13th Annual Palmetto Bay Celebration Picnic

On March 7, Palmetto Bay held its annual Celebration Picnic in recognition of their Village incorporation in 2002. The setting was the same as always, Coral Reef Park. And what’s old seemed new again. Eugene Flinn, the Village’s original mayor is back in his old post and so he rekindled one of his picnic traditions.

Mayor Flinn, Councilman SCHAFFER, CounCILWOMAN CUNNINGHAM, VICE MAYOR Du BOIS and COUNCILWOMAN SIEGEL LARA

“The dunk tank keeps me humble, and it raises money for the Ronald McDonald House. In addition, I’d like to thank Vice Mayor John DuBois for donating to Camillus House each time I get dunked,” said Flinn.

Compared to the prior administration, there was a palpable difference with how the Council interacted with each other. In addition, Palmetto Bay resident and Miami-Dade County Commissioner Danielle Levine-Cava set a fun tone proclaiming, “I love this park. I love this place. And I recommend the roasted corn!”

The three-hour picnic was threatened by rain a few times but ultimately made it through unscathed, providing the nearly 4000 attendees a sun-shaded day to enjoy the festivities. As usual, it was the Parks Department that really put the work into creating such a success. Parks Director Fanny Carmona proudly said, “The staff did a great job! We love doing this for our Village and to see so many smiling faces.”

The day began with a bike ride with Mayor Flinn. As a follow-up, Palmetto Bay resident and Green Mobility Network bike and pedestrian advocate Eric Tullberg ran a bike valet service for anyone who rode to the picnic.

Throughout the day, the picnic saw strong performances under the gazebo from local schools and organizations, including Coral Reef and Howard Drive Elementary Schools.

As is the case every year, there were tons of bounce-house activities for the kids to run around and enjoy themselves, including two high-action obstacle avoidance arenas.

The fire-rescue folks educated people about their equipment, there was a helicopter fly-over that wowed the crowd, the Palmetto Bay Police department fingerprinted kids for safety, and Miami Children’s Hospital fitted people for bike helmets.

Resident Jamie Wasser complimented the entire event, “I’ve lived in Miami my whole life, and for people who don’t think there is great community here, you should be in Palmetto Bay right now. There are kids dancing, singing, playing, and people enjoying each other’s company. I’ve never been more proud to live here than I am today!”

By the end of the picnic, Palmetto Bay had downed 3500 hot dogs, 2000 ears of roasted corn, 2500 slices of pizza...

...chips, 6000 servings of drinks, popcorn, snow-cones and tons of cotton candy. There were also tons of smiles and good conversation. Not a bad way to spend the day in the idyllic bedroom community.

“If you miss, your taxes go up,” Mayor Eugene Flinn quipped as he sat atop the dunk tank. “There had to be at least 25 successful dunks,” said Palmetto Bay spokesman Bill Kress.

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