SEMINOLE – Organizers of the city of Seminole’s annual Pow Wow Festival have added a new feature this year that they hope will attract larger numbers to the annual parade and festival.
Prior to the parade, which starts at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 9, there will be the inaugural Tropical Trot Flip-Flop Run – a 1-mile fun run down 113th Street from the Seminole Mall to the Seminole Recreation Center at 9100 113th St.
“It’s always good to add new things,” said Recreation Director Becky Gunter. “You always want to get better so people don’t say it’s the same old carnival again.”
Runners are encouraged to dress up in tropical attire, the crazier the better.
Prizes will be handed out for the best costume and the best team costume.
Leading the way will be a number of area sports mascots, including the Tampa Bay Rays’ Raymond, Clearwater Threshers’ Phinley, the Chick-fil-A cow and others.
Registration for the event will take place at the Recreation Center. The entry fee for the short sprint is $5. Call 391-8345 for further details.
This year’s 45th annual Pow Wow event will kick off the evening of Friday, March 8 and conclude Sunday, March 10, at 7 p.m.
The annual Seminole Roundup at the Recreation Center on Saturday, March 2 and the third annual Stepping Up 4 Kids 5K and 1-mile fun run Sunday, March 3 will precede it.
As in past years, the Roundup will be a festive dinner/dance sponsored by the All Children’s Hospital Largo-Seminole Guild.
The 5K run is sponsored by Suncoast Hospice and benefits its Stepping Stones 4 Kids program.
The 5K event gets under way at 7:30 a.m., followed by the 1-mile fun run at 9 a.m. The registration fee is $25 for the 5K and $15 for the 1-mile event. Participants can register online at www.SuncoastHospiceFoundation.org/steppingup4kids.
The festival begins at 5 p.m. on March 8 with the opening of carnival midway rides.
The annual Kiwanis pancake breakfast will again be held Saturday, 7 to 11 a.m., in the Recreation Center, followed by the parade and 13 hours of action on the midway.
A fireworks display will take place Saturday night from 8:30 to 9.
The midway will open Sunday at 11 a.m. prior to the annual Children’s Extravaganza, featuring a number of area karate and dance schools.
“It (Children’s Extravaganza) allows organizations in our community to display their skills,” said Recreation program Coordinator Duane Crandall.
The Kiwanis Truck Pull competition will take place Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. in the city library parking lot. One group – the Osceola High School baseball team – has already registered. Others are expected as the event gets closer.
Pow Wow organizers have received $3,200 in sponsorship commitments thus far and hope to double that amount by early March.
For more information on the festival, call 391-8345.
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