Florida – Go Gulf States – Find Yourself on the Third Coast

When Artificial Intelligence Meets Very Real Sharks

Go Gulf States staff — Mon, 14 Oct 2024 23:30:00 +0000

Photo by Erika Nortemann/Florida Museum

Sharks, on their own, are fascinating enough for Florida students in kindergarten through 12th grade. Add artificial intelligence to the study of these creatures and their fossilized teeth, and you get Shark AI – a program that is blending paleontology and cutting-edge technology in STEM curriculums statewide.

Funded by a $1.3-million grant from the National Science Foundation, Shark AI (also known as AI Learning in K-12 with Fossil Sharks) is a collaboration between the University of Florida’s Thompson Earth Systems Institute, UF’s Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, UF’s College of Education, and St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

“Sharks are the hook to get students interested and, with their simple morphology, they are easy specimens to identify using AI,” said Bruce MacFadden, Ph.D., the former director of the Thompson Earth Systems Institute and a principal investigator on the project.

The project builds on students’ natural curiosity about sharks while introducing them to customizable, standards-based lessons in computer science, engineering, and technology through tools like interactive machine learning models.

To learn how to implement the Shark AI curriculum, 55 educators throughout Florida have participated in Scientist in Every Florida School professional development workshops on UF’s Gainesville campus for the past three years.

Florida, which is a hotspot for fossilized shark teeth, serves as an ideal backdrop for the Shark AI program.

The post When Artificial Intelligence Meets Very Real Sharks appeared first on Go Gulf States.

Food Is the Main Dish as Key West Preps to Highlight Florida Keys Cuisine

Go Gulf States staff — Tue, 13 Aug 2024 20:00:00 +0000

Photo: Key Lime Pie Postcard in the Key West Art & Historical Society Collection

Not that glorious Key Lime Pie isn’t enough! There are many other treats capable of representing the food of Florida Keys. Mango and Citrus and Conch everything, Cuban sandwiches, Bahamian BBQ, plus so much more. Cuisine of the region will take center stage in a national touring museum collaboration coming to Key West in early 2026. – Editor

Florida Humanities, in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution’s Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), has launched a new exhibition partnership program, “Exhibition Starter Kit: FOOD.” The partnership has selected the Key West Art & Historical Society as an inaugural recipient. In total, eight nonprofit organizations received funding from Florida Humanities in June 2024. These nonprofits will create exhibitions that capture local narratives on food, utilizing resources and support from the Smithsonian.

Exhibition Starter Kits provide a Smithsonian-developed framework to guide selected venues through the development of local humanities-based exhibitions using their own collections. While working on their exhibition project, funded venues will receive guidance from the Smithsonian. These venues will learn how to design and develop compelling exhibitions that highlight their local history and culture through the lens of food.

“Peeling back the layers of our local and regional food, you uncover a much larger story centering around the Key West’s diverse community,” says Dr. Cori Convertito, curator for the Society. “We are elated to have been selected by the Smithsonian and Florida Humanities to be one of eight partners in the state. It’s an opportunity to tell the abundant Florida Keys food story that has been shaped by a mixture of Indigenous, Bahamian, Cuban, and international peoples.”

The post Food Is the Main Dish as Key West Preps to Highlight Florida Keys Cuisine appeared first on Go Gulf States.

Stalking the Elusive Orchid: Florida Boasts the Flower’s Greatest – yet Endangered – Diversity

Go Gulf States staff — Tue, 06 Aug 2024 12:15:00 +0000

Photo by Jason Matthew Walker

The ”birder of orchids,” Roger Hammer displays a photograph at his home in Homestead of him and Marjory Stoneman Douglas. Roger was awarded the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Award from the Dade Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society in 1982. This work is licensed under CC BY–NC–ND with minor edits for style. – Editor

It was September 1975. Roger Hammer packed his camera, six canteens of water, two compasses, an Army jungle hammock, dried fruit, beef jerky, and other light rations before he headed to the Everglades in his Volkswagen van.

He drove 90 miles from his home in Homestead to Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park, home to 50 native orchid species. That’s about half of Florida’s orchid diversity and a fourth of the species in the U.S. and Canada.

But Roger, then 32, was looking for just one: Lepanthopsis melanantha, the tiny orchid.

”There it is!”

He had read about it, but few if any botanists had seen firsthand the flower’s delicate purple-red blooms. They are extremely rare, found primarily in hard-to-access recesses of the swamp, he recalls reading.

He parked his van, stepped outside, and proceeded to hike for five days. Along the way, he stumbled across 30 orchid species. Trudging through a swamp is tiring, it turns out, so Roger took a seat on a pop ash tree stump to rest and enjoy a granola bar. As he munched, he looked over his shoulder, and like a ghost, there it was: a tiny orchid with tiny burgundy petals.

“I went, ‘Oh my god. There it is,’” he remembers.

