Celebrate another year of American freedom by taking in a fireworks show with friends and family. Start a new tradition or check out a new spot every year. We’ve got some great options nearby, whether you want something beachfront or less sandy.

Jacksonville

Jacksonville Suns. Each year the Jacksonville Suns play a home game and host a night of patriotic celebration of the 4^th of July. Celebrate with your family or grab a few friends and watch the ballgame and fireworks.

Jacksonville Landing. Enjoy the new Riverwalk and watch the fireworks from the Landing. Use the nearby parking garages and have an early dinner before sundown at one the downtown restaurants. You can also park across the river and take the ferry.

Jacksonville Beach. Watch the sunset and enjoy fireworks on the Jacksonville Beach Pier.

St. Augustine

Fireworks on the Matanzas. Enjoy dinner at one of the great St. Augustine options and stay near the historic riverfront. Starting at 6 p.m., the popular local band The All Star Orchestra will perform a two-hour show of big band and swing music along with patriotic favorites. The concert is free and open to the public, and everyone is encouraged to bring lounge chairs for seating. The fireworks begin at 9:30 p.m.

Have a safe 4th of July.

The first weekend of May is already here! Plan a fun day in Fernandina Beach at the 52nd Annual Shrimp Festival.

May 1st – 3rd experience live music, pirates, fireworks — and of course, shrimp! Fernandina is a little over an hour’s drive from Julington Creek and just under an hour and a half from St. Johns. This is no ordinary street festival; it attracts more than 100,000 people each year.

The Island Art Association judges hundreds of entries by artists and craftsmen competing for a piece of the $9,000 prize money. Visit the festival and see the work displayed by the winners of this year’s competition.

The entertainment this year includes The Edgar Winter Band performing Saturday, May 2nd at 4:30 pm on the riverfront stage. Sunday’s featured band is the popular “Party Band of the South,” the Swingin’ Medallions beginning at 2:30 pm, May 3, 2015.

You can view the full schedule here.

Whether you go for the art, food, or entertainment, we want to see your pictures from the weekend. Post them on our Facebook wall and we’ll share our favorites throughout the week.

Love is on everyone’s mind this time of year. Valentine’s Day is on February 14th, and Dolan Real Estate Group wants to let our clients know how much we love and appreciate each one of you!

We are holding our first Valentine’s Challenge to encourage you to think about who and what you love. Whether your family loves staying in to watch a movie on Netflix or you love date night on the town, we want to know what you love about living in Florida. On our Facebook page, we will post a challenge each day between Feb. 1st and Valentine’s Day. Each challenge will list a topic and you respond with a photo of what you love in the comments.

The Challenge is based on a points system. The person with the most points as of midnight on February 14th will receive a $50 Visa gift card.

How can you get points?

• You get one point for each challenge you enter. You enter by posting a photo in the comments of the daily challenge.
• You get one point for each like on your photo. Encourage your friends and family to come like your photo on the Dolan Real Estate Group Facebook page.
• You get one point for sharing the daily challenge on your personal Facebook page.

We hope you have fun and good luck to all who enter!