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The presents have been ripped open, the leftovers are chilling in the fridge, the kids are off from school, and you took some time off work.

Now, what is there to do in South Florida during this period of festive limbo, before the new year begins?

Well, we’ve got you covered with a roundup of 10 family activities in Broward and Palm Beach counties that are perfect for the winter break. These are sure to get everyone stepping out of the house and into memory-making moments!

Shark Wake Park Ropes Course

Sky Trail, a multilevel challenge course with swinging beams, bridges, rope elements and a zip rail, highlights the new dry-land additions that debuted this month at Shark Wake Park, 1440 Eshleman Trail, inside Okeeheelee Park in West Palm Beach. RCI Adventure Products created the new course attraction, which also includes Sky Tykes for younger kids. Both ropes courses are self-guided, and no experience is necessary. One Sky Trail session is $25 ($10 per additional session) and one Sky Tykes session is $10 ($10 per additional session). Shark Wake Park also features a full-sized cable water-sports park and a floating Obstacle Island course, with varying ticket prices. Visit sharkwakepark.com.

Escapology

Yes, it’s December but you can still enjoy a haunted house or a Scooby-Doo mystery. At Plantation Walk, find Escapology Escape Rooms, 341 N. University Drive, Suite 1400, which offers these themes as well as adventures with pirates, Batman and more. The private, immersive rooms have hidden clues and puzzles to solve to make an escape, and you have one hour to complete the mission. Participants younger than 18 must have a waiver signed by a parent or a legal guardian. Admission is $44.99 a person, $34.99 for children age 7 to 12, and free for guests age 6 and younger. Visit escapology.com/en/plantation-fl.

HoloTheater

The Museum of Discovery & Science, 401 SW Second St., Fort Lauderdale, recently opened its new HoloTheater, which uses holographic projection, laser imaging and spatial audio to drop you smack dab into the middle of prehistoric worlds. Its developers, BASE Xperiential and MacGillivray Freeman Films, combine that technology with storytelling and STEM education for the debut film, “Dinosaur Discoveries: A Holographic Adventure.” To see the show, purchase a regular admission ticket (prices vary), then upgrade to the Discovery Pass Plus for an additional $4.50, which includes exhibitions, one IMAX documentary and one HoloTheater show. Visit mods.org/holotheater.

Bonfires and Night Market

The new year is coming in hot (literally) at the Lake Worth Beach Complex, 10 S. Ocean Blvd. The city’s Bonfires and Night Market event takes place from 6 to 9 p.m. the first and third Fridays of the month, through Feb. 20. Bring lawn chairs and blankets to spend one of winter break’s final days, Jan. 2, under the stars and around the flames with entertainment by DJCHICO561. Stroll the market featuring goods for sale from local artisans and crafters. Admission is free. Visit Facebook.com/LakeWorthBeachPBC.

Tuft-it!

Learn the art of rug-making with classes at Tuft-It!, 770 S. Military Trail, Suite N, West Palm Beach. Use a tufting gun and colorful yarn to make your own creation — large or small. No experience is necessary. Choose from sports logos, emojis and cartoons to holiday themes and abstract designs. Prices vary. Visit tuft-it.com.

The Smashit House

Need a way to release some of that holiday stress? Grab a baseball bat and break some stuff at The Smashit House, 5635 S. University Drive, Davie. A variety of packages are available, allowing you to work it off with glass, furniture and electronics. If that’s not enough excitement for one day, visitors can throw axes and knives, smash plates, shoot at a paintball target or get creative in the Black Light Splatter Paint Room. Note: Participants must be age 14 or older; those younger than 18 need a parent or legal guardian’s signature. Prices vary. Visit thesmashithouse.com.

Ice bumper cars

Boca Ice is one place where it’s OK to spin out of control. You can do that by jumping into one of their LED Ice Bumper Cars, which are available on various days and times during winter break at the facility, 900 Peninsula Corp Circle, Boca Raton. Cool off and challenge friends to a duel, target their sensors and watch them spin on the ice. Cost is $9.35. They also offer public ice skating. Visit bocaice.com.

Bluefoot Pirate Boat Tour 

Arrghhh you ready? Your one-hour pirate ship adventure awaits aboard the Bluefoot, a U.S. Coast Guard-inspected and -certified vessel that’s ready to search for treasure in the Intracoastal Waterway in Dania Beach. Feel free to wear pirated-themed costumes for this family cruise. While the kids are on the hunt, the adults will be regaled by the captain’s tales of the area along the shore. Tickets are $32.90 a person, and $16 for kids age 2 and younger. Departure times vary from the Dania Beach Marina, 151 N. Beach Road. Visit bluefootpirates.com.

Art installations

The city of Boca Raton has wrapped up its 100th anniversary celebration with newly completed public art pieces at Wildflower Park, 551 E. Palmetto Park Road, along the Intracoastal Waterway. Find large-scale mosaic murals by Boca Raton-based artist Laura Tanner at the central pavilion, as well as the permanent return of the “Mi Casa, Your Casa 2.0” house-shaped, LED-lit swings and an enhanced splash pad. Look for columns on the Palmetto Park Bridge painted by artist Nadia Serenyi, who was inspired by land, water, movement and light. Park admission is free. Visit myboca.us.

Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse & Museum

Climb the 105 spiral steps all the way to the top of the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse, 500 Captain Armour’s Way. After absorbing the views from the waterfront lighthouse built in 1860, explore the museum, the Tindall Pioneer House, the Keeper’s Workshop & Deck, a Seminole Chickee and a natural area. Tours are available; holiday hours vary. Admission is $15 for adults, $12 veterans and seniors age 60 and older, $8 for guests age 6 to 18, and free for age 5 and younger. Visit jupiterlighthouse.org.

Of course there will be fireworks on New Year’s Eve and plenty of cork-popping partying.

But in South Florida, we can usher in 2026 with coastal flare by taking advantage of the serene vibe that comes from being so close to water — whether it’s the beachy oceanside, the unplugged Intracoastal, a languid lake or a cool canal.

You need to get your tropical on … here in the subtropics. Maybe with a DJ spinning jams and a raucous midnight toast (after all, it is a celebration). Oh, and we need some good food, too.

Here’s a list of 10 waterfront restaurants and the NYE specials that already have us licking our lips. Keep in mind that prices may not include tax and gratuity.

