by Patti Connor
Staff Writer
Seeking to awaken people unfamiliar with the area to the wealth of cultural and entertainment opportunities available to them once they leave the familiarity of the beaches — long accepted as the place to go for a special night on the town — the City has begun making plans for its Back to Downtown Celebration, tentatively scheduled for April or May 2003.
“Many people have a misconception about downtown Jacksonville. For example, there’s a perception that it’s not safe — and that’s just not true. They need to be made aware that they can come down for a concert, at the Florida Theatre or the T-U Center, then stay for drinks and dinner, and make an evening of it,” said Theresa O’Donnell, special events director for the City of Jacksonville.
With things cranking up once the weather starts turning warm, it would indeed appear that spring is the ideal time to encourage people to give downtown a chance.
“Lots of events happen during [those] months, and and that’s what we want to get our arms around,” said O’Donnell, who added that the city is still very much in the planning stages as far as what the actual event will entail. “[This] is merely a footprint.”
Spring already has a long list of events including the opening of the new baseball park, the jazz festival, The Festival of Nations and the Spring Music Festival. An addition is Sail Jacksonville an array of tall ships on May 16-18.
“Councilwoman Lynette Self has been interested for a long time in having something [like] this, and she has a very active volunteer committee. With our waterfront, it’s a natural,” said O’Donnell. “We want to let people know what is going on. Basically, we want to say, ‘This is what’s happening — and it’s exciting.’”