Harbor Sounds fest focuses on the music

The two-day Safety Harbor event, that includes art and food, is a fundraiser for the chamber of commerce and the city.

By LEON M. TUCKER, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published February 26, 2003

SAFETY HARBOR -- The Harbor Sounds Music Festival, which started out last year more cautious than celebratory, is back with a better lineup and other improvements, organizers say.

"Last year we started off in a smaller capacity because we weren't sure what kind of growth to expect," said Cindy O'Donnell, the festival's chairwoman. "This year we put more money in our budget for better bands."

Headliners for the Saturday and Sunday performances are Mike MacArthur Group, Gumbi Ortiz and the Latino Projekt and Fred Johnson. Festival goers will pay $2 at the gate.

"We're charging a nominal fee to help with the budget but also a means to track the number of people who come to the event," said Anne Neil Piccone, executive director of the Safety Harbor Chamber of Commerce and one of the event's organizers. "We felt like $2 was a fair amount given the type of music we're providing."

The event's name is also different this year. Organizers dropped "seafood" from the original title.

"We wanted to focus on it being a music event," Piccone said. "There's still seafood -- we just don't want to say just seafood because we have a lot of food there."

Prior to Harbor Sounds' first event, organizers Lois and Joe Spencer put on a seafood festival for eight years before calling it quits in 2001.

Seeing a good fundraising opportunity, city and chamber officials took over the event and renamed it the Harbor Sounds Seafood and Music Festival.

About 30 food and art vendors will be at Marina Park, next to the Safety Harbor Resort and Spa, offering art work, various craft items and activities for children.

An array of foods from kettle corn to seafood will be available as well as a Taste of Safety Harbor booth, featuring samples from downtown restaurants such as Green Springs Cafe, the Whistle Stop, the Paradise and Captain's Pizza and Italian restaurant.

Festivalgoers will be able to lounge on the spa's waterfront lawn and watch local bands play calypso and reggae music during Saturday's performances, themed "Island Splash," scheduled from 2 to 8 p.m.

Sunday's theme will be "Jazz and Blues on the Bay" and is expected to run from noon to 6 p.m.

Time Warner and WSJT-FM 94.1 are sponsoring the event, which has taken in more than $15,000 in cash, and about $50,000 in services and advertising to help put on the festival.

Much of the event's proceeds will go to the chamber, with 25 percent returned to the city. The city's portion is expected to be divided equally between the city's scholarship fund and the Safety Harbor Historical Museum.

-- Leon M. Tucker can be reached at (727) 445-4167 or tucker@sptimes.com .

If you go:

The Harbor Sounds Music Festival is scheduled this weekend on the back lawn of the Safety Harbor Resort and Spa at 105 N Bayshore Drive in downtown Safety Harbor. Food and arts and craft vendors will be on hand at the Marina Park next door. Hours are 2 to 8 p.m. Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $2 per day for adults and free for children 12 and under. For information call (727) 726-2890.

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