Prime Catch Waterfront Dining

Intracoastal Waterway; 700 E. Woolbright Road, Boynton Beach; 561-737-8822; primecatchboynton.com

Prime Catch, which touts a waterfront view from every table, will offer special dishes on New Year’s Eve such as Beef Carpaccio ($26), Stone Crab Claws ($18 per claw), Filet Oscar ($62), Braised Short Rib ($42), Prime Scallop Risotto ($44) and more.

Oceanic

At Pompano Beach Pier; 250 N. Pompano Beach Blvd., Pompano Beach; 954-366-3768; oceanicpompano.com

This massive beachfront restaurant with a cruise ship design aesthetic will start NYE in the dining room, from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m., with a four-course, prix-fixe dinner for $95 a person, which includes admission to the rooftop festivities later in the evening. Some of the dinner selections include Lobster Bisque, Seared Tuna, Crab Encrusted Black Grouper, Whole Branzino, Chocolate Trilogy. The a la carte menu will be available as well, but it does not include the rooftop party. The Rooftop Patio Party is set for 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. and admission is $30 a person (for those not participating in the prix-fixe dinner). There will be a DJ, party favors, a cash bar as well as a small bites menu with items such as mini crab cakes, shrimp cocktail, beef sliders, lamb chops and seared tuna for $10 to $15.

The House On The River

On the New River in Himmarshee Village; 301 SW Third Ave., Fort Lauderdale; 954-825-2929; thehouseontheriver.com

First, there’s a four-course, pre-fixe New Year’s Eve Sunset Dinner ($69) with indoor and patio seatings from 4 to 7 p.m., concluding at 8 p.m. The main course choices will include Steak Frites, Pita Crusted Salmon, Linguini & Clams or Pear Pasta Purses. Dessert will be Key Lime Pie. You also get a Burrata & Strawberry starter and a Winter Salad.

Later, there will be a four-course New Year’s Eve 2026 Dinner & Celebration ($179 a person), which will start with cocktails in the main dining room beginning at 8:30 p.m. While the DJ spins, dinner service will include shareable plates at each table as well as a Winter Salad. The main course options will be Braised Short Rib, Angry Shrimp & Crab Rigatoni, Butterfly Bronsino or “Money Bag” Pasta Purses. Molten Chocolate Lava Cake will be the dessert, and there will be midnight toast.

La Fuga

At Kimpton Shorebreak Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort; 2900 Riomar Street, Fort Lauderdale; 954-908-7308; lafugarestaurant.com

The New Year’s Eve Chef’s Dinner ($150 a person) features a Bruschetta Trio, Branzino Affumicato, Capesante e Linguine alla Carbonara, Tagliata di Manzo and Budino di Pane. Jazz duo Jason Matthews and Nick Tannura are scheduled to perform, and there will be New Year’s Eve party favors and a midnight toast.

The oceanfront Kimpton Shorebreak will also have a NYE Rooftop Party from 7 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. at the Escape Rooftop Bar for $175 a person. In addition to an open bar from 7 to 11 p.m., the event will have DJ Blcknsss and DJ Crib spinning, plus a midnight toast and party favors.

The Ben, West Palm

Overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway; 251 N. Narcissus Ave., West Palm Beach; 561-655-4001; thebenwestpalm.com

Downtown West Palm Beach’s only waterfront hotel will have three celebrations for New Year’s Eve for those age 21 and older. The Ben’s New Year’s Eve Gala with Dueling Pianos will be from 8 p.m. to midnight ($350 a person, or $400 for premium seating). The black-tie event in the hotel’s ballroom will have grand piano entertainment, a four-course dinner, a four-hour open bar and a midnight Champagne toast.

Or you could enjoy Midnight on Ice at The Ben | Winter Wonderland, which will be from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. and cost $99 a person. This rink-side soirée — there will be no skating — will have a DJ, party favors and a three-hour open bar.

By the way, the third event — Spruzzo’s Rooftop New Year’s Eve — is already sold out.

Olive & Sea

Rooftop Intracoastal waterfront restaurant; 1881 SE 17th St., Fort Lauderdale; 954-527-6716; oliveandseaftl.com

This eatery beside the 17th Street Causeway drawbridge, adjacent to the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina, will offer an entree special from 5 p.m. to midnight: A Pastrami Braised Short Rib, served with Mustard Demi-Glace, Braised Red Cabbage and Herb Whipped Potatoes for $75. Includes a midnight toast.

And through Jan. 4, the restaurant is serving limited-edition winter cocktails ($17), including:

• Holiday 75 — Bombay Sapphire gin, lemon, Moët & Chandon Imperial Brut
• Apple Cider Mule — Ketel One vodka, apple cider, Fever Tree ginger beer
• Berry & Bright Fizz — Patron Reposado tequila, cranberry, orange, Licor 43, prosecco
• Winter Punch — Angel’s Envy bourbon, pomegranate juice, Monin vanilla syrup, lime juice
• Belle Poire — Hennessy VS Cognac, pear, lemon
• Cheer Spritz ($12) — nonalcoholic option with orange, cranberry and sparkling apple cider

Charlie & Joe’s at Love Street

Along waterfront of Jupiter Inlet Village; 1116 Love St., Jupiter; 561-532-3280; lovestreetjupiter.com

Gridiron great Joe Namath and business partner/longtime pal Charles Modica have three venues in one with Charlie & Joe’s: There’s The Beacon, Lucky Shuck Oyster Bar & Taphouse and a rooftop tapas bar called Topside at The Beacon.

• For New Year’s Eve, The Beacon will have dinner service from 4 to 9 p.m. featuring a special Braised Beef Cheek dish ($50). There will also be a Light Up the New Year signature cocktail (a lemon drop martini served in a light bulb-shaped glass; $18). The main dining room will have a Champagne tower centerpiece.
• Lucky Shuck will offer service from 11 a.m. to midnight with the usual menu along with a special dish: Chilean Sea Bass, which will be pan roasted and served with braised greens, crispy leeks and a truffle confetti beurre blanc ($46).
• Topside at The Beacon’s Masquerade New Year’s Eve Party will go from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. with a $10 cover charge. Guests will get a free mask upon entry and a Champagne toast. A DJ will spin until 12:45 a.m.

