Pine Avenue shines during Holiday of Treasures Open House
ANNA MARIA – Pine Avenue was awash in holiday spirit during the Dec. 12 Holiday of Treasures Open House hosted by the Anna Maria business community, the city of Anna Maria and the Anna Maria Island Historical Society.
Pine Avenue was closed on Friday evening so attendees could stroll down the street to visit the participating stores, businesses and organizations – many of which passed out free holiday treats.
The AMI Historical Museum grounds at 402 Pine Ave. are the epicenter of the city’s holiday decorations that include a beautifully decorated Christmas tree, additional tree lighting throughout the museum grounds and lighted tunnel-like walkways.
Santa spent the evening outside the museum visiting with youngsters and at 6 p.m., city staff members lit the city’s tree after Santa counted down from five.
“We’re glad to have the holiday walk back. There’s a lot of people here and this is another sign of things being back to normal again after last year’s hurricanes,” Mayor Mark Short said after the tree was lit.
Museum volunteers passed out free wine and popcorn and the Parrish Community High String Quintet played Christmas music.
Down the street, a long line of people waited outside Beach Bums for the free grilled cheeseburgers and hot dogs that have become a staple of the annual holiday event.
grilled and served Beach Bums’ burgers and hot dogs. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Next door, at the Pineapple Marketplace, Reclaimed Soul booth owner/operators Samantha and Jim Heil passed out wine-based margaritas; DJ Grinch (Beach Bums employee Ryan Williams) played Christmas songs and Rock n’ Eggroll owners and market newcomers Alex and Cristy Ulate introduced attendees to their eggroll offerings.
At the Anna Maria General Store, owner Brian Seymour and his staff served free cookies and 15 gallons of eggnog spiked with five gallons of spiced rum.
At the northeast end of the street, Two Scoops Ice Cream and the Cool Beans AMI coffee shop welcomed residents and visitors alike.
The Duncan Real Estate & Vacation Rentals office at the corner of Pine Avenue and Los Cedros Drive was very busy, due in part to the free wine offered and the roasted oysters served by the Anna Maria Oyster Bar at Duncan Real Estate owner Darcie Duncan’s annual request.
After trying her first-ever oyster, Melissa Burt said, “I didn’t realize they were so good.”
“We love doing this. It’s nice to see the community out and about,” Duncan said.
The folks at Pizza Social had a streetside booth set up and across the street the Flip Flop Shop & Candy Stop served free wine and cookies.
At the southwest end of Pine Avenue, Liv Baker and Riley Greenlee passed out free saltwater taffy samples at the entrance to the busy Chocolate Emporium, and Donut Experiment owners Charity and Corey Curyto passed out free samples of their freshly made and creatively frosted donuts.
The Parrish Community High String Quintet performed Christmas music. - Joe Hendricks | Sun
Pepper and Ruby Smargisso chatted with Santa. - Joe Hendricks | Sun
AMI Historical Society member Barb Murphy served free wine outside the museum. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Reclaimed Soul proprietors Jim and Samantha Heil served holiday margaritas. - Joe Hendricks | Sun
DJ Grinch (Ryan Williams) spun the tunes. - Joe Hendricks | Sun
Rum and eggnog were served at the nicely decorated Anna Maria General Store. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
The Flip Flop Shop & Candy Stop served free wine, punch and Christmas cookies. - Joe Hendricks | Sun
Donut Experiment owners Charity and Corey Curyto shared frosted donut samples. - Joe Hendricks | Sun
Anna Maria resident Doug Copeland waited in line at Beach Bums. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
My Beach Concierge owners Becky and Peery Heldreth attended the holiday open house. - Joe Hendricks | Sun
The city’s Christmas decorations light up the museum grounds. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
