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The Dade City celebration will include entertainment, craft demonstrations and antique appraisals. And shopkeepers hope customers will do some early Christmas shopping.
By MICHELLE JONES, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published July 19, 2002
DADE CITY -- With temperatures soaring in Florida, Santa Claus will trade his red wool suit for a tropical outfit Saturday when he visits Dade City to help celebrate Christmas in July.
Santa will be available from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Seventh Street and Pasco Avenue. Inside a tent, children ages 4 to 10 can make crafts and give Old St. Nick their preliminary wish lists. Toys for Tots will be there collecting new toys. And the Alison Graham Showstoppers will perform throughout the day.
Inside the stores surrounding the historic courthouse and down side streets, people will be able to see demonstrations, have antiques appraised and sample hand-dipped chocolates while perusing merchandise and doing early Christmas shopping.
Ginny Solberg, executive director of the city's Main Street program and primary sponsor of Christmas in July, said organizers try something new each year. This year, that means Santa.
"We just want to tweak it a little," she said. "I think it will be lots of fun."
From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., folks can visit the following locations for demonstrations or free samples: gem stone wire wrapping at Legends, 14106 Seventh St.; silk and live flower arranging at Maria's Silk and Fresh Flowers, 14602 Seventh St.; and hand-dipped chocolates at Bea's Antiques and Sweets, 27912 Church Ave.
A representative from House of Hatten Collectibles will be at Williams Lunch on Limoges, 14139 Seventh St., where a drawing for a Christmas ornament will be held in the afternoon. At Lori Anne's, 14135 Seventh St., there will be Heritage lace demonstrations, and wreath design and bow making will be demonstrated at the Sandbar Market, 37832 Meridian Ave.
People can bring their Wade figurines for appraisals at Smith's Uniques and Antiques, 37847 Meridian Ave., and Pamela Edmundson will demonstrate jewelry making at Wonder's Antiques, 14130 Seventh St.
The Longaberger basket company will have a representative at Antiques at Northwood, 14122-1 Seventh St., and a video tour of the Fenton Glass Factory will take place at Corner Emporium, 14136 Eighth St. At Glades Pottery and Gallery, Kathleen Kennedy will be painting tile. Glades is at 14145 Seventh St. At Grapevine Antiques, 37834 Meridian Ave., clocks will be appraised.
Carriage tours also will be offered for a fee.
-- Michelle Jones covers central Pasco community news. She can be reached at (813) 909-4612 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 4612. Her e-mail address is jones@sptimes.com.