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Manatees, humans to share festival
By JORGE SANCHEZ, Times Staff Writer CRYSTAL RIVER -- The city of Crystal River and the manatee have a shared history, and the festival set for Saturday and Sunday will focus on the relationship between people, local businesses and the endangered manatee, hundreds of which spend the winters at Kings Bay. Visitors to the Florida Manatee Festival can expect to see lots of fine arts, crafts, food and entertainment, part of any large outdoors art festival. The Florida Manatee Festival, however, goes a step further and emphasizes manatee and wildlife education as well. A popular feature of the manatee festival is the boat tours of Kings Bay. Pontoon boats, operated by local dive companies, will take people on a tour of the bay lasting about 45 minutes. The guides' local knowledge of the waters usually results in a manatee sighting. Tickets for the boat rides will be sold at the Citrus County Chamber of Commerce information booth at N Citrus Avenue and NW Seventh Street. Tickets cost $3 for adults and $1 for children age 12 to 17. The boats depart from Crystal River Manatee Dive and Tour boat dock at 267 NW Third St. Other manatee information includes a poster exhibit made by local students in the Crystal River City Hall building. Continuous movies will also be on display at City Hall to provide manatee education information to all visitors as well as manatee education booths designated to enhance the awareness on manatees. Children's activities will be provided on the grounds of the Creative Playground, behind Crystal River City Hall. The activities are organized by Fancy Taylor and her assistants. The Rotary Club of Crystal River sponsors the arts and crafts show, which has more than 100 crafters this year, according to the Citrus County Chamber of Commerce. The St. Petersburg Times sponsors the fine arts show, which offers paintings, jewelry, photography and sculpture. Dennis Miller, executive director of the Citrus County Chamber of Commerce, said the festival drew 14,000 people over two days last year. He said the economic impact is tangible, though not directly measureable in terms of dollars. "Nobody does actual research, but I'm sure it's pretty huge," he said. "If you consider a lot of those people who attended are out of town and they shop and buy gas and food, then that's got to add up to a big impact," Miller said. Susan Dougherty, public information officer at Homosassa Springs State Wildlife Park, is coordinating the manatee education program. An area at Heritage Village on N Citrus Avenue contains lots of manatee educational exhibits. Displays from the Friends of Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in conjunction with Friends of Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Preserve,, Manatee Rescue Group, Save the Manatee Club, Nature World Wildlife Rescue Group and Friends of Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park. Speaking of the Parrotheads, which is a Jimmy Buffet fan club, the "Sounds Like Buffett To Me" song contest drew a big party crowd last year. The contest features local singers who try to win the loudest crowd reaction by singing a Buffett tune. The contest takes place Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. At a glanceThe Florida Manatee Festival will be Saturday and Sunday in downtown Crystal River. The festival features fine arts, crafts, a children's games area, manatee and wildlife education exhibits, boat tours and food. Festival hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 12 and noon to 4 p.m. Jan. 13. Admission is $2.
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