Burlock Coast

Beachfront restaurant at The Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale; 1 N. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd., Fort Lauderdale; 954-302-6430; burlockcoast.com

Executive chef Adrienne Grenier will prepare a prix-fixe menu for $195 per adult and $85 per child (age 5-12) with an enhanced raw bar platter priced at $99 a person. The dinner will include an amuse-bouche of Lobster Bisque; appetizers of Winter Citrus Salad and Seared Sea Scallops; and an entree choice of Roasted Fish or Grilled NY Strip Steak, with a Cookie Butter Cheesecake for dessert.

Bar Capri

Rooftop at Flagler Banyan Square on the West Palm Beach Intracoastal; 185 Banyan Blvd., West Palm Beach; barcapriwpb.com

At Bar Capri, a DJ will start spinning at 9 p.m., kicking off a party that will go on until 1 a.m. The full dinner menu will be available, but Bar Capri is highlighting an après dinner snack: Caviar Star Hackleback, housemade Rosemary Potato Chips with Crème Fraîche ($66).

Ukiah Japanese Smokehouse

At Las Olas Riverfront Circle; 221 SW First Ave., Fort Lauderdale; 954-299-3661; ukiahrestaurant.com/location/fort-lauderdale

Chef Michael Lewis’ new restaurant on the New River in downtown Fort Lauderdale will be open from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m., offering a New Year’s Eve Chef’s Tasting Menu.

• The first seating ($145 a person with reservations 6-7:45 p.m.) includes the Chef’s Tasting Menu, choice of a signature cocktail and a glass of Moët & Chandon Imperial Brut.
• The second seating ($195 a person with reservations for 8 p.m. and later) includes the Chef’s Tasting Menu, choice of signature cocktail, a bottle of Moët & Chandon Imperial Brut per two guests, DJ entertainment, party favors and a midnight toast.
• Highlights will include Oysters with Smoked Trout Roe, Everglades Tomato Salad with Shiso & Chili, Crispy Crab Hand Roll with Brown Butter & White Ponzu, Grilled Tiger Prawns with Ginger & Yuzu Butter; Mushroom Kamameshi with Fresh Truffle and Japanese A5 Wagyu with Umeboshi & Negi-Herb Salad.

The most memorable gift I am likely to receive this Christmas didn’t cost a thing.

It came in the form of a moment — one never experienced before and, possibly, never to return — that occurred last week during a visit to a classroom of students with disabilities at a Broward County high school, where I made my wildly improbable debut as Santa Claus.

The decision to don the red-and-white suit and hat to help deliver toys to the class was, let’s say, out of character: I do not enjoy the spotlight, public speaking or performing; I’m not great at make-believe (thanks, journalism); I don’t do karaoke — heck, singing Christmas carols makes me Grinchy.

But when your first-ever beard, embarked upon as a one-off, good-luck charm for the Florida Panthers, unexpectedly comes in like a snowdrift and reaches full bloom during the holidays, something happens that is beyond your control.

Perhaps because of its unstylish unpretentiousness and as a symbol of the Christmas spirit, my beard has encouraged a parade of total strangers to walk up and engage me in random ways over the past couple of months. They ask: Can you take a picture with us? Can I touch it? Am I on the naughty list?

This is not a complaint — these interactions are always good-natured and fun.

“Your beard is fire, sir,” one young man said, offering his hand to shake in the beer line at a Miami Hurricanes football game in November at Miami Gardens’ Hard Rock Stadium.

At the annual Christmas on Las Olas festivities on Dec. 2, the principal at St. Anthony Catholic School in downtown Fort Lauderdale, Jenna McIntosh, had a different ask: Would I be willing to play Santa when her school threw a Christmas party for students with disabilities at Fort Lauderdale High School?

Instinctively, I hesitated, so she played her trump card: “They’re 18, 19 years old and they believe in Santa Claus.”

How do you say no to that?

The beard from nowhere

My road to playing Santa began, as many good things have, with Gustav Forsling.

On May 17, 2024, the Florida Panthers were in Boston playing the archrival Bruins in Game 6 of the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. The clock was ticking down on a 1-1 tie that seemed headed for overtime, which the home team would be favored to win, seizing momentum in the series.

But with 93 seconds left, Forsling whipped the puck between the legs of a defender and, even more improbably, through a space between the post and the goaltender barely as wide as the puck itself, for a series-winning goal.

It was a miraculous shot and suggested that there was something magical about this team. I vowed not to shave until they won the Stanley Cup.

Which was not a small declaration: My past attempts at cultivating something that looked like a beard always followed the same pattern — weeks of unsightly growth and awkward questions culminating in patchy, scraggly embarrassment and surrender.

However, by the time the Panthers did indeed win their first Stanley Cup championship a little more than five weeks later, this new beard was, out of nowhere, almost presentable, with the empty patches having filled in. Also a revelation was the color, which I have been comparing to Pantone’s Color of the Year 2026, Cloud Dancer, “a lofty white that serves as a symbol of calming influence in a society rediscovering the value of quiet reflection.”

But we had the Stanley Cup, so it was time for the beard to go (my wife had the razor ready). And yet … as the Panthers spent the summer of 2024 squiring the Cup around South Florida restaurants and bars, hockey was all the buzz and wearing a Panthers cap over a “hockey beard” was a way to pay homage, I thought.

When the Panthers’ 2024-2025 season started that fall, it seemed like shaving might tempt bad luck. So when they won a second consecutive Stanley Cup in June, how could my beard not deserve some of the credit? And how can I shave this season, with the Panthers vying for a third straight championship?

But now, 19 months after Forsling’s hair-raising goal, a funny thing has happened: My untamed hockey beard has become something else.

“Have you ever thought about being Santa Claus?” said a funky-chic woman who approached me in the lobby of The Parker in Fort Lauderdale. It was Halloween night, and we were there to see tribute bands Strangelove (Depeche Mode) and Ordinary Boys (The Smiths). I was wearing a very un-Santa-like black leather motorcycle jacket, a decades-old remnant of my Ramones-spent youth.

Apparently, Camille Terry was that desperate. Terry is in the business of booking Santa Clauses at holiday events in South Florida, and there is a shortage of real-beard Santas in South Florida, she explained. Handing me her card, Terry urged me to consider getting into the business.

Which, of course, was ridiculous. Me? Santa Claus?

Through November and into December, the beard led to other casual conversations about possible Santa jobs, video shoots and photo ops. They all were easy to deflect — public appearances in a Santa outfit for money just didn’t feel right.

Then came the Fort Lauderdale High School offer I couldn’t refuse.

