Fun Festivals and Events

Central Region

Aug 31-Sept 4

NKF Surf Festival, Cocoa Beach
Sept 1-3
Central Florida Film Festival, Ocoee
Sept 1, 8, 15, 22
Bandshell Concert Series, Daytona Beach
Sept 2
GeckoFest, Gulfport
Sept 2
St Pete Indie Market, St Petersburg
Sept 2-4
Sponge Docks Art and Craft Festival, Tarpon Springs
Sept 2
First Saturday Jam, Barberville
Sept 2
Art Stroll and Gallery Walk, New Smyrna Beach
Sept 2-4
Cold-Blooded Weekend, Melbourne
Sept 8
Main Street’s Friday Fest, Melbourne
Sept 8
Yappy Hour, Fort Myers
Sept 8-9
Rock the Universe at Universal Orlando, Orlando
Sept 9
Turtle Krawl 5K Run/Walk, Indialantic
Sept 9
Second Saturday St Petersburg ArtWalk, St Petersburg
Sept 9-10
I Like It Hot Festival, Largo
Sept 9-10
Buckler’s Craft Fair, Melbourne
Sept 14
Alive After 5, Sanford
Sept 15
Cocoa Beach Friday Fest, Cocoa Beach
Sept 16
Cruisin’ Downtown DeLand Classic Car Show, DeLand
Sept 16
Art Walk, Sanford
Sept 16-17
Sebastian Inlet Regular Joe Surf Festival, Melbourne Beach
Sept 17
Channelside Bay Plaza Fresh Artisan Market
Sept 22-24
80s in the Park, Melbourne
Sept 22
Pirates of the Saint Juans Festival, Sanford
Sept 18 -24
Global Peace Film Festival, Orlando
Sept 22-24
New Smyrna Beach Jazz Festival, New Smyrna Beach
Sept 23
Mixon Fruit Farms Antiques, Arts and Crafts Fair, Bradenton
Sept 23
Great Gay 5k, Sarasota
Sept 23-24
The Colony Plaza Craft Festival, The Villages
Sept 23-24
Craft and Quilt Show, DeLand
Sept 28- Oct 1
Port Orange Family Days, Port Orange
Sept 29
Cocoa Village Friday Fest, Cocoa
Sept 29 – Oct 1
Super Boat International, Clearwater Beach
Sept 29-Oct 1
Klingon Feast, Daytona Beach
Sept 29-Nov 2 (select nights)
A Petrified Forest, Altamonte Springs
Sept 30
Wine Walk and Art Walk, New Smyrna Beach
 

South Florida

Aug 27 – Sept 7
International Ballet Festival of Miami, Miami
Aug 31-Sept 4
Eighth Annual Key West Brewfest, Key West
Sept 2
Wheelin’ Dealin’ Foodtruck Festival, Fort Lauderdale
Sept 2
MiMo on the Beach Walking Tours, Miami
Sept 2-3
Labor Day Weekend Craft Festival, Venice
Sept 3
Dream Classic Car Show, Hollywood
Sept 3
Sunday Jazz Brunch, Fort Lauderdale
Sept 6
Fresh Air with Byrd, Pompano Beach
Sept 6
Jupiter Lighthouse Moonrise Tour, Jupiter
Sept 7
Micro Mini Muse, Fort Lauderdale
Sept 9
Full Moon Kayak Tour, North Miami
Sept 9
Supercar Saturdays Florida, Fort Lauderdale
Sept 9
Wynwood Artwalk, Miami
Sept 9-10
Galloway Captiva Triathlon, Captiva Island
Sept 14-17
Miami Web Fest, Miami
Sept 16-17
Sullivan Street Craft Festival, Punta Gorda
Sept 20
Jupiter Lighthouse Sunset Tour, Jupiter
Sept 21
Alive After Five, Punta Gorda
Sept 22-Oct 1
Island Hopper Songwriter Fest, Fort Myers area
Sept 23
Swim for Alligator Lighthouse, Islamorada
Sept 28-Oct 1
REEF Fest, Key Largo
Sept 29-30
Conch Life Scramble, Islamorada
Sept 30
FATVillage Artwalk, Fort Lauderdale
 

