Bright Futures money hinges on one form due Aug. 31
Aug. 31 is the Bright Futures cutoff, plus paddleboards, telescopes, and a comedy night at Mizner.
Back-to-school week always comes with a paperwork tax. This one has a real deadline attached, and a weekend on the water waiting on the other side of it.
If you have a rising senior in the house, block out twenty minutes this week. The Florida Financial Aid Application, known as the FFAA, is due Aug. 31 for anyone hoping to be considered for a Bright Futures scholarship. The Florida Lottery is pushing the reminder now because students are back in classrooms and the deadline lands before most families think to look for it. It is a separate application from anything the school itself asks for. Miss it and the award is not on the table, no matter how good the transcript looks.
A $500 refund is sitting behind those impact windows
Florida now refunds sales tax on impact-resistant windows, doors, and garage doors installed on eligible homes. Qualifying purchases run from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2029. The catch is that you do not get the break at the register. You pay the tax, then file for it back, with the required forms and your receipts. The home has to be a site-built dwelling with a homestead exemption and a just value of $700,000 or less. One property per owner, capped at $500 total. Claims are accepted from July 1, 2026, through Sept. 30, 2029, so there is no rush, only paperwork.
Free telescope night behind the Explorium on Monday
Eyes To The Skies runs Monday from 8 to 9:30 p.m. in the Camino parking lot behind the Explorium at 300 S. Military Trail. It costs nothing and there is no registration ritual to it. Staff set up a computerized 16-inch LX200 Meade and an 8-inch Celestron CPC Deluxe, plus star-gazing apps for anyone who wants to know what they are looking at. Weather permitting is doing real work in that sentence during August, so check the sky before you drive over. Kids tend to love it, and a parking lot in the dark is a low-stakes place to find out.
Three nearby restaurants for Georgian, Turkish, and Haitian food
Tbilisi Cafe at 15200 S. Jog Road in Delray Beach serves traditional Georgian dishes including khachapuri and khinkali. Citir Turkish Doner Kebab at 499 N.E. Spanish River Blvd. in Boca Raton makes its breads, flatbreads, and wraps to order and serves halal doner kebab. 5 Boys Haitian Restaurant at 2166 N. Dixie Highway in Boca specializes in fried fish with plantains and pikliz, along with griot. Each restaurant highlights food tied to its owners' heritage.
Learn to paddleboard before the Intracoastal gets crowded
Gumbo Limbo's Intracoastal Adventures runs its Intro to SUP session Saturday from 9 to 10:30 a.m. at 1801 N. Ocean Blvd. It is built for people who have never stood on a board. You glide over the shallows and through the mangroves while a guide explains the estuary you are floating on. Nobody makes you stand, either. Sitting and kneeling both count, and life jackets are provided and required. Sunday at the same hour there is an advanced session for paddlers who already have their balance and want the mangrove trails. Both need you comfortable in the water.
Comedy at Mizner Park with a heart-surgery cause behind it
Charity Comedy lands at The Studio at Mizner Park on Tuesday, Aug. 18, benefiting the Tetralogy of Fallot Foundation. The lineup is Jimmy Shubert, Jay Risk, and Chris Roe, three working stand-ups doing a full evening. Tetralogy of Fallot is a congenital heart defect, and the foundation's name on the marquee tells you who is in the audience. Tickets are on sale now through the venue. Mizner on a Tuesday night in August is about as unhurried as this town gets, which makes it a decent excuse to eat downtown first and walk over.
The city manager hosts a community conversation Aug. 19
City Manager Mark Sohaney is hosting Let's Talk Boca on Wednesday, Aug. 19. It is billed as a community conversation, one that brings Boca Raton residents, businesses, and city leadership together in the same room. The stated goal is straightforward: connect, and strengthen communication between the people who live and work here and the people running the city. That is a modest promise, and an honest one. If you have been meaning to put a face to the name at the top of city hall, the invitation is open.