Memorable moment

Each holiday season, homeroom classes at St. Anthony Catholic School (SACS) “adopt” youths who are part of the Exceptional Student Education program at Fort Lauderdale High. SACS students use the high schoolers’ Christmas wish lists to gather donations and purchase gifts, which volunteers then wrap and deliver.

Organized by McIntosh, St. Anthony’s principal, and ESE teacher Justin Willard, this year’s party took place on Dec. 15, with each of the 21 students in the program receiving a bag containing about a half-dozen gifts.

The ESE program offers education and life skills training — from learning to boil water for macaroni and cheese to how to bag groceries — and some in the class are further along than others, Willard said. There are students in wheelchairs, others with limited verbal skills.

I strode into the room in a spacious $50 Amazon Santa outfit bulked up with a light winter coat underneath, lightly scented in a holiday fragrance (thanks, dear) and, as recommended by professional Kringles, a hearty breakfast of wintergreen mints.

If there were skeptics in the room, it was not apparent: Eyes brightened, bodies shifted excitedly in seats and a joyful murmur filled the room.

“Who knows what Santa’s favorite song is?” I asked. “You better watch out, you better not cry …”

Senior Marquize Young was quickest with the answer. “I sing that song at home all the time,” he said.

The party was an ensemble production, as I helped St. Anthony teachers and ESE staff hand out brightly wrapped presents while doughnuts shaped like Christmas ornaments were served.

Isabella Jagersberger tugged shyly at an uncooperative ribbon and, after allowing Santa to help, discovered a box of colorful perfumes, lotions and potions from her wish list. Joseph Depaz Rivas celebrated his Uno card game, Sophie Ramirez clutched a pair of jeans splashed with pink (her favorite color) and a CD of Taylor Swift’s “The Life of a Showgirl,” while Young put on a replica WWE championship belt.

Amid the whirl, McIntosh noted that some of the students come from homes where buying holiday gifts is a challenge.

“For a lot of them, this is their Christmas,” she said.

Surrounded by their joy and gratitude, it was impossible not to be reminded of the ideals of the season, and a gift to be involved in some small way. Santa is real because they want him to be real. They have faith in the goodness in the world — and that feels good right now.

After the party was over, Willard, Young and senior Maria Jose Alcocer escorted me to the front of the school. As we neared the door, Alcocer turned and gave me a hug, genuine and sincere, that left me emotionally wobbly.

“Thank you, Santa,” she said, quietly. I got a little choked up.

Then I stepped back out into the real world. I kept the Santa hat on for the rest of the day.

Staff writer Ben Crandell can be reached at bcrandell@sunsentinel.com. Follow on IG: @BenCrandell. 

As you may have heard, South Florida will be getting a special shout-out on CNN’s “New Year’s Eve Live with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen,” courtesy of a three-minute broadcast airing live from a yacht docked at Pier Sixty-Six in Fort Lauderdale, all gussied up after a $1 billion makeover.

Cooper and Cohen are my all-time favorite NYE hosts, sharing a smart, witty and generous brand of male friendship that you don’t see much. When they came to the Broward Center for the Performing Arts on their AC2 tour a few years ago, Cooper, an infrequent drinker, admitted to not hating the cocktail Cohen served for them during the show. It’s called a Fresquila — “a low-rent, bootleg version of a Paloma,” Cohen said — and combines tequila and Fresca, with extra ice. If you’re looking for something unique for your holiday parties in the next seven days …

CHRISTMAS DAY

Love and war: Revolution is in the air at the Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale, which will be filled with “Do You Hear the People Sing?” and other sing-along ditties during performances of the Broadway tour of the sumptuous musical romance, “Les Misérables.” Catch it at 7:30 p.m. on Christmas Day, and again at 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets start at $54.58. Visit BrowardCenter.org.

Maccabeat it: Temple Beth El in downtown West Palm Beach continues its centennial celebration with a concert by zany a cappella parodists The Maccabeats (their new animated spoof “HanuKpop Demon Hunters” is worth tracking down on YouTube) on Thursday at 4 p.m. The deadline for advance concert tickets has passed, but more may be available at the door for $54 for adults and $36 for kids age 12 and younger. Tickets for the concert and dinner cost $90, or $70 for guests age 12 and younger. Visit BethelWPB.com/100/maccabeats.

FRIDAY

The pub is open: The world-touring, pub-themed musical “The Choir of Man” — featuring classic rock and pop anthems, dancing, jokes and a working bar onstage where you can order a pre-show drink (courtesy of Funky Buddha Brewery and Civil Society Brewing)  — continues its run at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach through Sunday. Performances will be at 2 and 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 and 6 p.m. Sunday. Tickets start at $34.50. Visit Kravis.org.

Mouse house: This is closing weekend for Miami City Ballet’s eye-catching production of “George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker” at the Arsht Center in Miami. Showtimes this weekend will be 7 p.m. Friday, 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday, noon and 5 p.m. Sunday. Tickets start at $52.65 at MiamiCityBallet.org.

Reiner remembered: The Fort Lauderdale International FIlm Festival will remember Academy Award-winning filmmaker Rob Reiner with weekend screenings at Savor Cinema. The lineup includes “The Princess Bride” (6 p.m. Friday and 8 p.m. Saturday), “Misery” (8 p.m. Friday), “This is Spinal Tap” (4 p.m. Saturday) and “This is Spinal Tap II: The End Continues” (6 p.m. Saturday). Visit FLIFF.com.

‘Frozen’ live: Slow Burn Theatre Co.’s enthusiastically reviewed production of “Disney’s Frozen” continues its run at the Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale through Jan. 4. This weekend’s showtimes will be 1 and 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets start at $91.45 at BrowardCenter.org.

Weekend laughs: Actor, writer and comedian Marlon Wayans will settle in at the Fort Lauderdale Improv in Dania Beach for seven performances through New Year’s Eve. Shows will take place at 7:30 and 10 p.m. Friday, 7 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, 6 p.m. Sunday, and 7 and 10 p.m. Wednesday. Tickets cost $61.90 for most performances, $81.90 for the late show on New Year’s Eve. Visit ImprovFTL.com. … Actor-comedian Zainab Johnson, as seen currently on the Greg Daniels sci-fi hit “Upload” on Amazon, will share a unique POV — she’s a Black, Muslim female comedian and, better yet, a former school teacher —  at the Miami Improv. Showtimes will be 7:30 and 10 p.m. Friday, 7 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, 7 p.m. Sunday, and 8 p.m. Monday and Tuesday. Tickets cost $28.90. Visit MiamiImprov.com.

