11 a.m. and the lecture starts at noon. Maximum capacity is 55 attendees. Reservations are due by Sunday; call (800) 561-4127 or visit peoples health.com/wellness.
Holiday ornaments
Teens can make a holiday ornament ball from discarded books and help make a garland for the library holiday tree from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday at Eden Park Branch Library.
Women’s Christmas party
Women Bringing Women will hold its free Leola’s City Wide After Christmas Party äSee AROUND, page 3G
Advocate staff photos by BRIANNA PACIORKA
Santas and other Christmas characters make their way down Laurel Street in downtown Baton Rouge during the Running of the Santas.
RUN,RUN SANTA
Inaugural event in BR a runaway success
Episcopal students explore 3-D tech with Google BY C.J. FUTCH
cfutch@theadvocate.com
Advocate staff report
The inaugural Baton Rouge Running of the Santas was a success, with costumed Christmas characters running and walking through downtown Saturday. The fun run started as Bob Dauterive, the event’s organizer and honorary “mayor of the North Pole,” led the runners in a countdown via megaphone before the participants set off down Third and Lafayette streets. At “the South Pole,” as The Roux House was temporarily renamed, an outdoor tent party awaited thirsty runners. Clay LeBrun, of Baton Rouge, won the overall award for best costume, for his design reimagining Santa Claus as a pirate, complete with a candy-cane hook for a hand. A portion of the proceeds from ticket sales will go to benefit That Others May Live Foundation, a nonprofit that provides support to the children and families of Air Force veterans killed in action.
From the top, Billy Conerly; Candy Wells, left, and Lori LeBlanc; and Deborah Trahan participate in the Running of the Santas.
Google Expeditions brought its 3-D magic to Episcopal School on Dec. 2, said Jason Hubbard, associate head of schools. Expeditions consists of Google cardboard viewfinders paired with a smartphone app that presents visual media stereoscopically, allowing the user to step into a new world and look around — literally — to explore environments like a volcano, a coral reef and a Hawaiian atoll, by turning their heads. Teachers instructed the fourth- and second-grade students to hold their viewfinders carefully, “with one hand on each side,” before starting the program, which began with an island off the coast of Florida. When they got the signal to look, they gasped, then sat, mouths agape, turning their heads in every direction, and sometimes jumping when they saw something unexpected. “Hey, look below you,” one student told another, and a third warned his neighbor of a shark behind them. Since all the viewers were presenting the same 3-D environment, they could all see the same things if they were looking in the same direction. Cris Newsome with Google äSee GOOGLE, page 5G