Chasing Orchids

Roger, now 79, has continued to spend much of his time chasing down and photographing the state’s most elusive flora. Florida alone boasts the greatest diversity of orchids in the continental U.S., but today, three-fourths of its orchids are listed as endangered or threatened. Humans and their insatiable poaching appetite for the rare flowers are putting Florida’s last remaining species at unprecedented risk, and climate change is only making matters worse, as are sea-level rise, saltwater intrusion, heat waves, and urban sprawl.

But Roger has done much more for the orchids than take their beauty shots and publish them across more than eight guidebooks.

The post Stalking the Elusive Orchid: Florida Boasts the Flower’s Greatest – yet Endangered – Diversity appeared first on Go Gulf States.

Lessons From the Marjories: Watching Hurricane Season from the Front Porch

Go Gulf States staff — Thu, 13 Jun 2024 14:00:00 +0000

Photos from State Archives of Florida and Leslie K. Poole

Editor’s Note from The Marjorie: Florida has a long history of havoc-wreaking storms. However, most longtime Florida residents don’t start panicking until late August and September when the worst storms are most likely to hit. As changing climate conditions cause hurricanes to get larger and move more slowly, author Leslie K. Poole examines the relationships between Floridians and these massive storms.

This essay is part of the The Marjorie’s contributor series Lessons from the Marjories, where Florida women explore connections between the three Marjories and their own lives. This work is licensed under CC BY–NC–ND with minor edits for style. – Editor

There is a game I play with friends in which I challenge them to name the “seasons” in Florida without using official calendar designations. It is always good fun. There’s Love Bug Season in May and September when cars may be blackened by amorous insects. Leaf Fall in February when the oaks seemingly drop their leaves overnight to make way for new growth. Everyone is familiar with Snowbird Season when roads and beaches are jammed with people fleeing cold climes, many proudly displaying what must be agonizing sunburns. Orange Blossom Season brings wafts of almost overpowering sweetness…and another irritant during the year-round Allergy Season.

And then there’s Hurricane Season

Officially lasting from June 1 to November 30, Hurricane Season is the time of year when television announcers repeatedly advise everyone to buy bottled water, canned food, and batteries, leaving me suspiciously wondering if they have grocery store stockholdings. The nightly weather reporter eagerly sizes up storms crossing the Atlantic Ocean and the likelihood of them forming into something dangerous. I attentively watch as they depict swirling systems coded by number for wind strength.

The state has a long history of havoc-wreaking storms. The 1928 storm killed more than two thousand people when it caused Lake Okeechobee to overflow. Zora Neale Hurston writes of this tragedy in Their Eyes Were Watching God. Then there was the 1935 Labor Day storm that killed highway workers in the Keys. And more recently, Hurricane Andrew tore through Homestead in 1992. However, most longtime Florida residents don’t start panicking until late August and September when the worst storms are most likely to hit. Changing climate conditions are making me more wary every year as hurricanes get larger and move more slowly, increasing their capacity for damage.

Today we are blessed to have electronic gadgetry that charts potential storms long before they reach our coasts. State residents have plenty of time to stock up, buy ice, and get the heck out of a storm’s path. But just imagine how old backwoods pioneers dealt with the storms that thundered ashore seemingly – and literally – out of the blue. And since I’m a fourth-generation Floridian, I’m talking about my people.

Two of Florida’s most beloved authors – Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and Patrick D. Smith – penned memorable descriptions of hurricanes, offering glimpses into what these rural folks endured.

Rawlings, writing from her home in the north-central Florida village of Cross Creek, described hurricanes in three of my favorite pieces. The short story “Jacob’s Ladder” begins and ends with such storms, framing the hardships endured by Florry and Mart. “The yellow-grayness of the sky was tinged with green in the west,” Rawlings wrote. “The roar of the wind was a train thundering nearer and nearer.”

The post Lessons From the Marjories: Watching Hurricane Season from the Front Porch appeared first on Go Gulf States.

Turtle Power! Learn About the Real Heroes on a Half Shell During World Sea Turtle Month

Go Gulf States staff — Mon, 10 Jun 2024 14:31:00 +0000

Beach goers all along the Gulf know that early Summer is a great time for turtle-watching and turtle events. It’s also an important time to watch out for turtle mamas making nests to lay many, many eggs. The University of Florida’s Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research is the place to be to learn even more about these fabulous flippered friends on World Sea Turtle Day! – Editor

The University of Florida – Thompson Earth Systems Institute is celebrating sea turtles throughout June in collaboration with the Florida Museum and the Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research. Celebrate World Sea Turtle Day with the Florida Museum on June 16, and explore more Sea Turtle resources by clicking through the link.

Why are Sea Turtles Important?

Sea turtles have been navigating our oceans for over 100 million years. They play a crucial role in maintaining the health of marine ecosystems. Sea Turtles contribute to ecosystem health in the following ways:

Sea turtles contribute to the health of seagrass beds and coral reefs, providing habitat for a diverse range of marine life.
As both predators and prey, sea turtles are integral to marine food webs.
Sea turtles hold cultural, spiritual, and economic importance in many coastal communities worldwide.
Sea turtles attract Turtle-watching tourists to Florida’s beaches, contributing to the local economy.