Single yourself out: Self-pour beer bar Garden District Taproom in downtown West Palm Beach will host a Singles Mixer on Friday from 7 to 10 p.m. GDT typically attracts a chill crowd and they’ll be handing out color-coded wristbands to make your level of interest obvious. Should be fun. Visit Instagram.com/gardendistrictwpb.

Holiday cocktails: This weekend offers your last chance to check out some of the holiday cocktail pop-ups sprinkled around South Florida, including Mariah Carey’s Holiday Wonderland Bar at Ray’s Hometown Bar in the Freehand Miami hotel (RaysBarnyc.com). This whimsical takeover (which includes spins of “All I Want for Christmas is You” every 30 minutes and drinks made with Carey’s Black Irish Cream) comes down on Sunday. Also giving last call on Sunday are Miracle at the Carousel Club at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach (CarouselClub.com) and at Ravish Kitchen & Cocktails in Lantana (RavishKitchen.com), and Rooftop@1WLO in Fort Lauderdale (Instagram.com/rooftop1wlo). Meanwhile, the holiday theme runs through New Year’s Eve at Juicy in West Palm Beach (JuicyWPB.com) and Chops + Hops Axe Throwing Lodge inside Sistrunk Market in Fort Lauderdale (ChopsAndHopsFL.com).

Friday tributes: The Funky Biscuit in Boca Raton will host Bruce Springsteen tribute The Boss Project, performing iconic album “Born to Run,” beginning at 9 p.m. Friday. Some general-admission, standing-room tickets are available. Cost: $44.40. Saturday’s show is a sellout. Visit FunkyBiscuit.com. … Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young tribute Southern Cross will play the Boca Black Box on Friday at 8 p.m. Tickets start at $67.68 at BocaBlackBox.com.

SATURDAY

Shakira’s back: Global pop star Shakira returns to South Florida for three Up Close & Personal concerts at 7,000-seat Hard Rock Live in Hollywood on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Tickets are scarce for the first two shows, but Monday’s concert has seats starting at $215.10. Visit MyHRL.com.

EDM takes over WPB: Some of the most popular EDM artists on the planet — led by Kaskade, Axwell (Swedish House Mafia) and Oliver Heldens — top the lineup for the two-day festival We Belong Here at the waterfront Meyer Amphitheatre in downtown West Palm Beach on Saturday (5-11 p.m.) and Sunday (4-10 p.m.). Tickets start at $164.99 for Saturday and $144.99 for Sunday. Two-day passes start at $279.99. The festival is 21-and-older. Visit WeBelongHere.world.

More beats: New Year’s festivities will begin ramping up at Hard Rock Hollywood dayclub/nightclub DAER on Saturday with two more global DJs, Steve Aoki (doors open at noon) and James Hype (doors open at 10 p.m.). Tickets for each show is $60.86. Visit HardRockNightlife.com.

A new brunch: “Top Chef” husband-and-wife team Jeff McInnis and Janine Booth recently unveiled a lakeside brunch menu at their buzzy Florida Room restaurant at The Fort pickleball complex in Fort Lauderdale. Offered from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the relaxing waterside eatery, the menu includes a signature Eggs Benedict, Honey Tabasco Glazed Bacon and Fried Chicken & Waffles — the latter drawing inspiration from one of their favorite comfort food guilty pleasures at Shake Shack. Visit FloridaRoomFTL.com.

Learn to curl: I’m calling it: Curling is the new pickleball. The Florida Panthers’ Baptist Health IcePlex in Fort Lauderdale will host introductory lessons in curling — that odd game in which players slide heavy, handled stones along the ice while their teammates clear the way with brooms — on Saturday at 4:45 p.m. There will also be an ugly sweater contest and free hot cocoa. Registration for the 18-and-older event costs $40 at FTLWarMemorial.com.

Laughs and tomatoes: The Sour Tomatoes Comedy Show, coming to LauderAle Brewery & Taproom in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday at 7 p.m., is “equal parts comedy and chaos.” Don’t like the comedian’s joke? Let ’em know by throwing a tomato. Like a joke just fine? Let a tomato fly anyway. Admission costs $10; $15 for admission and five tomatoes; $20 for admission, tomatoes and a beer. Visit Instagram.com/sourtomatoescomedyshow.

SUNDAY

Big Easy does it: One of South Florida’s most decorated blues-rock guitarists will lead JP Soars & The Red Hots during a festive Mardi Gras Brunch at The Wine & Spirits Kitchen in Delray Beach on Sunday, beginning at 11 a.m. The band goes on at 12:30 p.m. Visit WineAndSpiritsKitchen.com.

Weekend cocktail: Because you can’t just have a martini nowadays, how about a caviar martini? Bourbon Steak in Aventura is now offering Michy’s Caviar Martini — Chopin Reserve Vodka, Lillet Blanc, topped with olives stuffed with kaluga caviar  — prepared tableside. Cost: $48. The Dolphins are playing, so make it a double. Visit BourbonSteakMIA.com.

MONDAY

New reality: Can there be a more fitting exclamation point on 2025 than a binge of the bubbly new docusoap “Members Only: Palm Beach,” launching Monday with a drop of all eight episodes on Netflix? The show follows five women — Hilary Musser, Taja Abitbol, Rosalyn Yellin, Ro-mina Ustayev and Maria Cozamanis — striving to do whatever people do in Palm Beach these days. I’ll be taking notes. For more on the show, visit Netflix.com.

TUESDAY

Pop goes Shakespeare: The effervescent Broadway musical “& Juliet” takes over the Arsht Center in Miami on Tuesday for a run through Jan. 4. A retelling of Shakespeare’s star-crossed love story, “& Juliet” imagines what might have happened if she had lived and moved on with her life, set to a soundtrack of Katy Perry, Ariana Grande, Britney Spears and the like. Yes, there will be confetti. The book is by David West Read, an Emmy winner for “Schitt’s Creek.” Performances start at 8 p.m. Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, 8 p.m. Jan. 1-2, 2 and 8 p.m. Jan. 3, 1 and 7 p.m. Jan. 4. Tickets start at $58.50 depending on performance day at time. Visit ArshtCenter.org.

Take the kids: The high-flying “360 Allstars” combines street culture and athleticism, BMX riding, basketball, breakdancing, beatboxing, acrobatics and percussion into a high-energy urban circus. The tour will stop at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Tickets start at $40.26 at Kravis.org.

