Family Fun Fest spans the generations in Florida

Florida - Where do you start? With Jimmy Sturr and his Grammy-winning orchestra? The Sky Riders with their gravity-defying stunts? Several other musical groups, including Tangent, Groovy Tuesday and the Mike Quick Band? The always emotional and heart-warming awards presentations? Macaroni the Clown? The variety of specialty foods and refreshments? Displays by groups like the Florida Historical Society highlighting vintage Florida? For the approximately 4,000 people who filled Main Street for the annual Family Fun Fest in downtown Florida last weekend, it was all of those and more. About midway of the festival when the crowd was at its highest and loudest, Fun fest chairman Adrian Mateosian summed it up: “The day is perfect.” And it was. Warm but not unbearable, blue skies with no threat of rain and a slight breeze trying to work its way down the street teeming with smiling, festive faces. This highlight of Florida’s display of spirit and with more than a small measure of pride brings together the entire community and attracts folks from all over. There were even a few special guests from the upstate Town of Florida. The local service organizations, schools, church groups take part with informational booths, food booths, and are joined by a variety of specialty vendors from nearby towns. And everywhere you look there are children: Babies in strollers, youngsters with balloons, pre-teens, teens, all enjoying the free rides, taking in the music and simply having fun. The high school classes of Seward Institute managed their own booths, holding fund-raisers and enjoying their last few weeks before a new school year kicks in. The Fun Fest seems to be a great time to reconnect after the summer break. Ditto for the Florida Teachers Association, whose members distribute free balloons and gear up for the new year. The awards ceremony seemed to connect three generations. Brian Goodrich, who will be a senior at Seward this year, was honored with the 2006 Youth Achievement Award. Outstanding scholastically and in community service, the personable Goodrich was a popular choice. The Citizen of the Year Award was given to Jeff Babcock, past-president and a member of the Florida Fire Department for 16 years. He also is active as a member of the Town of Warwick Recreation Commission and is the chairman of the Village Parkland Committee. Longtime Warwick Advertiser correspondent John J. Kimiecik accepted the Life Achievement Award, thanking his wife Dorothy and their four children, who were all present, for their support in his various community endeavors. Kimiecik is a former teacher and coach at Seward, former head of the Youth Recreation Department, charter member of the Florida Historical Society, member of the Seward Alumni Association and a photojournalist for this paper. In his letter appearing in the very professional-looking booklet, Mateosian expressed his thanks on behalf of the committee to the Florida Board of Trustees, DPW, police and fire departments and Florida School District for the use of their facilities.