I’ve been here close to four years already but I haven’t gone to one of these shindigs in honor of our resident manatees over yonder at Blue Springs State Park.
Oh, and (4) my pet name at home is Doogs—short for “dugong” which is Filipino for manatee—so I should be showing some moral support for my namesake.
I kid you not about the moniker!
(My goddaughter who lived with me before I left for America is also called “butanding”, another Filipino word for manatee. It’s a long story but suffice it to say we have the, er, “healthy” body structure of the gentle manatee, heh.)
Anyways, the festival is on its 28th year and it’s happening at Valentine Park along West French Avenue here in Orange City. The park’s just a few minutes from the Blue Spring State Park where the manatees stay in the spring run when temperatures become chilly at the St. Johns River where they feed. (See, I know a li’l bit about our lovely water locals!)
There’s going to be lots of entertaining stuff to do and watch, especially for the kids—face painting, sand sculpting, walk-on-water balls, a Frisbee show (it says K9 on the program so it must be with dogs), arts and crafts, a play area, and animal ambassadors from the Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens, one of the major sponsors. For the adults, there’s going to be live music, celebrity guest appearances (radio stars, I think), and some serious belly dancing. And I think on Sunday there's going to be some blood-letting...that is, there's an opportunity for you to donate blood. Look for the Red Bus.
If you want to take a look-see at the manatees, the admission fee also covers a free shuttle bus from Valentine Park to Blue Spring State Park...though I don’t know if you still need to pay for the entrance fee to the state park or it’s covered by the festival fee already.
The highlight's going to be the raffle draw that’s scheduled for Sunday afternoon. I keep forgetting the festival’s a way to raise funds for the Friends of Blue Spring State Park, a not-for-profit that helps in the preservation and promotion of Orange City’s famous tourist destination. Some of the money raised will also go to four students who’ll each receive $1,000 worth of educational scholarship.
I’m especially interested because of the prizes at stake:
- a Uniden tablet
- a 51” Samsung flat screen HDTV
- a year-long YMCA membership for the family
- another year-long family membership at the Central Florida Zoo (plus souvenir baskets), and
- a basket of cheer...which could be anything
The festival’s scheduled for January 26 and 27, and will run from 10:00 in the morning to 5:00 in the afternoon for both days. For adults, the admission fee is $8 and for children from 4 to 10, it’s $2. If you’ve a toddler under 3 like our Li’l Prince, you don’t need to worry if you’ve got a brood—they get in free. Snoopy has to pay $10 though so if you’ve got several dogs at home and you want to bring them with you, you’ll have to shell out more. Get more details about the manatee festival from the event website.
Below is the festival flyer. You'll find the event schedule on it plus, if you print it and show it at the gate, you get one child free for every adult admission paid.
See you there! (Er, look for a tiny Asian lady with curly hair and angular glasses constantly running after a lean, two-year-old boy. That’s probably me.)
All 2012 manatee festival images by City of Orange City
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