Rain puts a damper on other area festivities
By B.C. Manion
While other area events battled downpours, it didn’t rain on the parade at the Fourth of July celebration in Lutz.
The festivities, marking the 100th birthday of the community north of Tampa, were steeped in tradition.
People lined up along the parade route, with children and adults clamoring for beads, candy and other loot tossed to the crowd by those riding on floats or walking in the parade.
Lutz resident Barbara Hall got there early to stake out a spot near the community center.
She came with her daughter and son-in-law, Jamie and Kyle Alderman, and their children, Kate and Kyle II. The kids brought along some friends, Sydney and Cole Van Pelt.
The children planted themselves in chairs at the edge of the parade route.
“I wouldn’t miss it,” said Jamie Alderman, also of Lutz. “It’s a nice family atmosphere for the kids. We get the same spot every year.”
Before the parade began, 8-year-old Jake Gemmill was up on an antique tractor, pretending to drive the hulking machine.
The boy’s family, also of Lutz, come to the festivities each year, said Jake’s mom, Jen Gemmill. “It’s a nice community event. It just feels like it’s a great way to start the Fourth.”
This year’s parade featured 66 units, with a large number of military vehicles and antique fire trucks. Scout troops, churches and area businesses also made a strong showing.
It was one of those parades where people on the sidelines called out to family and friends who were riding on floats or walking down the route – and they answered back.
Quite often, people in the parade would break ranks to go give someone in the crowd a hug.
The parade had a little bit of everything.
Members of Vida Community Church sang “Happy Birthday” to Lutz, as their float made its way down the road.
Belly dancers shimmied and martial arts kids kicked or chopped to break boards, as they made their way down the route.
The GFWC Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club’s had a huge birthday cake on its float, to honor the community’s centennial.
Kids and adults riding on floats got a kick out of spraying high-powered squirt guns at the crowd. Spectators seemed to enjoy it, too.
When the parade wrapped up, the next order of business was to announce this year’s winner of the honorary Lutz Guv’na’s race.
Four candidates vied for the title.
Suzin Carr and Karin D’Amico were aiming to make history by becoming the first guv’na to ever win twice. They faced other contenders Susan Gulash and Lauren Leahey to win a race that is literally all about money. Whoever raises the most, wins.
The four women raised a total of $12,596, with Carr winning the race by raising $8,159.
“I got the sash back,” a jubilant Carr proclaimed. “This is an honor.”
She thanked her husband Jim, her son Chandler and the rest of her supporters, especially the business community.
“More than 90 businesses donated to my campaign,” Carr said.
After Carr was sworn in, organizers moved on to the annual cake and pie auction.
Bob Moore conducted the auction, seeking the highest bidders for 35 cakes and three pies.
Mark Carnes of Lutz entertained the crowd by getting into bidding wars on several of the desserts. He drove up the prices and wound up buying quite a few cakes.
“This man is going to have one heckuva sugar buzz,” Moore said, after Carnes came out on top of yet another bidding war.
The auction raised $850, with Tracy Gaschler’s five-pound apple pie fetching $85, the highest price of the day.
Phyllis Hoedt, chairwoman of Lutz’s Fourth of July festivities, was delighted by this year’s event. “I think it was a great day. I think everybody had a good time,” she said.
While spectators in Lutz escaped downpours, Mother Nature was not as kind to other area celebrations.
Rain was blowing sideways during a portion of the festivities at The Parks Ford of Wesley Chapel Freedom Festival at The Shops at Wiregrass on the evening of July 3.
Rain put a damper on many of the planned festivities at Sparklebration, a 4th of July Festival and Fireworks Celebration at the Pasco County Fairgrounds in Dade City.
“We fought rain all day long,” said Dicky Brown, vice president of the Pasco Fair Association, which stages Sparklebration. “We had two or three major, half-inch rains.”
Organizers had a tremendous entertainment lineup, but many acts couldn’t perform because the stages were outdoors, Brown said.
“It’s a one-day event, and you put your heart and soul into it,” Brown said. But he added: “What can you do? You can’t control Mother Nature.”
Despite the disappointing weather, some entertainment was staged indoors, the petting zoo was under a tent, various contests went on as scheduled and people displayed a good attitude, Brown said.
The 22-minute fireworks show, which began at 9:10 p.m. drew rave reviews from spectators, Brown said. This year, the fireworks were set off electronically, which produced a better result.
“That’s the way to go,” Brown said.
There were intermittent downpours at Family Night on the 4th at Exciting Idlewild Baptist Church in Lutz.
About 35 singers from the church’s Worship Choir had prepared special patriotic selections for the event, but were unable to perform because the rain posed problems for their equipment, said Linda Devore, administrative assistant to Pastor Ron Upton.
On the plus side, the church’s Worship Orchestra and the event’s guest artist, Steve Amerson, did perform.
The event also featured dozens of food trucks, several giant inflatables for the kids and plenty of room for people to sit on the lawn or pitch tents, to listen to music and take in the fireworks show.
The wet weather didn’t seem to bother young children, who ran in the rain and splashed in puddles, Devore said. The kids also were able to use the inflatables for quite a while.
Some spectators came and left because of the rain.
“People with tents managed to tough it out,” Devore said.
Others arrived later, closer to the time the fireworks were set to go off.
“The fireworks finally did happen a little after 9,” Devore said.
“I think it was a success after all. The Lord just gives us a spirit of joy, no matter what,” Devore said.
Rain was blowing sideways during a portion of the festivities at The Parks Ford of Wesley Chapel Freedom Festival at The Shops at Wiregrass on the evening of July 3.
Despite the rain, people appeared to be determined to have a good time.
Children chowed down during the watermelon-eating contest and youngsters came dolled up in red, white and blue attire for the Little Miss and Mr. Firecracker contest.
Some kids in the pageant showed composure beyond their years while others held tight to their mommies.
The Freedom Festival concluded with a fireworks display that had such a flurry of fireworks at one point that many people in the crowd thought the show was over, until a few seconds later when the true finale began.
Officials from The Shops At Wiregrass estimated about 10,000 people turned out for the four-hour Freedom Festival.
Float winners at the Lutz Fourth of July centennial celebration
East-West Animal Hospital: Antique vehicles
Bicycle Entry: Lutz Elementary
Commercial: Ierna’s
Family: Joe Bamford
Most comical: Janice Rosier
Most Patriotic: GFWC Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club
Neighborhood entry: Lutz Citizens Coalition
Walking unit: Suzin Carr
Judge’s choice: Vida Community Church
Grand Marshal’s Award: GFWC Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club
Youth Entry: Tierra Del Sol Community Girl Scouts
Cake-decorating contest winners
Adult winners:
–Best Decorated: Olivia Mead
–Most Patriotic: Katelyn Payne
–Best Tasting: Gloria Russell
–Men’s Only: Ron Gaschler
–Best Pie: Tracy Gaschler
–Judge’s Favorite: Wilma Lewis
Children winners
–Best Decorated: Sarah Robison
–Children’s Most Patriotic: Maddox Foreman
Judge’s Favorite: Sarah Robison
Guv’na’s favorite
–Olivia Mead
