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Taste community's charm, help charities

The 10th Taste of Palm Harbor is Sunday afternoon.

By TERRI BRYCE REEVES
Published September 29, 2006

PALM HARBOR - Go ahead and chow down.

It's for a great cause.

At the 10th annual Taste of Palm Harbor, you can sample lobster bisque, swordfish, Thai tuna salad, chicken Marsala, island sugar cane shrimp and much, much more.

With every bite you take, you'll be helping organizations like Hospice, the Humane Society of North Pinellas, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and a slew of other nonprofits that benefit the sick, the elderly, the young and the disadvantaged. Proceeds support the Palm Harbor Junior Women's Club's Making a Difference Grants and Scholarships Program.

"We've awarded over $130,000 in the last nine years to area charities," said Chaz Foy, event chairwoman.

The club's signature affair will be held Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. in historic downtown Palm Harbor, on Florida Avenue between Alt. U.S. 19 and County Road 1.

Palm Harbor Fire Rescue will celebrate its 50 years of service in tandem with the club's event. It will hold an open house from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Station No. 66, 1123 Illinois Ave. Visitors can see the department's award-winning extrication team rescue a "patient" from a wrecked vehicle and view new and privately owned antique firetrucks. An old-fashioned fish fry will begin at 11:30 a.m. and continue until they run out of fish.

The event promises lots of family fun with games, rides, exhibits, artisans and craft vendors, and community entertainers.

More than 200 volunteers will be donating their time to the event.

There is no admission charge; tickets are 50 cents each.

The 20 participating restaurants split ticket sales with the club. "Tastes" - small servings of the restaurants' top dishes - cost eight tickets ($4) or less, with most ranging from three to six tickets ($1.50 to $3), Foy said. Alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages will be available.

"We wanted to keep it inexpensive so families can come out and enjoy the day," Foy said.

Firefighters are reputed to be good cooks, and so you can bet they will be pretty picky when it comes to judging the food contest. Ten of them will join local dignitaries and celebrities to decide who will grab this year's taste awards.

More cool stuff to look for: "Cyruss," a live American bald eagle from Lowry Park Zoo; a 35-foot rock-climbing wall; bungee jumping; "Geekmatics," who answer computer and Internet questions; a giant inflatable firetruck slide; Boy Scouts taking orders for Christmas wreaths; cheerleading and dance teams; karate demonstrations; musical entertainment; barbershop quartet; roving entertainers; and Greg Andrews, the artist whose painting "Great Blue Heron" appears on posters, T-shirts, and advertisements for the event, signing posters.

Correspondent Terri Reeves can be reached at treeves@tampabay.rr.com

FESTIVAL CALENDAR

Festival season has arrived. Just look at the calendar of events slated for Old Palm Harbor Main Street.

OCTOBER: This Sunday, fire up your taste buds for the 10th annual Taste of Palm Harbor. You can do some early Christmas shopping at the annual fall craft show Oct. 14-15, then don a costume for the Hocus Pocus Ball on Oct. 27.

NOVEMBER: A Fall Bike Fest and Toy Ride will be held Nov. 18.

DECEMBER: Santa comes to town Dec. 9 during the Holiday Parade.

Call 727 787-4700 for more information.

[Last modified September 28, 2006, 23:03:12]