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April 03, 2005
The 37th Annual Springtime Tallahassee Festival
This year’s Springtime Tallahassee Festival probably didn’t begin the way the organizers had envisioned. Heavy rains pummeled Tallahassee Friday afternoon, and festival organizers made the tough decision to cancel Friday night’s Downtown Getdown due to the dangerous weather conditions.
Fortunately, the last of the bad weather moved off Friday evening, and Saturday morning was bright and clear. Although the weather just before the start of the parade was cool and windy, it was impossible to find any empty space along the parade route. With this great weather and the wealth of flowers and tree blossoms, it’s obvious that this is truly the best time of year for a festival!
The Springtime Tallahassee Festival introduces a few ‘twists’ to the traditional festival concept. Along with the customary parade floats and marching bands, the festival includes five Mardi Gras-like krewes that represent the history of Florida. The Spanish, American Territorial, Antebellum, War and Reconstruction, and 20th Century krews add another level of fun to the parade as the krewes compete for the most impressive parade entries! This combination of bead necklaces, elaborate costuming, and decoratively themed float entries makes Springtime Tallahassee’s festival one of the most unique in the country!
The Springtime Grand Parade was just one of the events during Saturday’s festival. Once the parade was complete, downtown Tallahassee’s Jubilee in the Park continued the fun with food, vendors, entertainment, and a kid’s park! The Jubilee’s sights, sounds and smells provided a good time for everyone.
Although the biggest weekend of Springtime Tallahassee is over, there’s still another festival event next weekend. On April 11th, the Killearn Country Club hosts the ‘Swing into Spring Golf Tournament,’ with the proceeds benefiting Springtime Tallahassee and the Ashley Moore Fund. The golf tournament web page provides more information about participating in this fundraising event.
Visit the Tallahassee Tour photo gallery for pictures from Springtime Tallahassee 2005.
Posted by james_messer at 12:46 PM | Comments (0)
April 01, 2005
The New Playground at Tom Brown Park
The new playground at Tom Brown Park has opened, and it's an amazing example of what can be done with talent, vision, and attention to detail. The award-winning City of Tallahassee Parks and Recreation department has created a new playground that is not only expansive in scope, but also impressive in it's inclusion of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines. The new playground is a masterpiece of colors and activities that will keep kids of all ages occupied for hours!
Tom Brown Park is located off of Capital Circle Northeast on Easterwood Drive, just behind the National Guard Armory and the Leon County Animal Shelter. Follow this link to a locator map from Google Maps.
The new Tom Brown Park playground
Click the picture for a higher-res version
The new park includes a huge middle playground area surrounded by swings, see-saws, and a climbable ‘spacenet!’ There’s also a smaller playset for the younger tykes, and the entire play area is covered with small blue pieces of a sponge-like rubber that softens the ground around the play areas.
Climb into space!
There are also covered areas for picnics, birthday parties, and family gatherings. The oak tree-covered area just beyond the playground has picnic tables and grills for larger get-togethers.
You can find the playground across from the baseball fields, next to the BMX track. Look for the signs to the ADA Playground, and have a great time!
Posted by james_messer at 12:50 PM | Comments (0)
