Tropical sounds, tastes hit the beach

A new three-day festival south of Pier 60 offers the allure of the islands.

By MAUREEN BYRNE

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 9, 2000

CLEARWATER -- Tropical music, Caribbean cuisine and arts and crafts will be plentiful on Clearwater Beach this weekend.

Sunsets' Summer Beach Fest 2000, an island music celebration featuring calypso, reggae and Latin sounds, kicks off today on the sand south of Pier 60.

Nine bands will perform on stage throughout the three-day festival, including the Landsharks, an Orlando-based group whose repertoire includes Jimmy Buffett tunes. The group's appearance should draw plenty of "Parrot Heads," the name given to passionate Buffett fans who arrive with cheeseburger yo-yos, shark fins and fake parrots on hats at the singer's concerts.

"The whole event is centered around the celebration of the sunset," said festival chairwoman Lisa Chandler, a member of Sunsets at Pier 60 Society, a non-profit group that operates a daily festival on Pier 60 patterned after the famous sunset show in Key West. The society, along with a dozen businesses and the city of Clearwater, is sponsoring the free event.

Chandler, who owns Pier 60 Concessions, which sells hot dogs, drinks and various sundries, said last year's Clearwater Jazz Holiday concerts on the beach were a huge success.

Good music. Good location. Good food. It worked for the Jazz Holiday. Why not a summer music festival? Particularly since the Jazz Holiday will stay in Coachman Park this year.

"I can't imagine what could be more perfect than sitting on the beach watching a beautiful sunset and listening to great music," Chandler said.

So, with the help of a 15-member committee, she got to work and planned Sunsets' Summer Beach Fest 2000, the first event of its kind on Clearwater Beach. The committee also recruited more than 200 volunteers who will do everything from sell T-shirts to pick up trash.

Except for the Landsharks, which will perform a tribute to Jimmy Buffett on Saturday, the event will showcase local talent. Area musicians will include guitarist Phil Fest, son of noted keyboardist Manfredo Fest; Orquestra Infinidad, an 11-piece Latin dance band; Ambush, a five-member reggae band; and Island Breeze, a steel drum band from John Hopkins Middle School in St. Petersburg.

Music won't be the only attraction at the festival. Forty local artists will display their handmade items, and street performers from Key West will entertain the crowd.

Also, plenty of delicious food will be offered by local restaurants. Cuban and grouper sandwiches, black beans and rice, spinach and artichoke pasta, jerk chicken and rice, and conch fritters are some of the dishes that will be served.

Commemorative T-shirts, tank tops and polo shirts will be sold as well. The design, created by local artist Silas Beach, features a parrot, a dolphin and a palm tree bathed in bright colors.

Chandler and volunteers have been fielding hundreds of calls from folks as far away as Gainesville. Most are interested in the Landsharks, which has a regular gig at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville Cafe at Universal Studios CityWalk in Orlando.

Chandler said the extra people flocking to the beach this weekend probably will cause traffic jams. Her advice: Arrive early in the day or give yourself enough time to sit in traffic and find a parking place. No shuttle service will be available from downtown to the beach, so festivalgoers will have to hunt for a parking spot in one of the city lots on the beach. (See map.)

And what if much-needed rain comes our way this weekend? Unless it's a daylong deluge, it won't cancel the event, Chandler said.

The lineup:

Today

• 5-6:30 p.m. -- Phil Fest

• 7-9:30 p.m. -- Orquestra Infinidad

Saturday

• Noon to 2 p.m. -- Ruppert Blaize and Hard Currency

• 2:30-4:30 p.m. -- Spy vs Spy

• 4:45-6:45 p.m. -- Ambush

• 7-9:30 p.m. -- Landsharks (Tribute to Jimmy Buffett)

Sunday

• 12:30-2 p.m. -- Island Breeze

• 2:30-4:30 p.m. -- Island Boys

• 5-6:30 p.m. -- The Shakes Society

• 7-9:30 p.m. -- Landsharks

If you go

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.