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After a year's hiatus because of venue renovations, the Seminole Pow Wow offers a carnival atmosphere this weekend.
By JULIANNE WU, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 6, 2002
SEMINOLE- After a year's absence, the 34th Seminole Pow Wow Festival, a communitywide event, will kick off this weekend.
"I'm hoping that a year off will make even more people come out," said Harold "Doc" Kinsey, Pow Wow chairman. "Everyone should come out and enjoy themselves. It promises to be a lot of fun."
Kinsey, 64, a retired firefighter, is in his fourth year as the Pow Wow chairman. Besides being a longtime Pow Wow volunteer, he was the 1998 Mr. Seminole and winner of the 2001 Merit Award, so named by the Greater Seminole Area Chamber of Commerce.
The Pow Wow event, which usually attracts 10,000 to 15,000 people from Seminole and neighboring communities, was not held last year because the site, the Seminole Recreation Center, was undergoing renovations.
This year's Pow Wow will begin Friday with carnival rides, refreshments and free entertainment available to festivalgoers from 6 to 11 p.m. The ticket sales will stop at 10 p.m. and the rides will close at 11 p.m.
Saturday, the festival will run from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tickets sales will stop at 9 p.m., and the rides will be closed at 10 p.m. The fireworks, staged by Great Show Fireworks Inc., will be at 9 p.m. Saturday.
From its humble beginnings in 1967, when the Seminole Volunteer Fire Department and Seminole High School leaders served chicken dinners to raise funds for the volunteer firefighters and a new high school stadium, to this weekend's two-day affair, the Pow Wow is about community pride and about people who give of their time and money to make it a success.
For many families, it is a chance to come together for a parade, carnival rides, hayrides, fireworks, a variety of foods and free entertainment.
R & H Amusements of Odessa will provide games and carnival rides. People can purchase a wristband for $11, which will entitle them to unlimited rides on Friday night only. Ticket sales will stop at 10 p.m. and the rides will close at 11 p.m.
On Saturday night, people will have to purchase tickets for individual rides. Ticket sales will stop at 9 p.m. and the rides will close at 10 p.m.
Beer will be served both days by the Rotary Club of Seminole Lake. Anheuser-Busch regular Budweiser and Bud Lite beer will be sold for $2 per 16-ounce glass. Also, 12-ounce cans of non-alcoholic O'Douls will be served for the same price. To ensure that alcoholic beverages don't fall into the hands of minors, IDs of young people will be checked. The legal drinking age will be strictly enforced by Pinellas County sheriff's deputies.
The Friends of the Seminole Library will sell soft drinks both days. Food vendors on the grounds will sell coffee, lemonade and other beverages.
There shouldn't be any parking problems Friday evening, as both the Seminole Post Office and Seminole Community Library are closed at that time. They are across the street from the Seminole Recreation Center, 9100 113th St. N.
Also, parking is available Friday and Saturday in the lots of the Seminole campus of St. Petersburg College, adjacent to the recreation center. The college students will be on spring break.
However, no parking will be available at the recreation center itself Friday or Saturday, as the parking lot and grounds will be used by the food vendors, arts and crafts vendors and the entertainment stage both days. The recreation center will be closed to the public after 3 p.m. Friday and all day and evening Saturday.
On Saturday, both sides of 113th Street, from 102nd Avenue N to Park Boulevard, the intersection adjacent to the Seminole Mall, will be closed to traffic between 10 a.m. and about 12:30 p.m. Parking will be prohibited there for the duration of the parade. Also, Johnson Boulevard between the Seminole Mall and Seminole Boulevard will be closed before and during the parade so the floats, vehicles and walking units can assemble and advance unobstructed.
This year, there will be no shuttle buses provided between the Seminole Mall and the Seminole Recreation Center.
The Seminole Post Office will be operate its normal Saturday hours, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., but the Seminole Community Library will not be open until after the parade, about noon. However, it will be impossible to enter the post office parking lot from 113th Street after 10 a.m. and until the parade is over.
The Kiwanis Breakfast Club of Seminole will serve up a pancake breakfast at the Pow Wow on Saturday in a tent on the grounds of the Seminole Recreation Center. It will be from 7 to 11 a.m. Adults cost $3 per person; children 5-10 cost $2 and children 4 and under are free.
The parade, which will begin at 10:30 a.m. and last about 11/2 hours, will lead the crowds from the Seminole Mall north to the grounds of the Seminole Recreation Center for the rest of the day's activities.
Please note: The parade is starting one hour later than it did in the past.