Did you know that 90% percent of all sea turtles in the United States lay their eggs on Florida beaches? Therefore, the Sunshine State an extremely important place for the conservation of these endangered creatures! Sea turtles are a keystone species. They have been a vital component of healthy and balanced marine and coastal ecosystems for over 100 million years. In fact, sea turtle health can be a very good indication of ecosystem health.

Florida’s beaches and waters are home to five out of only seven sea turtle species in the entire world!

The post Turtle Power! Learn About the Real Heroes on a Half Shell During World Sea Turtle Month appeared first on Go Gulf States.

‘Hurricane Awareness Tour’ Lands on the East Coast With One Gulf Stop

Go Gulf States staff — Tue, 30 Apr 2024 11:45:00 +0000

NOAA’s Hurricane Hunter plane at Houston’s Ellington Field during the 2023 Hurricane Awareness Tour

Years ago, while having dinner with friends at Galveston’s Olympia Grill on Pier 21, we excused ourselves rather brusquely and bolted out of our seat toward the dock to gaze in wonder at “the NOAA boat.” Social faux pas aside, we marveled at the large white ship. Confession: I am a NOAA nerd. So, yes, last year, upon learning that the agency’s annual ‘Hurricane Awareness Tour’ would stop in Houston, we dropped everything to race to H-town to take a tour of “the NOAA plane.” We arrived in the nick of time – the last in line to board the NOAA WP-3D Orion aircraft. Unlike the 2023 tour, which featured stops all in Gulf states, this year’s tour offers but one Gulf Coast stop: Sanford, Florida. What are you waiting for? – Editor

The Atlantic basin hurricane season begins June 1. During hurricanes, the NOAA WP-3D Orion turboprop aircraft is used primarily by scientists on research missions to study various elements of a hurricane, flying through the eye of the storm several times each flight.

With the 2024 hurricane season fast approaching, NOAA and the U.S. Air Force Reserve will host the 2024 ‘Hurricane Awareness Tour,’ a series of events to help the communities along the East Coast prepare. Media and the public can meet NOAA hurricane experts, scientists and crew members and get a close-up look at some of the aircraft that help forecasters keep us safe — NOAA’s WP-3D and the U.S. Air Force Reserve WC-130J “Hurricane Hunter.”

Tour stops include:

Portland, Maine: Mon., May 6 – Portland International Airport (public and media invited)
Albany, New York: Tue., May 7 – Albany International Airport (media invited)
Norfolk, Virginia: Wed., May 8 – Norfolk International Airport (public and media invited)
Charleston, South Carolina: Thu., May 9 – Charleston International Airport (media invited)
Sanford, Florida: Fri., May 10 – Orlando/Sanford International Airport (public and media invited)

The goal of these annual tours – and the public safety fair accompanying each stop – is to raise awareness of the impacts from tropical cyclones threats and the danger of being caught without a personal hurricane plan.

The post ‘Hurricane Awareness Tour’ Lands on the East Coast With One Gulf Stop appeared first on Go Gulf States.

Panoramic, Intimate ‘Coleman Hill’ Captivates Readers and SJP

Go Gulf States staff — Tue, 09 Apr 2024 14:25:00 +0000

Author Kim Coleman Foote photo by Sara Abbaspour & and SJP Lit maven, Sarah Jessica Parker photo by Andrew Day

As the tyranny of Jim Crow loomed, the Great Migration of black people from the South to northern states launched in the early 20th century. While the period and its significance may not be as emblazoned on the American psyche as, say, the Trail of Tears, the inhospitability of each reveal a great deal about our culture. Historical fiction is a gift that can lead readers to scholarly texts to research context surrounding events and eras in the our nation’s growth.

SJP Lit is an imprint founded by actress Sarah Jessica Parker. We love the name. It signals literature, while also playfully implying that books are what lights Parker up – or in the current vernacular, makes her “lit.” The imprint recently released a since critically acclaimed book about seven generations of a family before, during, and after the significant shift in an American population: The Great Migration. – Editor

When you hear the name Sarah Jessica Parker, movies and TV shows probably come to mind. Parker is a household name thanks to pop-culture standards like Sex and the City, Hocus Pocus, and Footloose. The popular actress’s newest project, however, is a different kind of venture – an imprint of Molly Stern’s publishing house Zando.

In 2022, Parker launched SJP Lit, which will publish between four and six books over three years. An avid reader since childhood, Parker has stated that some of her earliest memories were of reading and that her go-to activity between takes on film and TV sets is to pick up a book.

This September, SJP Lit published Kim Coleman Foote‘s Coleman Hill. The novel is a poignant reflection across several generations of the intertwined Coleman and Grimes families during the Northern Migration from Alabama and Florida to New Jersey, detailing grief, love and cultural shifts over decades. By using the narration of characters across decades, Foote perfectly illustrates the unraveling of abuse and connection between parents, children, and siblings, while providing a history lesson on the contrast between the remnants of Southern slavery and the price of starting over in the North.