Big star: Comedian Brad Williams already had funny stories, but now he also can share more compelling tales about being directed by Rob Reiner in “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues” and sharing a scene with Elton John. Williams brings The Growth Spurt Tour to The Parker in Fort Lauderdale at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Tickets cost $82.01 at ParkerPlayhouse.com.

NEW YEAR’S EVE

Happy omakase! Celebrate the New Year at Kapow Noodle Bar in Boca Raton, where chef JM Canlas (formerly of MILA Omakase on Miami Beach) will prepare an intimate 15-dish omakase experience on Wednesday night. The dinner, with two seatings for 10 people each, will feature three caviars and five courses highlighting white and burgundy truffles, premium Hokkaido Uni, Otoro tuna and A5 Wagyu beef. Seatings, which include a welcome cocktail, will be at 6:30 and 9 p.m. (the latter includes a Champagne toast at midnight). Cost for each is $195 per person (plus tax/tip). Visit: KapowNoodleBar.com. Side note: The evening also will offer a peek at what’s coming to MINŌ, a 10-seat, members-only omakase and sake bar, a Kapow sister space in Boca Raton, set to debut soon. Visit Instagram.com/mino.omakase.

Hot spot to chill: The Ben in downtown West Palm Beach will ring in 2026 with a late-night edition of Winter Wonderland at the hotel’s real-ice skating rink from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. The rinkside party will include an open bar, party favors and a DJ spinning dance-party favorites. Tickets for the 21-and-older event cost $99 at Facebook.com/thebenwestpalm.

“Home” free: The annual Fort Lauderdale Orange Bowl Downtown Countdown is a free street festival at Esplanade Park on Wednesday that begins at 4:30 p.m. with family oriented activities (including a New Year’s countdown for kids at 7 p.m.), then adds DJs and a concert by singer-songwriter Phillip Phillips (go give “Home” another listen) from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m., interrupted by the famed dropping of the lighted anchor at midnight. Visit Parks.FortLauderdale.gov/nye.

New Year’s jam: Grammy-winning bassist Oteil Burbridge (Allman Brothers Band, Dead & Company) will bring his Oteil & Friends tour to The Parker in downtown Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday at 9 p.m. Tickets are available, starting at $93.81. Visit ParkerPlayhouse.com. at Ticketmaster.com.

Bro time: The Jonas Brothers will celebrate among their legion of South Florida fans with a concert beginning at 10 p.m. Wednesday at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, where the audience will get to hear the new Nick Jonas single “Gut Punch” (set for release Jan. 1),  from his imminent album “Sunday Best” (out Feb. 6). You can still get tickets, starting at $80.80, at MyHRL.com.

Staff writer Ben Crandell can be reached at bcrandell@sunsentinel.com. Follow on IG: @BenCrandell. 

‘Illusion of Truth’ by James L’Etoile; Oceanview; $19.99; 392 pages

James L’Etoile’s authentic procedurals mix police work with politics, revenge and the personal lives of detectives.

The superb “Illusion of Truth,” L’Etoile’s third novel about detective Emily Hunter, moves at a brisk pace as it delves into various aspects of life in Sacramento, California.

On the personal side, Emily and police officer Brian Conner are in love, but their relationship stalls when she refuses to move in with him, as the commitment scares her. Their professional lives take a turn when a bomb goes off shortly after Brian and his partner arrive at a church, responding to a 911 call that’s later found to be fake. Both officers survive, but Brian is left with a traumatic brain injury. Unknown to Emily, Brian listed her as his next of kin and health care proxy. That’s a bigger commitment than moving in together, as now she is in charge of his future.

As Emily deals with Brian and her often-agitated mother, who is in a memory care center, she also is pulled into the investigation as more police officers are victims of bombings, lured to the scene by fake 911 calls. An ambitious politician uses the bombing to advance his anti-police agenda, hampering the investigation.

L’Etoile realistically shows how complicated police investigations can be. “Illusion of Truth” is filled with believable cops who are not perfect but devoted to the job. Conversation flows naturally as they use banter to relieve stress, even as they stay laser-focused.

L’Etoile keeps the labyrinthine plot tightly focused, while the police officers’ personal lives add a balance to the story. Emily’s strong personality and her respect for her colleagues work well. This is a series that keeps growing.

A VALENTINE TO READING

‘All My Bones: An Old Juniper Bookstore Mystery’ by P.J. Nelson; Minotaur; 352 pages; $28

The joys and frustrations of living in a small town, the value of friends and the challenges of rebuilding one’s life meld into a humorous and light but also poignant “All My Bones,” the second in P.J. Nelson’s Old Juniper Bookstore Mystery series.

Nelson adds a wide swath of humor and seriousness to the highly entertaining “All My Bones,” which also serves as a valentine to reading and book selling.

Madeline Brimley needed a new role after her long, fairly successful career as an actress in New York and Atlanta had pretty much its course. Acting had been all she wanted to do since majoring in theater at Florida State University— but now that’s part of her past.

She has found satisfaction both professionally and personally since she’s been running the Old Juniper Bookshop, which her late Aunt Rose left her. Bookstore business is going well, with sales on the rise, no mean feat in her hometown of Enigma, Georgia, population 1,251. She’s also reconnected with friends and has found a love interest.

Madeline has been sprucing up the Victorian that houses the bookstore, but her attempts to fix up the front yard have a different outcome. Madeline and friend Gloria Coleman find a human skull while digging, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation rules that a murder has occurred.

The body is that of Beatrice Glassie, known for being a troublemaker who’s been missing for months. It’s hard to find anyone in Enigma who liked Beatrice, let alone didn’t want to kill her. But when Gloria is arrested, Madeline and other friends start their own investigations to prove her innocence.

“All My Bones” moves at a brisk clip, helmed by the strong, intelligent Madeline.

Enigma, a terrific name for a small town populated by close friends and lifelong feuds will remind readers of Cabot Cove, the villages of “Midsomer Murders” and other small towns where many meet untimely deaths.

You may not want to live there, but you would buy a few books at Old Juniper while visiting.

By DAVID BAUDER, AP Media Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Tom Freston could easily fill a book with stories from the formative days of MTV and his celebrity encounters — Bono would merit a few chapters on his own. Ultimately, though, Freston feels that his life has a more valuable lesson to offer.

