A Three County Fourth

With parades, picnics and politicians, the four day long Fourth of July celebration kept us moving. Festivities began on Thursday evening with the boat parade down Main Street in Sarasota. A light rain let up enough that by 7:00 p.m. the sidewalks were filled with families. This is a somewhat unusual parade, made up primarily of decorated tractor trailers and large offshore racing boats and their crew. Sarasota has hosted these boats for many years now and it seems as popular as ever. I walked the parade route, handed out some literature, shook a few hands, and was a walking billboard in my red and white tee-shirt.

The parade we really prepared for was the next morning in Arcadia in connection with the annual Independence day rodeo. The main road through downtown is Oak Street and it is lined with antique stores, restaurants and churches. It seems like the whole town turns out for the parade, either to participate or to spectate. We borrowed a cute red PT Cruiser convertible from our friend Carol Williams. One of Regina's ideas was to fill the back-seat with balloons, to almost make it appear as if I were emerging from a red, white and blue bubble bath. The crowd along the parade route seemed to get a kick out of this and we all waved at one another enthusiastically.

The day was just beginning, however, as we then headed to North Port. We missed the parade there but went to Dallas White park where some picnics were in progress. After grabbing a snow cone and a hot dog, we traveled to Sarasota, dropped off the convertible, and went home for a quick nap. Then it was of to Bradenton for a part at the west end of Manatee avenue with a lot of the volunteers from WSLR community radio. The only fireworks we got to see were in the night sky as we finally headed home.

The final big event of the weekend for me was pizza and politics put on by the Parrish Civic Association. The Florida Railroad Museum allowed a flat-car to be used as a staging area and a large tent was set up in front. A couple of hundred people turned out to hear a debate among the Manatee County commission candidates. Though I wasn't allowed to speak, I did get to greet the audience as they entered, and then passed out my pamphlets and discussed the Public Defender's office at each table. Forums like this are really encouraging as there seems to be more interest in politics, both local and national, then I have seen in some time. No parades for me this week but I do have stops scheduled in Lakewood Ranch, Venice and Bradenton. Let me know what else is going on this month and I will try and join you there.