In 1916, during the early days of the Great Migration, Celia Coleman and Lucy Grimes flee the racism and poverty of their homes in the post–Civil War South for the “Promised Land” of Vauxhall, New Jersey. But the North possesses its own challenges and bigotries that will shape the fates of the women and their families over the next 70 years.

Told through the voices of nine family members, Coleman Hill is a multigenerational debut that draws from Foote’s own family legend. As Foote told The Provincetown Independent, “When you forget parts of history, patterns repeat themselves. This goes for the great human tragedies as much as for intergenerational trauma within families.”

The book is, “At once intimate and panoramic,” according to SJP.

The post Panoramic, Intimate ‘Coleman Hill’ Captivates Readers and SJP appeared first on Go Gulf States.

Catch a Grapefruit Game on Your Next Florida Road Trip

Go Gulf States staff — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 16:45:00 +0000

Catch a Grapefruit Game on Your Next Florida Road Trip

By Stephanie Stuckey

Well, folks, the holidays have already come and gone and here we are, so close to spring. Of course, this can only mean two things. The first is that road trip season is just around the corner. The second thing is baseball, baseball, baseball.

So, if you’re a baseball fan itching to get back on the road again, it’s time to buckle up! Today we’re taking you on a trip around Florida’s Grapefruit League that’s sure to be a home run.

THE BOYS OF SPRING: FLORIDA’S GRAPEFRUIT LEAGUE

Baseball has been migrating to Florida for spring training since the Philadelphia Phillies first spent two weeks there in Jacksonville in 1889. By 1913 other baseball teams like the Chicago Cubs and the Cleveland Indians joined them in the Sunshine State. The next year saw two more teams move to Florida for spring training, and suddenly, they had a league.

Every year since (except during WWII), nearly half of the teams in baseball descended on Florida for spring training until 2010. Today, it’s split even with 15 teams playing for the Grapefruit League and 15 playing for Arizona’s Cactus League.

Nevertheless, from Ruth to Ripken, spring training in Florida has witnessed some of the greatest names in baseball over the years.

HOW FLORIDA’S GRAPEFRUIT LEAGUE GOT ITS NAME

Aviator Ruth Law in 1915

The weather in Florida has always been great for spring training. However, it has also served as a great place to get some good PR in for the teams as well.

One day in 1915, Brooklyn Dodgers manager Wilbert Robinson and outfielder Casey Stengel noticed that aerobatic aviator Ruth Law had a pretty good publicity stunt. To advertise a local golf course, Ruth would drop golf balls from her airplane.

Robinson and Stengel got the idea to do the same thing at their baseball field in Daytona Beach except with a baseball. Robinson himself would even stand on the pitcher’s mound to catch it. They took the idea to Law, and she agreed.

The day of the PR stunt, however, Ruth found herself 525 ft. in the air, without a baseball. Accounts vary about what happened next. The popular version goes like this: Acting quickly and noticing the grapefruit she brought with her lunch, she dropped the citrus fruit below. However, Robinson missed the catch. The grapefruit hit him in the chest, exploding on impact. Robinson looked down and saw red. Because he was expecting a baseball, he thought he had been mortally wounded. Nevertheless, he soon realized he was fine.

And it’s through this little publicity stunt that the Grapefruit League got its name.

THE 2024 GRAPEFRUIT LEAGUE

Today, there are 15 major league teams scattered throughout the Sunshine State for spring training. Starting with Stuckey’s favorite – the Georgia-grown Atlanta Braves – here’s where to find some of your favorite teams:

Team	Ballpark	City
Atlanta Braves	CoolToday Park	North Port
Baltimore Orioles	Ed Smith Stadium	Sarasota
Boston Red Sox	JetBlue Park	Fort Myers
Detroit Tigers	Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium	Lakeland
Houston Astros	The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches	West Palm Beach
Miami Marlins	Roger Dean Stadium	Jupiter
Minnesota Twins	Hammond Stadium	Fort Myers
New York Mets	Clover Park	Port St. Lucie
New York Yankees	George M. Steinbrenner Field	Tampa
Philadelphia Phillies	BayCare Ballpark	Clearwater
Pittsburgh Pirates	LECOM Park	Bradenton
St. Louis Cardinals	Roger Dean Stadium	Jupiter
Tampa Bay Rays	Charlotte Sports Park	Port Charlotte
Toronto Blue Jays	TD Ballpark	Dunedin
Washington Nationals	The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches	West Palm Beach

The first two games of the spring training season happened Friday, February 23, 2024. The Northeastern University Huskies took on the Boston Red Sox at Jet Blue Park in the first game, 7-2 Boston won. And the Minnesota Twins beat the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers at the Hammond Stadium at Lee County Sports Complex.