North Florida

Sept 1
First Friday Art Walk, St Augustine
Sept 1
First Friday Outdoor Concert, Thomasville
Sept 1-3
Greek Festival, Fort Walton Beach
Sept 1-3
Pepsi Gulf Coast Jam Country Music Festival, Panama City Beach
Sept 2
Gulf Coast Summer Fest, Pensacola
Sept 3
Florida Safari, Ocala
Sept 3
Alys Beach 5K and 1-Mile Fun Run, Alys Beach
Sept 7-8
Emerald Coast Beer Festival, Pensacola
Sept 8-10
Spanish Wine Festival, St Augustine
Sept 8-10
Juana’s Good Time Regatta, Navarre Beach
Sept 9
Artrageous Artwalk, Amelia Island
Sept 11-17
Lobster Festival and Tournament, Panama City Beach
Sept 15-16
Taste of the Beach, Pensacola Beach
Sept 16
Masquerade 5k, Palm Coast
Sept 16
St Jude Walk/Run to End Childhood Cancer, Tallahassee
Sept 17
Jerk Food Fest, Jacksonville
Sept 22
River Rhythms, Ocala
Sept 23
The Florida Heitage Book Festival, St Augustine
Sept 29-30
Oktoberfest, Niceville
Sept 29-Oct 1
Pensacola Seafood Festival, Pensacola
 

For many more events and details please visit the Orlando Times Travel Calendar here

Photo:The Defuniak Herald

Legal Update: “New motions filed in Federal lawsuit involving Private Beach signs”

“”Beachfront property owners who had sued Walton County in federal court over its ordinance banning unpermitted obstructions on the beach such as ropes, chains, signs, and fences, have filed new motions in the case.

Among other requests, they have asked the court for a stay on discovery proceedings in connection with common law customary right issues until the court resolves the property owners’ claims against another ordinance, the customary use ordinance approved by Walton County on Oct. 25…The ordinance banning unpermitted obstructions on the beach stated that it applied to the beach as defined as ‘the soft sandy portion of land lying seaward of the seawall or the line of permanent dune vegetation.’

The plaintiffs, Ed and Delanie Goodwin, owners of beachfront property at Fort Panic in south Walton County, had filed their lawsuit in July 18, soon after Walton County approved the ordinance disallowing beach obstructions.

The litigation was in the form of a civil rights lawsuit. It alleged that the county ordinance prevented beachfront owners from using signs to convey messages, including those indicating property boundaries and private ownership—and that the ordinance therefore impeded signs as ‘a medium of speech.’ As such, the property owners maintained, the ordinance ‘violates the First Amendment on its face.’ They asked the court to bar enforcement of the ordinance, among other requests. In an August 15 response, Walton County argued that the property owners’ case was not ‘about’ free speech but was instead a disguised property rights position aimed at securing ‘a beachhead against the potential determination that the public has gained the right of use of the subject beach through the Customary Use doctrine.’

The county further stated that the ordinance did not interfere with the property owners’ ability to ‘display on their property any message they like in any manner they like, even using signs, so long as they comport with the restriction as to location.’ Signs, according to the county response, ‘are implicated only to the extent that they constitute an obstruction on the beach.’

In an Aug. 19 order, M. Casey Rodgers, chief United States District judge and presiding judge in the case, ordered an evidentiary hearing, observing, in part that, ‘If a public use custom is established, the property owner does not have the right to interfere with the public’s right of use and enjoyment…and thus the Plaintiffs’ alternative means of communication, i.e., placing signs on the remainder of their property, would be adequate.’ Adding that the ‘custom and use doctrine requires a fact-intensive inquiry that must be determined on a fully developed record,’ Judge Rodgers stated that this issue would ‘decide the merits of the suit.’ She ordered thus proceeding with the trial on its merits, with it to be consolidated with a hearing on the preliminary injunction sought by the plaintiffs.

The Goodwins were allowed to amend their original complaint to include both the obstruction and customary use ordinances. On Nov. 14 they filed a motion requesting an injunction against the recently-approved customary use ordinance, arguing that it represented a ‘taking’ of their property.

