There will still be carnival rides and fireworks, but now look for more entertainment.
By JAN WESNER CHILDS
Published February 8, 2004
SEMINOLE - This year's Seminole Pow Wow features a kicked-up schedule of youth entertainment, a new Web site and prize money for the best marching band.
The annual festival held mostly on the grounds of the city's recreation center also will include all of its traditional highlights - carnival rides, food booths, fireworks and craft vendors. The Pow Wow begins March 11 with a wine and cheese party at Freedom Square and ends March 13 with a concert by the Land Sharks, a Jimmy Buffett tribute band from Orlando.
The midway and booths are open 5-11 p.m. March 12 and 10 a.m.-10 p.m. March 13, with an armband night on the 12th featuring unlimited rides for $15. There also will be a teen dance from 9 to 11 that night.
The parade is at 10 a.m. March 13, and this year has a corporate sponsor in Chick-fil-A, which donated $1,500 in prize money for the marching bands.
This is the first year the event has been run by the city. Until now, a volunteer group headed the Pow Wow. But the festival grew too big to handle in recent years, and city staff was heavily involved in its organization anyway.
Jim Sheets, recreation director for the city of Seminole, now serves as the festival chairman. "There's a lot of tradition," Sheets said Friday. "This event goes back 30 years."
And it continues to grow. The city set up a Web site, www.powwowfestival.com to market the festival. It includes a day-by-day schedule, more information about the entertainment and vendors, the history of the festival and other community events. Sheets said the Web site is a concerted effort to spread the word about the festival - and the city - beyond the local area.
While the entertainment, rides and food booths are mostly booked for the event, Sheets said craft vendors are still needed. Anyone interested should call the Seminole Recreation Center at 391-8345.