For the complete spring training schedules of all 15 major league baseball teams, visit the Grapefruit League’s official website here.

Also, check out the inaugural edition of MLB’s Spring Breakout taking place March 14-17 at Grapefruit League ballparks across Florida. The event showcases the league’s up-and-coming talent through 16 exhibition games featuring each team’s top 20-25 prospects. This is definitely a series you don’t want to miss.

Finally, are you planning a road trip along America’s third coast this summer? Then why not catch nine innings with the Houston Astros, Tampa Bay Rays, or Miami Marlins while you’re there? Click on the team name for regular season schedules.

Take Stuckey’s out to the Ol’ ballgame

Sure, peanuts and Cracker Jacks have always been the go-to snacks of every American ballpark. However, why not step up your game this year with Stuckey’s Hunkey Dorey popcorn mix? Its perfect blend of premium popcorn, house-made caramel, crunchy almonds, and Georgia-grown pecans make it the grand slam of ballpark snacks. Order some now from stuckeys.com and have some on hand for the entire season.

Along the way, pick up some delicious Stuckey’s pecan snacks at select Bealls, Wawa and Stuckey’s stores throughout Florida. Click on the stores for locations and more info.

And whether it’s baseball, barbecue, or the bayou, start planning your road trip along America’s third coast today – only at Go! Gulf States!

Stuckey’s – We’re Making Road Trips Fun Again!

The post Catch a Grapefruit Game on Your Next Florida Road Trip appeared first on Go Gulf States.

Black Art & Film Festival Lights Up St. Pete with Creativity, Diversity, and Emerging Talent

Go Gulf States staff — Fri, 16 Feb 2024 22:25:00 +0000

ST. PETERSBURG – The eagerly anticipated Black Art & Film Festival is set to captivate audiences with a dynamic showcase of artistic expression, thought-provoking film, and engaging networking opportunities.

Attendees can expect an exhilarating lineup of events. The festival will showcase intriguing indie shorts, stimulating documentaries, and body-rocking music videos. This media celebrates Black artists and filmmakers’ rich diversity and creativity. The festival will also feature highly educational workshops. These sessions are designed to inspire and empower emerging talents and instantly connect networking parties. They will offer unique opportunities for rising artists to engage with top indie professionals in a lively and inclusive atmosphere.

“This event is a celebration of diversity, innovation, and the power of storytelling. We are excited to bring together artists, filmmakers, and industry professionals to showcase their work and connect with a community of like-minded individuals,” said the festival director, Cranstan Cumberbatch. “We are proud to present the Black Art & Film Festival as a platform where creative minds come to intertwine.”

Click through to learn more about the festival and for the full schedule.

The post Black Art & Film Festival Lights Up St. Pete with Creativity, Diversity, and Emerging Talent appeared first on Go Gulf States.

Can’t Keep a Good Cooter Down: How Inverness Is Betting on Cootertober

Go Gulf States staff — Sat, 30 Sep 2023 14:43:00 +0000

Can’t Keep a Good Cooter Down: How Inverness Is Betting on Cootertober

By Kate X

Sunny Cooter is not out over his skis • Photos of Sunny Cooter, Cooter Festival ephemera, and Cooter Pond Park by City of Inverness

There’s just something about a cooter.

That’s the bet that the Inverness City Council made back in the early-2000s when they decided to launch the annual Cooter Festival in the small Florida Gulf Coast town. And they’re wagering on it again with this year’s month-long Cootertober celebration.

With new folks at the helm, the month of over 20 events features a two-night Cooter Music Festival headlined by early-2000s homeskillets Howie Day and Vertical Horizon. The month also has a carnival, a creepy Zombie-themed weekend, a full weekend of elaborate Haunted adventures, and the big finale: Cooterween!

Speaking of the early-Aughts, that’s where the Inverness Cooter fest first emerged.

It all began in 2004. Many folks assume then-City Manager Frank DiGiovanni had the idea for Cooter Festival. But according to a video interview with the Citrus County Chronicle from 2013, he and the city clerk at the time were in a staff session brainstorming a “quirky” nature fall festival for the city.

The clerk piped up and asked, “Why don’t we just do a cooter festival?” After all, Inverness, the county seat of Citrus County, Florida, is home to Cooter Pond Park, which abuts the Withlacoochee State Trail. That settled it: The group landed on a theme.

If it were a cooter, it would’ve bit ’em.

The Tale of Two+ Cooters

There’s no getting around it. The word “Cooter” has a certain… charm, a je ne sais quoi, an unmistakable air to it. Exactly what you’d expect from a word with at least two entendres.

Before it even had a chance to launch, the event enjoyed some accidental infamy thanks to its wink-nudge name: The festival caught the attention of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show.

After the tongue-in-cheek segment featuring Daily Show correspondent Ed Helms ran, that cooter was out of the bag.

