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Entertainment

City celebrates its downtown today

The fifth annual Celebrate the Season festivity has grown in popularity.

By KATHERINE K. LEE
Published November 12, 2005

LARGO - The beads are ready to be tossed. The floats await the moment of unveiling. And the crafters stand sentry by their wares.

Downtown Largo Main Street's 5th annual Celebrate the Season festival and parade kicks off today at 9 a.m. for a full day of outdoor arts and crafts, children's activities and food, culminating in a parade to finish off the day.

The festival and parade face some stiff competition this weekend from other outdoor events in the county, but Downtown Largo Main Street office manager Jan Chase remains sanguine.

"Ribfest (in St. Petersburg's Vinoy Park) might take some crowds but not that much," Chase said. "This is a local event. I think people from Largo will come see it because it's Largo. It's a Largo thing."

The parade features about 70 entries from groups and individuals, mostly from around town. They include Largo High School's Band of Gold along with Raymond, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays mascot, and an Explorers group affiliated with Largo firefighters.

The first year, the parade drew fewer than 4,000 people. Last year, the crowd reached 10,000, and this year organizers expect more.

"We will draw more than that this year," said parade chairwoman Charlotte Watenpool, one of Main Street's board members. "The more people go and the more they like it, the more they'll tell people."

Today's event is the biggest event of the year for Downtown Largo Main Street, which numbers about 90 individual and business members. The organization works to promote city events and local businesses.

This year marks the first time the parade and festival are being staged without financial help from the city.

Chase said the organization will probably make a small profit from the event, mostly from beer sales.

"We make a little money, not a lot," Chase said. "Mostly it's good to have the community come out and the kids enjoy themselves; we throw beads and candy and they love it."

The parade has proved increasingly popular each year, she said, with patrons lining up hours early to get a good spot for viewing. The parade route starts at Central Park Drive and winds down West Bay Drive to Ridge Road, ending at the Pinellas County School Board building at 4th Street SW.

Downtown Largo Main Street itself has a float in the parade, a hay-strewn flatbed truck depicting the weekly farmers' market.

"It's just a good promotion for Downtown Largo and the city," Chase said.

"We've improved a lot in five years. Back when we first started, West Bay was still under construction. It was a mess, and we did it and had a good turnout.

"Planning this takes almost the whole year. It will be the biggest deal of the year."

Staff writer Richard Danielson contributed to this report.

Downtown Largo Main Street's "Celebrate the Seasons" festival will be today from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. There will be children's activities, arts and crafts booths, food vendors and rides. The parade begins at 4 p.m. at Central Park Drive, and goes to West Bay Drive to Ridge Road and ends at the Pinellas County School Board building.

[Last modified November 12, 2005, 00:54:17]