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Letter to the editor

Holiday shows public-private cooperation works

A note to those who traveled near downtown Inverness during the holiday weekend: That was not a mirage you saw. There really were hundreds of people dancing and having a good time in the streets and stores of the business district.

What's most impressive is that the good times rolled on from Friday evening through late Saturday night, with the city's annual Patriotic Evening and fireworks display bracketed by two privately financed outdoor concerts.

The happy crowds filling the streets were a welcome reward for a city that has invested a good deal of public funds in the last few years to create an appealing downtown. First-time visitors and longtime residents alike were pleasantly surprised by the changes.

The weekend demonstrated that even during the worst time of the year for outdoor events, with blistering heat and wet-blanket humidity giving way each afternoon to torrential rains and frightening lightning, people will venture away from air conditioning if you give them a good enough reason.

Equally important, the weekend's events showed government does not always have to shoulder the burden of putting on major community events. Private businesses financed the two concerts and sponsored the fireworks show, while nonprofit groups set up the vendor tents for the Patriotic Evening, raising funds that will be returned to the community through a variety of services.

The holiday weekend saw the debut of what organizers hope will become a regular event, a free Friday night concert on the lawn of the Old Courthouse Heritage Museum. When the sun went down, the amps turned up and the crowd came out.

David Kurtz, owner of Deco Cafe and president of the New Inverness Olde Town Merchants Association, which sponsored the show, said the group would like to put on a concert the first Friday of each month. Based on the success of this show, both in the size of the crowd and the amount of sales for those downtown merchants who kept their doors open Friday night, the organizers are optimistic about the next concert.

Kurtz estimated that more than 600 people packed the Courthouse Square on Friday night to listen and dance to V-6, a band from Gainesville that was having such a good time that 9 p.m., when it was supposed to end the show, came and went, and the band kept on playing. Up next will be the Accelerators, a local blues band that is set to perform Aug. 6.

The Patriotic Evening on Saturday drew even larger numbers to the improved waterfront area, with both Wallace Brooks and the new Liberty parks packed with fireworks fans. Even a sunset cloudburst and Mother Nature's own light show, which sent many people scurrying for cover, didn't dampen the crowd's spirits.

After the fireworks, the sounds of another outdoor concert, hosted by Keith Chancas outside his restaurant Chateau Chan Sezz on N Apopka Avenue, filled the air, giving people yet another reason to linger downtown.

The relationship between some of these business owners and government has not always been productive. Chancas was frustrated in his attempt to get help for his concert plan from the county's Tourist Development Council. And the downtown merchants group has had its share of friction with City Hall in the past.

But during the holiday weekend, cooperation was the norm. Kurtz noted that county crews cut the grass at the Old Courthouse and sprayed for mosquitoes to make the site more pleasant for the concert audience. He said he hopes to meet with city officials to make some improvements, such as closing the streets to traffic during the concerts.

The long weekend block party showed what can be accomplished when people work together rather than getting caught up in turf wars and personality clashes. Considering the breathtaking heat and humidity, it was refreshing.

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[Last modified July 5, 2004, 18:58:04]