That’s not Ed Helms (L) but that is Frank DiGiovanni (R)
Video screenshot by City of Iverness via Facebook

The Daily Show caught wind of the Cooter Festival in the first place due to a dust-up after big-city Tampa Bay Times ran a cheeky, lighthearted article entitled, “Local Turtle or Euphemism? Love the Cooter, Inverness.”

Boy, did tongues begin to wag. The manufactured Cooter outrage that followed set the city manager off, and he cancelled the fest.

In a follow-up piece in the Times, Cooter Clash Is Nothing but a Senseless Name Game, the paper reported that the city council reversed DiGiovanni’s decision. The article suggested that the outcome may have been his split-the-baby-turtle intention all along.

Tsk, tsk. All of this over a bit of slang that means (drumroll, please):
• A vagina…
• A type of river turtle (Genus: Pseudemys, aka cooters, from the African word kuta)…
• Oh! And of course, that character in the 70s TV show, The Dukes of Hazzard, who, by the way, was invited as the honored guest of an early Inverness Cooter Festival.

What’s in a (Provacative) Name?

With massive national media attention setting the bar, the Cooter crew produced a successful first festival. According to DiGiovanni, The Daily Show segment put Inverness on the map, with media and visitor queries coming in from all across the U.S. and Canada.

While the inaugural event itself was modest, it was a hit, and the legend of the Cooter Festival took off “like a rocket,” said DiGiovanni. The fact that there was already a Cooter Fest happening in Allendale, South Carolina since 1984 didn’t seem to matter.

The titillating name didn’t hurt the Florida event, either. If anything, it helped land the Cooter on many a “Weird” list, including a nod in 2018 from the state tourism arm, Visit Florida, as one of the top-nine bizarre festivals in the Sunshine State.

Cooter in a Jam

As the Inverness Cooter Festival settled into its growth, it banked on notoriety for the next few years while trying new things – Cooter Races, a Cooter Queen, music festivals, Cooterlicious Farmers Market, and even Cooterween (insert Beavis & Butt-Head chortle here) – all the fixin’s of a fun small town Fall Festival.

The event brought new visitors to the area and specifically, in recent years, to the new Depot District. The district is part of the city’s lakefront revitalization, fitting nicely into the Inverness motto: “Small Town Done Right.”

As with any annual event – tried-&-true or new-&-improved – promoters can count on one thing: unpredictable outcomes in any given year. It’s just the nature of the beast.

Changing hands in festival infrastructure and changing trends are just two challenges. Many other factors (can you say, “Global Pandemic?”) made the struggle to keep the Cooter’s appeal real.

In 2022, the city council made the decision to shake things up and replace the post-COVID Cooter Festival with a pricier Nashville-style country music fest. The recent lakefront upgrades could certainly accommodate something a bit grander than previous years.

While the fun of having big music names like Sawyer Brown and Lorrie Morgan coming to town thrilled some, there were concerns and hesitations expressed at the outset. Local retired reporter Mike Wright lamented the potential loss of the Cooter Festival’s ambiguous charm in his off-the-cuff and often humorous blog, proclaiming that “Cooter was Seinfeld – a festival about nothing.”

In the final analysis, the Inverness Country Jam was not without problems.

The gated and ticketed country music festival sparked mixed reactions from locals as it was happening. Some folks supported the idea of nostalgic marquee musicians appearing in their hometown park. Others took to social media, dissatisfied with ticket prices, lack of local focus, parking hassles, and the installation of a security barrier making the city’s public Liberty Park inaccessible to non-ticket holders for the weekend.

Once the receipts of the disappointing ticket sales were tallied, and after the Country Jam promoter presented a larger budget to produce again in 2023, the Inverness City Council pulled the plug.

One Twistid Cooter

Time for a wake-up call. If Inverness wanted to live up to its “Small Town Done Right” promise and produce a successful fall festival, it would require attracting not only travelers, visitors, and “heads in beds,” but also locals, too.

Enter Danny and Elisha Belden of the Twistid Arts Initiative.

For the 2023 iteration of the Cooter Festival, the City is working with this new team of hometown artists to program and produce the odd little celebration. Cootertober offers a full month of affordable events, appealing to residents and tourists alike.

Elisha and Danny are a married couple, artists, and members of the creative class who live, work, and play in Inverness, Florida. They own a tattoo business, Twistid Ink Studio and an arts advocacy nonprofit, Twistid Arts Initiative. Their origin stories – how they met and how they came to produce this year’s festival – are artsy, sweet, and about as Hallmark hometown as you can get.

“We met in high school, and dated on and off,” said Danny. Then life took them on different yet similar paths. Danny worked for a tattoo shop and developed pro skills as a gifted tattoo artist. Elisha wrote for Tattoo.com and worked on- and off-stage in the performing and visual arts.

“We got married to other people, had families with other people, and…” he said with an impish grin, “Our lives wound up bringing us back together.” They are a blended family of six, with two kids still at home.