The customary use ordinance provides for public ‘at large’ to utilize the dry sand areas of the beach without interference for traditional recreational activities—with the exception of a buffer zone to be set aside at a distance seaward of the toe of the dune, or at the same distance from any privately-owned permanent habitable structure on or adjacent to the dry sand areas of the beach, whichever is more seaward.

The Nov. 14 motion was followed the next day by a motion by the Goodwins for a stay of discovery proceedings in connection with common law customary right uses of the beach until their taking claims in connection with the customary use ordinance had been resolved.

In the latest filing, on Nov. 21, Walton County responded to the plaintiffs amended complaint, asking the court to grant a motion requiring a ‘more definite statement’ from the plaintiffs, calling the complaint: ‘a vague, ambiguous, incoherent jumble.'”

— Dotty Nist, The Defuniak Herald

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Boca: “First sharrow placed in city neighborhood”

“The city has installed its first sharrow, a shared lane marking and sign for motorists and bicyclists that could be a model for other neighborhoods with a heavy bike presence…

Developer who supports scenic beauty, buys property and bulldozes billboard!

“This billboard was purchased by a local development company, Dream Designs, Inc. in Rapid City, SD, so that they could take it down, and use the land for housing.  They supported Scenic Rapid City in 2011 during the Billboard Initiative.

This billboard was completely non confirming and Grandfathered in. It had two boards on each side.  They were two different sizes and OVERSIZED in a prime location; on a hill so that traffic had to view it.

It took away from the scenic beauty of our beautiful Black Hills since it was on the road to Mount Rushmore National Monument but still inside the Rapid City limits.'”

— Scenic Rapid City

Drawing: From Tampa Bay Times

“City planner Jeff Speck’s vision for Tampa’s downtown involves cooler temperatures and more walking. Speck is the lead planner overseeing the team working with Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik and an engineering firm Stantec to redevelop land in the Channelside area…

“The deceptive nature of architectural renderings”

“Architects use many mediums to express their designs, ideas, and concepts. They use orthographic drawings, physical models, as well as digital models…How can we differentiate between what is reality and what is a false and biased representation of a building? How about photographs of architecture?

Miami: Commission CHANGES SIGN CODE to eliminate advertising towers

Delete. Throw out. Discard. Trash.

“…The measure, championed by Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado, deletes the term ‘media towers’ from the city’s zoning code known as Miami 21.However, an attorney for Michael Simkins, the Miami Beach-based developer of the innovation tower [Giant LED Billboard Towers], told commissioners that his client plans to move forward with pending permit applications to build the project.’We will continue to implement this development irrespective of what is done today,’ said Tony Recio, a partner with Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman. ‘We look forward to having the permits fairly reviewed and evaluated.’In a statement to The Real Deal, Simkins said he does not believe the new ordinance can be applied to his project. ‘We are disappointed by the commission’s action,’ Simkins said. ‘But we expect the city to comply with the law and respect our rights by honoring the sign permit applications and media tower approval by the CRA, and processing the sign applications in good faith.’City commissioners Frank Carrollo, Willy Gort and Marc Sarnoff again voted in favor of the ordinance despite an impassioned plea from Commissioner Keon Hardemon, who was the innovation tower’s main supporter because he believes the project will generate jobs and millions of dollars in revenue for Overtown. ‘That one time things are moving forward in a community that has been stagnant for such a long time, we make sure we put the roadblock right in the middle of it,’ Hardemon said. ‘This is a slap in the face of the Overtown community.’

Simkins has touted the tower as the anchor to a 10-acre technology district that will help revitalize one of the city’s poorest neighborhoods. Hardemon, who represents the district and who is chairman of the Southeast Overtown/Park West Community Development Agency, backs the project because Simkins has agreed to pay the semi-autonomous city agency $5 million prior to construction, and $1 million, or 3 percent of gross sales generated by the project every year after completion.

Recio also said Simkins has committed to giving local preference to Overtown residents on construction jobs and for the operation of the innovation tower. In June, prior to the city commission’s first vote, Simkins’ company Innovate applied for permits to embed the LED signs within the skin of the proposed tower’s twisting façade and along its pedestal.

— Francisco Alvarado, The Real Deal, South Florida Real Estate News

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