Month: November 2026
The Nora Hotel and Pastis are open in West Palm Beach, and Serena and Lily opens in Boca Raton Nov. 19
West Palm Beach has a new hotel and one of New York’s best-known brasseries. The Nora Hotel, a 201-room hotel in the Nora District, welcomed its first guests on Oct. 19, with Pastis, the Parisian-style brasserie from Stephen Starr, on the ground floor, plus Jack’s Bar and Florida’s first Sisley Paris spa. The hotel is the centerpiece of the $1 billion Nora District, a redevelopment of century-old railway warehouses into shops, restaurants, galleries and offices. Boca Raton gets its own opening next: Serena and Lily opens its Design Shop at 880 N. Federal Highway on Thursday, Nov. 19, with a 10 a.m. ribbon cutting, live painting, live music in the afternoon and festivities through the weekend.
Manatee season returns: free viewing at Manatee Lagoon starts Nov. 15
Manatee season runs Nov. 15 to March 31, and Manatee Lagoon, the free FPL Eco-Discovery Center at 6000 N. Flagler Drive, is the best place in the county to watch for them. When the water in Lake Worth Lagoon drops to 68 degrees or colder, manatees gather near the clean, warm-water outflow next to the center, and visitors may see dozens at once from the observation deck. The center is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the season, including Mondays, with hands-on exhibits and a new augmented-reality solar exhibit. A free Migration Celebration, a welcome-back party for the annual migration, is set for Saturday, Nov. 21, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Manatee sightings are never guaranteed, as the animals are wild and on their own schedule.
Holiday lights are back: Zoo Lights, Delray’s 100-foot tree, and Sandi lead the season
The holiday light season opens with three big returns across the county. Zoo Lights: Magic in the Wild runs Nov. 20 to Jan. 3 at Palm Beach Zoo, reimagined this year as a single route through three illuminated worlds, with Santa photos, a polar projection experience and a nightly menorah lighting space during Hanukkah. Delray Beach lights its 100-foot Christmas tree on Tuesday, Dec. 1, from 6 to 9 p.m. at Old School Square, with Santa flipping the switch at 7 p.m., and the tree has just been nominated for a USA TODAY 10Best Best Holiday Tree Display award. West Palm Beach follows on Thursday, Dec. 3, from 6 to 10 p.m., lighting Sandi, its 700-ton sand Christmas tree, at the Waterfront Commons as part of Holiday in Paradise, which runs Nov. 27 to Dec. 31.
Where to honor Veterans Day across Palm Beach County, Nov. 8 to 11
Palm Beach County marks Veterans Day with free ceremonies and a parade spread across the week. West Palm Beach holds its Veterans Parade on Sunday, Nov. 8, from 2 to 4 p.m. along Clematis Street. On Wednesday, Nov. 11, ceremonies run through the morning in Wellington, Delray Beach, Greenacres and Royal Palm Beach, where breakfast is at 9 a.m. and the ceremony at 10 a.m. at the Cultural Center. Lake Worth Beach holds an evening Ceremony of Honor from 5 to 7 p.m. at Bryant Park. Boca Raton closes the day with Red, White and Boca, a free 4 to 8 p.m. celebration at Mizner Park Amphitheater with live music, a veterans marketplace and a classic car show.
Palm Beach County voters approve $455 million in parks and library bonds
Palm Beach County voters approved all three local questions on the Nov. 3 ballot, according to unofficial results from the Supervisor of Elections. The parks bond passed with about 66 percent of the vote, allowing the county to borrow up to $280 million for parks, sports complexes, beach access, trails and botanical gardens. The Library District bond passed with about 64 percent, allowing up to $175 million to build, expand and renovate libraries, including a new Main Library. Voters also renewed the school district’s existing 1-mill property tax, with about 77 percent in favor, for four more years starting July 1, 2027. The two bonds would be repaid through property taxes over up to 20 years, at an estimated $5 to $6 per $100,000 of taxable value, with taxes not appearing before fiscal year 2030. All figures are unofficial until the county canvassing board certifies them, and specific project lists and timelines have not been set.