Another 4th of July came and went in Coconut Grove yesterday, for the most party, people were happy and had a great time, the events from The Barnacle's old fashioned picnic, to the hot dog eating contest at CocoWalk were a hit. The Coconut Hunt, unfortunately, did not happen, we're being told that there were not enough participants. The TV show, "New Girl," had a promotion going on at the Barracuda on Fuller Street. An old bus was set up and prizes and drink specials were part of the deal.
Many enjoyed the Chamber's fireworks, but felt that they were too short in length. For the most part, it was a fun day for people, hot, but a typical old-fashioned Grove-style July 4th.Ari Romer shot these great photos and you can see lots more at our Facebook page here.
Events in Coconut Grove today:
Barnacle Picnic (3485 Main Highway). 11 am to 4 pm.Old-fashioned style picnic, games, kite flying, bring your own picnic or purchase food there. Cool 'ol Dudes will be performing live. Park admission: $5 for adults, $3 for children 6-12, free under 6.
Coconut Hunt starts at The Bookstore, 3:30 pm. Sign up to search the Grove for Coconuts. Win prizes!
CocoWalk has a full day of events but the main attraction is the Hot Dog Eating Contest, which starts at 5 pm. Then there is Beer Pong at 6 pm.
From 4 pm to 10 pm, the Chamber has it's Peacock Park event - food booths, music, fun and then fireworks at 9 pm and then back to CocoWalk for an after party.
The Barnacle is moving on up the ranks in Coca-Cola’s “America Is Your Park” campaign. By voting at www.livepositively.com/parks or connecting your smart phone's Foursquare account and ‘checking in’, The Barnacle has a chance of winning one of four recreation grants to help restore, rebuild or enhance activity areas in the park. The three parks that receive the most votes by July 15, 2012 will be awarded grants in the following amounts: 1st Place - $100,000; 2nd Place - $50,000; and 3rd Place - $25,000. In addition, a $15,000 grant will be randomly awarded to one of the remaining parks in the top 25 spots. Vote and spread the word!
Update - As of now, the park is in the 75th spot, and they're moving up the Leader Board. KEEP VOTING! There is still time left in the competition and believe The Barnacle crew believes they can get into the "Top 25" with your help.
They need everyone to help ensure that we make it to the Top 25 (and stay there) so they have a chance at the random park selection for $15,000. There's still plenty of time to register your votes. Remember that if you 'check-in' through Foursquare, after connecting with the Live Positively website, the park will receive 100 votes per check-in. Current contest rules allow you to 'check-in' 3 times per hour – about every 20 minutes with a maximum of 28 times a day. If you live in Coconut Grove, or the surrounding area, you should be able to secure the 100 votes through Foursquare even if you are not physically in the park, but you should be in the vicinity.
This letter is in reference to our story "Do we need all these events in Coconut Grove?"
We are retired and live on our boat at Dinner Key during the winter. We go to the Bookstore, shops and restaurants in the Grove everyday except we avoid all the events. How many retired people live in the Center Grove? We do not go to SoBe except to take our visitors there. We avoid crowds and noise. I think we are typical of our cohorts.
We eat out at least once a day and do not have to worry about the expense. When there is a big event in the Grove, we leave. It annoys us that access and egress are cut off or reduced during these events. We have to plan around them, if for example, we have to go to the airport.
We love the Strut. It is unique. The rest of the events will be found anywhere and if you see it once you have seen all there is to see. The pub crawls are for the 25 and younger crowd. That crowd drives the likes of us away. My family made it in the beer distribution business up north and we have sponsored more Grove-like business builders than any of us could count in the 70 years we were in the business.Take the money and energy spent on small promo events and use it to get the Playhouse open again. We are behind the competition in the performing arts area. The Playhouse is Grove.
The Beach, Gables and Calle Ocho have art film venues. The Playhouse would serve multiple audiences. We could have a small classical music venue to compete with the University of Miami. The single best investment the Grove could make. The Playhouse is an icon that people still remember fondly but it is a wasting asset.
I read your site every day as it keeps us up on Grove events during the up North months.
Terry Fruth
Coconut Grove
Added to the long list of Coconut Grove activites for July 4th is live music at The Taurus. The Click is back, performing where they started out so many years ago. What's interesting too, is that the new Taurus opened on July 4th a few years ago, so it's their birthday, too!The Click will be performing from 3 to 8 pm and then you can head over to Peacock Park for the fireworks.The Taurus is at 3540 Main Highway.
A few of us were talking in the gym last week and I was surprised to learn that many people don't really care about all the events we have in Coconut Grove. The subject came up because we were talking about funding cuts that will affect many of our yearly events. But while people like the Great Grove Bed Race and all the 4th of July activities and the King Mango Strut and Taste of the Grove, they seem to prefer a quieter village. In other words, they would prefer to leave Coconut Grove to attend events and then return to a quite home after partying it up elsewhere.
I find it interesting because it does make a lot of sense. While I am on many of the event committees around town, it is a lot of work for something that perhaps people don't really care about. I mean they'll attend, but don't seem to feel that they would miss them if they would go away. We always say that the Grove is event driven. But why?
Most events, all in fact, I think, are created to bring business to the area but not many businesses support the events. I know, I've walked door to door trying to have them participate. Most don't.
So what's your vote? How do you feel? Are you a resident or business owner? Do you like the events like the King Mango Strut and Bed Race and Taste of the Grove and Arts Festival or could you do without them? Do you prefer partying it up in South Beach or Brickell and then coming home to a quiet neighborhood or do you like more life on the streets?
The new Regus flexible workplace center is now in Coconut Grove at the former Borders Books location at the Mayfair Atrium at 3390 Mary Street. Whether you need to hold an important meeting, conference or training session, they have the space for you. Their state-of-the-art social media hook ups allow videoconferencing and wifi internet, of course.
It's a great addition to the Center Grove and a great addition to anyone looking for long or short-term office or meeting space. They have something for your needs and your budget. Regus opens Monday, July 2. Stop in for a tour! Their on site professional support team is always on hand to help out.
There are many offices throughout -- small, large, in-between, something will suit your taste. There are meeting rooms a central kitchen area and a brightly lit, lounge area. Leonor Sandino is ready when you are, give her a call with any questions or to set up a meeting at 305-924-6904 or email leonor.sandino@regus.com. Regus, the world’s largest provider of flexible workplaces, is in 85 countries, 500 cities and 1100 locations. We're happy to have them in Coconut Grove!
