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The Pasco County Fair Parade has marched past the Baldwin homestead for more than half a century.
By MICHELLE JONES
© St. Petersburg Times, published February 20, 2001
DADE CITY -- Four generations of the Baldwin family watched the annual Pasco County Fair Parade Monday in Dade City. The parade kicked off the 54th annual fair.
Camped out in lawn chairs and a quilt, 11 members of the clan watched from the front lawn of the family homestead on the corner of Florida Avenue and 12th Street.
Billy and Annie Laurie Baldwin have lived in the same house for 56 years and have seen most of the parades as they pass by on their way to Pasco Elementary School where the bands, marchers and floats disband.
The youngest members of the family are 2-year-old twins, Noah and Joshua.
They sat on the quilt with their mother Amy, grandfather Tim and aunt Marianne.
"Here comes the parade," said Billy Baldwin as sirens were heard on the other end of the avenue.
Donna Baldwin, Noah and Joshua's grandmother, said the fair parade was the best parade.
"It's the longest, too," she added. "This parade has the whole county involved."
The parade lasted approximately 75 minutes, with floats, bands, marchers and horses.
Eleven bands from all over the county played a variety of tunes as flag bearers and twirlers marched to the music.
The twins had a beat of their own. When they heard music, they would wave their arms and hands and nod their heads from either a standing or sitting position.
"Here come the pooper scoopers behind the horses," said Donna Baldwin.
Someone wondered if they got paid to do their job.
Beauty contestants -- from this week's baby pageants, Miss Heart of Florida pageant, and the Miss Pasco County and Miss Pasco County Fair contests -- rode in convertibles and in cars with sun roofs. The reigning Miss Kumquat, wearing a bright orange blouse, drawing attention to her title, rode in a silver VW waving and smiling at the crowd.
"Here comes the wow wow," said Joshua when the Dade City Police Department car rode by.
Floats all bore the theme of the parade and fair: A Work of Heart -- The Beat Goes On.
The Dade City Woman's Club float had signs stating all the activities the members participate in for their community.
The Little League float had a huge red and white paper baseball and 4-H floats were decorated with bales of hay and domestic and farm animals some real, some fake.
One child from the Possum Trot 4-H club held a rooster in his arms as his float passed by.
Scott Black, the mayor of Dade City, stopped by to visit with the Baldwins, taking extra time to converse with the patriarch of family.
The day was sunny and warm for the parade. However a cloud of smoke hung in the air, moved by winds from brush fires near Polk City.
The ROTC from Zephyrhills High School marched by shouting: "We are the Bulldog" -- a cadence to keep in step.
"We get the tail end of the parade, when everyone is tired," said Annie Laurie Baldwin, the matriarch of the family.
Beads were thrown from the TECO float, decorated like a pirate ship reminiscent of the recent Gasparilla Parade. Confetti was fired from two cannons.
The twins had two strands of beads each hanging around their necks after the float passed.
The Baldwins greeted a number of people in the parade and waved at almost everyone.
The Woodland Elementary School float had a nostalgic theme to blend with the heart theme of the parade. A juke box, tables and chairs and hearts decorated the float that hyped family values. Let's go to the Hop, a 1950s hit, added to the era the float was depicting.
The Redlands Christian Migrant Association (RCMA) had four floats entered in the parade. On the FFA float a baby goat brought ahhs from the Baldwin family.
When the parade ended, the family disbanded with hugs and goodbyes.
Noah was impressed with the high-rise cars, while Joshua liked the horses best.
"I like the people," said Billy Baldwin. "I'm a people watcher."
The fair gates and exhibits will open at 3 p.m. today and will continue daily through Sunday when the gates are open from noon to 7 p.m.
Today's schedule includes entertainment by Linda Lou & the Lucky 4, a family band from Virginia, performing at 4:30, 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. in the Dan Cannon Auditorium. The midway will offer an unlimited ride special for $12 today and on Thursday. Admission to the fair is $4 for adults and $2 for children ages 6-12. Parking is $1.
- Michelle Jones covers central Pasco community news. She can be reached at (813) 226-3459. Her e-mail address is jones@sptimes.com.