Neither Danny nor Elisha fit any of the flip-flop, Trop Rock stereotypes one might conjure when imagining a pair of Gulf Coast event producers. In fact, either could easily fill casting calls for any number of Twilight trilogy, Daria, My So-Called Life, or Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboots.

But as it turns out, they were headed for an entirely different sort of casting call.

Art Takes Initiative

In the way that life and shared interests brought Elisha and Danny back together, a similar rekindling guided them to another major change. Their love for their hometown and its high school drama department led to the next big step in their lives: a nonprofit arts initiative.

“The local high school drama teacher, Kristen Neander, was my drama teacher in my senior year,” said Elisha. “I’m very attached to that department.”

Apparently back in Elisha’s high school days, the school board tried to cut the department. And you bet she was one of the kids out in the schoolyard picketing to keep the program alive.

These days, her own son is involved in drama classes, and she has a fresh perspective on the same old song & dance – lack of budget and lack of district support. While the kids are coming home with awards from various out-of-town drama competitions, no one’s hearing about these triumphs or the quality of their work. There are no reports of these academic wins, and the status quo of inadequate funding remains in place.

The Belden family and the crew at Twistid Ink Studio decided to step it up and financially support the teacher and students’ work in the department. “If she needed props, we bought them. If she needed sets, costumes, lighting, we would cover the cost,” said Elisha. Fortunately for the students, the Twistid staff “has experience in all of these avenues – pure luck!”

As it turned out, Twistid Ink’s spotlight on the beleaguered drama department spurred other Inverness folks and establishments to get in on the act.

Many conversations started – not just with the kids but also with their parents. The studio began to hear from families about how few opportunities there were for art-inclined young folks outside of school – no events, no local competitions, nothing for these students of the arts.

“If you didn’t play sports,” Elisha asserted, “there was nothing.”

Twistid Ink began planning a big event with a sidewalk chalk art competition “for the art kids,” and the Walk of Arts was born. The community loved how youngsters came out to participate and appreciated the studio’s holistic approach of involving the high school students every step of the way.

“We brought our industry friends, a couple of guys from Ink Master to come in, work with the kids, and give them pep talks,” said Elisha. “They learned firsthand that you can work as a professional artist and make a living. The Beldens also invited musicians to work with the chorus kids who were given not only insider insight but also the opportunity to open for a national headliner, late-90s hit-maker Jennifer Paige.”

Like those early years of the Cooter Festival, Twistid Ink Studio tapped into something the area had been missing, and they had a hit on their hands.

The Citrus High arts community had been facing the same issues that so many others across the country have with educational institutions: There’s always plenty of support and money for sports, but zip for the arts. To compound the problem, the myth of the “starving artist” still dominates, implying that arts training and learning are worthless in the job market.

Elisha and Danny aren’t having it.

The success of the first Walk of Arts was so impactful, that parents, businesses, and other supporters wanted to know what was next and how could they help. Clearly, there would be more events. To formalize the process, Danny and Elisha created the Twistid Arts Initiative nonprofit.

Hey Cooters! Let’s Put on a Show!

Danny Belden has been to pretty much every Cooter Festival.

“Last year’s festival,” he said, felt “high-end and kind of cut out a lot of the community.” He’d like for the festival to be “inclusive, with more community involvement, small businesses, and people from all walks of life.”

Elisha is excited to offer “low-cost and free events to open it up to [locals] while also enticing others to come.” When it’s affordable, she continued, “visitors have more money to spend on hotels, Airbnbs, restaurants, and vendors.”

But don’t mistake it: “Affordable” and “low-cost” don’t mean low quality.

Carley Butzgy has worked with Twistid Arts Initiative through a variety of events she’s coordinated at nearby Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park. She can’t say enough about them.

“Elisha and Danny are professional to a T. Together, they are a force to be reckoned with. The numbers they pull are impressive!” she said. Homosassa continues to work with Twistid Arts. The park has a booth at the next Walk of Arts this November and regularly hosts a Paint & Sip produced by the team. The next is the Bob ’n Brew, a Bob Ross-themed Paint & Sip, also in November, to coincide with International Men’s Day.

The Twistid Arts Initiative has been keeping true to its mission of lifting visual and performing arts in Citrus County, Florida through a variety of… well, initiatives. Their presence at local happenings has become a given.

Earlier this year, they headed up the Community Color chalk art event at Crystal River’s Centennial among other events, and even won “Best in Show” for their float in the annual Chamber Christmas Parade. Their reputation for creativity precedes them.

Earlier in 2023, current Inverness City Manager Eric Williams proposed expanding Cooter Festival beyond one weekend. His hope was for the city to host numerous free events across the entire month of October. Twistid Arts Initiative stepped up to the challenge.

Hands-on sweat equity counts for something.

Is this what’s meant by “Small Town Done Right”?

Just a Smalltown CooteR

What does “Small Town Done Right” mean to a couple of upstart artists tasked with producing a legacy fest?