His memoir, “Unplugged,” shows by example that trying to follow a straight line to success is not the only path.

Freston, 80, was at MTV from the start and became its leader, along with sister networks Comedy Central, VH1 and Nickelodeon, at their greatest periods of success. He rose to become CEO of parent corporation Viacom before chairman Sumner Redstone’s impatience led to his ouster in 2006.

Since then Freston has largely freelanced, advising the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Vice, before its implosion. He made a memorable return to business in Afghanistan, and has been chairman of the ONE Campaign, the anti-poverty organization devoted to Africa that Bono spearheaded, for nearly two decades.

“I was improvising,” he said. “It was like a bebop lifestyle, hitting notes instead of having a long, set classical structure.”

His wanderlust unsettled Freston’s suburban Connecticut parents when he took a gap year after earning an MBA at New York University. They had reason to believe he had gotten it out of his system when he took a job at a Madison Avenue advertising agency in the early 1970s.

Saying no to a life convincing people to squeeze the Charmin

He soon faced a crossroads when he couldn’t muster enthusiasm for a role on his agency’s important Charmin account. An old girlfriend said to him: “All those years of school, that fancy MBA degree, and you are selling toilet paper? You’re better than that.”

She had a point. It was January 1972, and the woman invited him to hitchhike through France and Spain, then eventually into the Sahara Desert. He left the agency behind.

Thus began several years of travel, where he particularly fell in love with Afghanistan and India. Freston started a business importing clothing from Asia. The company, Hindu Kush, was successful for a time before restrictions on imports during the Carter administration killed it.

Freston landed back in New York. He read an interview where an executive in the nascent cable television industry talked about starting a music network built on videos and reached out for an interview for a marketing job. He met with a 26-year-old Bob Pittman, who wondered about the appearance of “Afghanistan” on his resume.

Pittman suspected Freston was a hashish smuggler, but that “seemed to make him like me more,” he wrote. Hey, it was rock ‘n’ roll. Freston got the job.

To encourage cable systems to carry the new network, Freston directed film crews that ambushed Pete Townshend on a London Street and David Bowie on a Swiss ski slope to record ads saying “I want my MTV.” Its rapid rise has been well documented, and by 1987 Freston was running MTV Networks.

Music always played in Freston’s office, giving the young, creative employees the sense that it wasn’t a suit in charge. Former employees say he wasn’t afraid to take risks and empower people. It was almost a requirement — particularly

once MTV decided it needed to reinvent itself every few years to appeal to young people, rather than follow its original audience as it aged.

His international experience helped him create MTVs for different countries all around the world.

“It was irreverent and edgy and nonhierarchical, a lot of creative people,” he said. “If you tried to run it in a classic MBA style, it would have been rejected.”

Looking in on a ghost network

Several factors led to MTV’s demise, among them the rise of streaming that turned many once-popular cable destinations into ghost networks. Record companies wouldn’t grant MTV’ streaming rights to play music videos online, undermining chances for a digital transformation, he said.

Now, when Freston lands on MTV, “it’s like seeing your old high school burning down,” he said.

From his book, Freston is clearly still stung by his sudden ouster from Viacom. He makes it a point to tell of attempts to get him back. But in retrospect, the timing couldn’t have been better.

“It was a good thing, because I’m a loyal guy and I probably would have stayed longer,” he said. “In a way I got fired at the apex of the TV revolution. The digital guys were just starting to have an impact in a big way. So I really didn’t have to deal with those unpleasant facts and challenges.”

He was suddenly a free agent, but in demand. Most rewarding was a return to Afghanistan, and working with an entrepreneur, Saad Mohseni, on a television network for the people there. The Taliban put an end to that when they returned to power in 2021 but recently have let Mohseni produce educational programming for girls.

Freston hasn’t been back since the takeover. “I had a death sentence put on me by the Taliban,” he said. “They say we’re all friends now, but I don’t want to take the chance.”

I still haven’t found what I’m looking for

It’s hard to resist one Bono anecdote. The singer’s seduction of Freston to join the ONE Campaign’s board was sealed on a late night of partying in the Riviera. It was 5 a.m., closing time at a disco and Bono, a Dublin buddy and Freston were the only ones left besides a few busboys and a waitress.

On the way out, Bono spied a microphone connected to a karaoke machine. “Pick a U2 song,” Bono told the server. “Any one!” She chose “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” and the famous frontman channeled Frank Sinatra as he sang his classic. The waitress was the only one left to clap.

Who wouldn’t want to have this CEO’s life?

Readers of Freston’s memoir probably won’t greet the dawn with rock stars. He hopes they appreciate the musical notes of his life and apply it to their own.

“Ideally, younger people would find some inspiration in the fact that you don’t have to graduate from college and start the next day at Goldman Sachs, and if you don’t you have a panic attack,” he said.

“If you’re young, you should take some chances,” he said. “Take a risk. Go see the world. The world is the best classroom. Look at the United States from another person’s perspective. You’ll make yourself more interesting as a candidate for a job when you come back.”

David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social.

Barry Manilow will be having surgery to remove a cancerous spot on his lung and will reschedule his January concerts, the singer announced Monday.

Manilow, 82, said doctors found the cancer after he had an extended bout of bronchitis — six weeks, then a relapse of another five weeks.

“My wonderful doctor ordered an MRI just to make sure that everything was OK,” Manilow wrote on Instagram. “The MRI discovered a cancerous spot on my left lung that needs to be removed. It’s pure luck (and a great doctor) that it was found so early.”

The singer added that doctors don’t believe cancer has spread, so for now he expects “No chemo. No radiation. Just chicken soup and ‘I Love Lucy’ reruns.”

A statement issued by Manilow’s representatives specified that the spot was a stage one tumor, and that the surgery would take place in late December.

Manilow will be recovering for the month of January and plans to return to action with Valentine’s weekend concerts beginning Feb. 12 at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort and Casino, and then his arena concerts will resume Feb. 28 in Tampa, Florida.

Manilow was due to perform 10 concerts in January at nine locations in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Ohio. They will now be held in February.

A pockmarked, industrial road off Congress Avenue in Delray Beach leads to an astonishing revelation: a colorful, mural-splashed collection of artists’ galleries, restaurants, hair salons, workout studios and spas.

The Andre Design District, formerly zoned for automotive repair shops, is now home to 70 small businesses, with a waiting list of 10, according to the developer, who want in on the industrial-chic setting, entrepreneurial feel and reasonably priced rents.