Bob Cadzow, parade chairman, has already signed up 70 units for the parade. Here is a partial list: Osceola High School Band
Seminole High School Band
City of Seminole Fire Rescue Department, with several trucks and firefighters
Tim Schuler, Mr. Seminole 2001, who was named March 1 by the Greater Seminole Area Chamber of Commerce
Eva Jones, Ms. Seminole 2000
Miss Florida Susan Gant
Uptown Clowns, six to 10 walking clowns
Siberian Husky Rescue of Florida, 12 to 15 walkers with Huskies
Walsingham Horseman's Association, about 20 horses and riders
Admiral Farragut Academy, color guard and 10 to 20 middle school cadets
Lakeshore Volunteer Fire Department, marching honor guard with spinning axes, more
Jim Graden's Cardio Karate, 30 students walking
Golden Oldies Car Club
Korean War Veterans Association
Retired Officers Club of St. Petersburg
Seminole Community Library, 10 to 20 walkers
Greater Seminole Area Chamber of Commerce, several cars
Other veterans groups, walkers, cars
Skylark Drive Buick Club, a variety of cars
Armed Forces Military Museum of Clearwater, an M8 military recon vehicle
Dignitaries will include Mayor Dottie Reeder; City Council members; Dr. Jim Olliver, provost of the Seminole Campus of SPJC; and others. Time Warner will televise the parade on Channel 47.
The fireworks display, by Great Show Fireworks, will begin at 9 p.m. Saturday and last about 10 minutes.
The schedule for the Pow Wow stage (outdoors) is as follows:
Friday: 7:30 to 9 p.m. -- Sensation and Jubilation, two singing youth groups directed by Joey Miazga, a Seminole Middle School teacher Saturday: 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. -- Saturn 5 (swing to contemporary music)
2 to 3:30 p.m. -- Jazz Legends (Dixieland jazz)
4 to 5:30 p.m. -- True Colors (country)
6 to 7 p.m. -- Soul Mates (rhythm and blues)
7:30 to 9 p.m. Brent Howell as a young Elvis Presley
Sensation's show includes a versatile repertoire of Broadway show tunes, jazz, Motown, gospel and disco and features 20 youngsters ranging in age from 10 to 16. Jubilation, a 12-piece ensemble of kids 10 to 13, spotlights everything from Ragtime and Disney to the best of Broadway.
Formerly known as The Swingin' Mooks, the Saturn 5 play a wide range of music designed to please many tastes.
The Jazz Legends will provide toe-tapping favorites such as Sweet Georgia Brown and When the Saints Come Marching In. The band is a mixture of banjo, brass and accordion by a group of pros.
True Colors consists of five seasoned performers who deliver a heavy dose of country music, while the Soul Mates are an eight-piece rhythm and blues show band that has toured the country from Tampa to Las Vegas.
Finally, Brent Howell, 28, of Largo performs as the Young Elvis Presley and has adopted many of his mannerisms. His show is a mix of stories and tidbits about Elvis' life during the 1950s and performances of his early hits such as That's All Right, his debut song and about two dozen others. He is backed by a four-piece band called the Catillacs.
An open house of the new 85,000-square-foot University Partnership Center at the Seminole campus of St. Petersburg College will be conducted from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. The three-story building includes a state-of-the-art digital auditorium/theater, 27 computer classrooms, labs and more. The campus is just north of the Seminole Recreation Center.
The Kiwanis Club of Seminole will offer hayrides again around the Seminole Campus of SPC from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday. Donations accepted.
Also on Saturday, there will be a motorcycle show presented by the Gold Wing Road Riders, Chapter FL1-K2, in conjunction with Barney's Motorcycle Sales. Trophies will be awarded to winners in various classes. Entry fee: $5. Registration for contestants is from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., judging will be from 1:30 to 2:15 p.m. and awards will be given out after that. For more information, call Terry Dunn, 397-8975.
Tasty foods such as hot dogs, chili dogs, Italian sandwiches, hamburgers, pizza, popcorn, turkey legs, roasted corn, ribs, funnel cakes, ice cream and yogurt, soft drinks, iced cappuccino, lemonade, bottled water and more will be sold at various booths throughout Saturday. Some food will be available Friday evening.
Food vendors will include Rita's Italian Ices, Seminole; M & M Grits, Sebring; Lonny D's Pizza Restaurant, Seminole; MNM Barbeque, St. Petersburg; Ed's Boiled Peanuts, St. Petersburg; J & J Concessions, Seminole; Grandpa's Kettle Korn Co., Ocala; Kiwanis Breakfast Club of Seminole; Seminole Professional Firefighters Association (IAFF Local 2896); and others.
Here is a partial list: Grandma Joyce, rag dolls & crocheted items; Jean Naismith, silver and bead jewelry; Designs by Sheila, Easter decorations and gifts; JJ's Wax Hands and Amusements; Alfred Hemleb, walking sticks and canes.
-- Information from Times files used in this report