Elisha namechecked “silly little Hallmark movies,” confessing her’s to be a “cheesy” sentiment. But she and Danny agree: “Small Town Done Right” is where a “whole town is together doing things. Everybody’s chipping in.”

“It’s like Cheers, where everybody knows your name,” Danny added, “That’s why it works so well in Inverness. And maybe one of the reasons why the City came to us to help with these events: They know our name. They’ve seen what we do out in the community.”

“Right now the phrase ‘Small Town’ is kind of a trigger spot for some,” Elisha reflected, diplomatically addressing the hoopla around a certain country singer and song up for interpretation. “But to me, ‘Small Town’ means not excluding anyone. It means including everyone. Everybody should be welcome, everybody should be comfortable, and everyone should feel at home.”

Ultimately, what seems most important to the Beldens is that Small Town is Done Together.

Cootertober Is Here!

The turtle shell potato sacks are prepped, and Inverness is ready to welcome visitors to Cootertober. Yes, this year, the Cooter Races will be human-fueled so that the turtles can take a well-deserved rest.

“The first few years the festival actually did live turtle races,” said Danny.

“It was in such a closed-in area,” he continued, “Everybody wanted to see what was going on, but no one could really see what was going on!” This year, kids will be cheered on, racing in a large area, instead of folks crowded around a small, 10′ x 10′ box of scurrying turtles.

“Folks will be able to see,” he said, and “the whole family, the whole community can be involved.”

Involvement is key.

“There are 40 different small businesses involved in just the carnival.” said Danny. “These businesses coming out and getting to know the community is a great example of ‘Small Town Done Right.’” And that’s just the carnival volunteers. That’s not counting the over two dozen other events in Cootertober (see full calendar with links below) powered by community.

Elisha added that for the music festival, “A local RV dealer is lending RVs to be used as dressing rooms.”

She noted a lot of generous local public safety and chamber of commerce involvement. Even the Historic Old Courthouse, a landmark in the center of downtown is doing their part – maybe even going a bit above and beyond (… the grave!).

The courthouse will be the location of the exciting Historic Haunt, produced by Twistid Arts and populated by ghost-host scare actors, including a slew from local high schools. The students and other community members have undergone extensive training and scare acting class. (Yes, that’s a thing, scare acting class.)

The courthouse staff love the idea of being included in Cootertober and ended up cutting some planned programming in the gallery one week early to accommodate the crew.

“They’re just completely opening the doors to us,” Elisha said, excitedly. “They’re taking everything out, and giving us full access to the building and even items in the basement!”

The excitement for Cootertober is building. And we bet the pre-show jitters, anticipation, and euphoria before the big event are all a lot easier to handle with a city full of helpful friends.

The old truism, while still true, is due for an update:
Slow and steady – and a whole lot of collaborators – win the race. 🌊

Full Cootertastic Cootertober Cooter Calendar

October 31 – CooterWeen!

Tue., October 31 – Cooterween

OK, Cooter boos, what are you waiting for? It’s time to book your trip to Inverness and get this party startled! 🌊

The post Can’t Keep a Good Cooter Down: How Inverness Is Betting on Cootertober appeared first on Go Gulf States.

Florida – Go Gulf States – Find Yourself on the Third Coast

When Artificial Intelligence Meets Very Real Sharks

Food Is the Main Dish as Key West Preps to Highlight Florida Keys Cuisine

Stalking the Elusive Orchid: Florida Boasts the Flower’s Greatest – yet Endangered – Diversity

”There it is!”

Chasing Orchids

Lessons From the Marjories: Watching Hurricane Season from the Front Porch

And then there’s Hurricane Season

Turtle Power! Learn About the Real Heroes on a Half Shell During World Sea Turtle Month

Why are Sea Turtles Important?

‘Hurricane Awareness Tour’ Lands on the East Coast With One Gulf Stop

Panoramic, Intimate ‘Coleman Hill’ Captivates Readers and SJP

Catch a Grapefruit Game on Your Next Florida Road Trip

THE BOYS OF SPRING: FLORIDA’S GRAPEFRUIT LEAGUE

HOW FLORIDA’S GRAPEFRUIT LEAGUE GOT ITS NAME

THE 2024 GRAPEFRUIT LEAGUE

Take Stuckey’s out to the Ol’ ballgame

Black Art & Film Festival Lights Up St. Pete with Creativity, Diversity, and Emerging Talent

Can’t Keep a Good Cooter Down: How Inverness Is Betting on Cootertober

The Tale of Two+ Cooters

What’s in a (Provacative) Name?

Cooter in a Jam

One Twistid Cooter

Art Takes Initiative

Hey Cooters! Let’s Put on a Show!

Just a Smalltown CooteR

Cootertober Is Here!

Full Cootertastic Cootertober Cooter Calendar

October 1-8 – Cootertober Kicks Off

October 12-15 – Casino, Comedy & Concerts

October 20-22 – Cooterpocalypse Zombie Weekend

October 27-29 – Cooterspooktacular Weekend

October 31 – CooterWeen!