NOVEMBER NOTEWORTHY: Local highlights of

[ noteworthy ] NOVEMBER

THANKSGIVING FOOD DONATIONS

Your family’s support is needed now more than ever. If you are unable to give your time, consider collecting food items to donate to organizations like Feeding Tampa Bay ( feedingtampabay.org) and Metropolitan Ministries (metromin.org). You can visit each website to learn more about what their current needs are and how to donate.

We’re also sharing ways how your entire family can volunteer their time on page 22.

MAKE A THANKFULNESS PUMPKIN!

What you’ll need: Medium-sized pumpkin and black Sharpie

The Thankfulness Pumpkin continues to be one of our favorite traditions shared by our friends at Glazer Children’s Museum. Start it off by writing “We are thankful for…” at the top of your pumpkin and then have each member of the family write something they are thankful for as they curve their words around the pumpkin. It’s a great way to teach kids gratitude and remind ourselves that despite a chaotic year, there really are so many things to be grateful for.

LEGOLAND KICKS OFF 10TH BIRTHDAY IN 2021

Legoland Florida Resort celebrated nine years in October and launched right into celebrating its milestone 10th year with an annual pass that costs just $99 (2011 prices!). The park also announced several NEW things to come in 2021 like a new Watersports Stunt Show, PirateFest Weekends, Miniland Shade Structures, a NEW Master Builder experience and more! legoland.com/florida

BUCS HEAD COACH BRUCE ARIANS AWARDED FOR HIS EFFORTS FOR GENDER INCLUSIVITY AND DIVERSITY

We’re sending a special congratulations to Tampa Bay Buccaneers Head Coach Bruce Arians for being named as the 2020 ‘Champion For Equality’ for his efforts on and off the field to support gender inclusivity and diversity. Since joining the team in 2019, he has hired two female coaches, setting a precedent for the NFL.

Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

TAMPA BAY RECEIVES THE “GOLDEN SHOVEL” AHEAD OF SUPER BOWL LV

The Golden Shovel has arrived in Tampa Bay, passed along from previous host city Miami. The program brings community greening projects to the Super Bowl host cities. In October, sand dunes were built at Picnic Island Park in Tampa and more than 900 plants including sea oats and dune flowers were added to the dune to help prevent erosion.

There are several more greening projects on schedule like a mangrove restoration project at Picnic Island, a pollinator garden at Veterans Memorial Park, park clean ups, plantings and more!

The "Golden Shovel"

CAN’T BE WITH FAMILY OVER THE HOLIDAYS? Send grandma a life-sized cutout of your family. Tampa Bay sign company Good Guys Signs has a great way for families to get together over the holidays in an unconventional way: life-size cutouts of people they call “Cheer-Ups”! They are selling the Cheer-Ups at a discounted rate over the holidays for $79 instead of $100 for each life-sized cut-out, saying it aligns with their core philosophy of "Give more than you take." You can learn more by visiting goodguyssigns.com.