A leather designer, a pierogi cafe, a juice bar, a personal trainer, an artist at work: Tenants are local residents who were looking for a sense of community apart from Delray Beach’s more famous business destination, East Atlantic Avenue, where high rents are squeezing out small merchants and large chains are staking their place.

The Andre district, on the other hand, is a work in progress, with a transmission repair shop still remaining as the trendy venues, including a hot yoga studio, a tea bar and a medical spa, have made their way onto the property.

If you haven’t checked out this unlikely hub yet, here’s a reason to go: An Art Walk on Friday, Jan. 9, will showcase the district’s retail shops, restaurants and office tenants. There will also be outdoor yoga classes, live music and vendors from outside the district selling their wares.

Business owner Chad Lavigne said he was lured to the district by its up-and-coming energy.

“I’m a New Yorker and I was searching for a place with grit and coolness,” said Lavigne, who is developing a brand of scented candles and leather goods from his Andre district studio. “I found my Brooklyn in Florida.”

That urban, aspirational feeling begins with the exterior. The 36 outdoor murals on the four buildings’ walls are the vision of district developer Steven Michael, who owns several properties in the Atlantic Avenue area. These include the former Doc’s All American burger joint, a landmark that closed in 2021 but is expected to reopen in the coming years adjacent to a new three-story complex, City Center Delray.

Michael said he bought the arts district property eight years ago. His original plan was to build apartments on the 5-acre site, which is near the Tri-Rail station and Palm Beach County government complex. But as he spoke with Atlantic Avenue residents and business owners, he said he began to see the need for a space for artists and other creative types seeking affordable rents in a collaborative setting.

Rents in the design district are about $40 a square foot, compared with about $120 in the East Atlantic Avenue business zone, Michael said.

Wynwood, the arts district in Miami where massive murals attract tourists from throughout the world, was an inspiration.

“The murals are the driver in Wynwood,” said Michael, 61, a Chicago native who has lived in Delray Beach for 25 years. “I thought we could create an Art Basel North, where Delray Beach becomes an arts destination.”

Michelle Drummond, 49, is among the artists who have set up shop in the district. The native of Jamaica, who works on large-scale, colorful fiber projects, had been an artist-in-residence at Delray Beach’s downton Arts Warehouse for about four years when she needed to find a new place to work and asked Michael if he had room for her.

She moved into a space, which she named Drummond Fine Art, 2 1/2 years ago. She said she loves the way she can walk to a neighboring business when she needs a photo taken or a pedestal built or a door fixed or a snack from the coffee shop.

“This is a gem,” said the former college field-hockey player and project management coordinator, who decided to become a full-time artist seven years ago. “It’s fairly priced for what art spaces are going for. I love the communal environment and the creative community and the vibe.”

Chris David set up his hair salon in the district, but for some customers, his artwork is part of the draw.

One wall is decorated with red blow-dryers, hair straighteners and curling irons, with their cords like kites blowing in the wind. Paintings, geometric shapes and a colorful chandelier surround those who come in for a haircut.

“I feel like I’m in a museum,” said Delray Beach resident Carol Turner, who was getting her hair colored by David at his namesake salon.

David, 43, moved his salon into the arts district from a historic home in downtown Delray Beach in 2020.

“It was no longer feasible for me to be downtown because of the cost,” he said.

He has slowly been decorating the salon with his own art and designs so it can double as an event space, with color-coded lighting, a waterfall and a renovated patio.

Michael sees the presence of district business owners such as David as key to maintaining Delray Beach as a destination not only for fancy dining and shopping, but as a place where local residents of moderate income can live and work.

He said, “100%, this is about renewing Delray Beach. It has so much potential to become so much more.”

IF YOU GO

WHAT:: Andre Design District Art Walk

WHEN: 5-8:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9

WHERE: 1880 Dr. Andres Way, Delray Beach

COST: Admission is free

INFORMATION: designdelray.com

LONDON (AP) — Chris Rea, the singer and songwriter best known for the hit “Driving Home for Christmas,” has died at 74, his family said Monday.

Rea died in the hospital following a short illness, according to a statement from his family to Britain’s Press Association news agency.

Rea found fame in the 1980s in Britain with hits such as “Fool (If You Think It’s Over)” and “Let’s Dance.”

Two of his studio albums, “The Road to Hell” in 1989 and “Auberge” in 1991, went to number one in the country.

“Driving Home for Christmas,” did not become an overnight hit when it was first released in 1986, but the gentle track proved to be an enduring success over the decades and remains one of the U.K.’s most-loved festive songs. It featured in a TV advertisement for the retailer Marks and Spencer just this year.

The musician was born in 1951 in Middlesbrough, in northeast England, to an Italian father and Irish mother. He took various jobs after leaving school and helped out in his family’s ice cream business.

He came late to the guitar, picking one up at 21, and played in bands before going solo.

He had suffered from health problems including pancreatic cancer, and in 2016 he suffered a stroke. In more recent years he turned away from pop and released several bluesy records.

Rea is survived by his wife and two daughters.

SeaWorld Orlando officials announced the death Sunday of a 50-year-old killer whale named Katina.

“Her health had begun to significantly decline as she entered her geriatric years,” the theme park posted on its social media. “Over the last several weeks, our animal care and medical teams have worked around the clock to closely monitor her declining health and as her condition worsened, the decision was made to prioritize her comfort and welfare.”

The post stated Katina was known for a habit of sticking her tongue out and enjoyed the “speed swim” that created a cyclone of water.

“Despite everyone’s extraordinary efforts, she passed away while surrounded by animal care and medical teams who have worked closely with her for nearly 40 years,” the post added.

The orca whale gave birth to seven calves during her time at the theme park.

PETA, which opposes the captivity of orcas by SeaWorld and similar attractions, stated Katina was the 46th orca to die while in the care of SeaWorld, including four of Katina’s offspring.

PETA said Katina was originally removed from the wild in 1978 when only 2 years old off the coast of Iceland, and was one of only three remaining orcas that were captured in the wild still at one of SeaWorld’s parks.

Katina was the only one of those at the Orlando location.

“After being ripped away from her pod in the waters off Iceland in 1978, Katina was confined to small concrete cells for life,” said PETA President Tracy Reiman in an emailed statement.

PETA states orcas can swim 150 miles in a day and live up to 80 years old in the wild.

The organization states more than 500 dolphins and whales have died at SeaWorld.