Florida Citrus Bowl Parade

Posted on by Thor

Some quaint Orlando traditions keep falling to the wayside. First the Kumquat parade disappeared and now the Florida Citrus Bowl Parade is a thing of the past.The  annual Parade celebrated the holidays and two annual college football bowl games: the Camping World Bowl and the Citrus Bowl.

Started in 1980, the parade was previously known as the Florida Power (Progress Energy) Super Holiday Parade, the Orlando Citrus Parade, and most recently the Fresh From Florida Parade. In 2005, Delta Air Lines sponsored the parade, calling it The Orlando Citrus Parade, presented by Delta Air Lines. Since 2007, Spherion
was a major sponsor of the parade along with Delta Air Lines as
co-sponsor, being called The Spherion Orlando Citrus Parade, presented
by Delta Air Lines.

In 2011, the parade was sponsored by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services,
being renamed as the Fresh From Florida Parade for one year. It then became
known as the Florida Citrus Parade. In 2018 the parade was televised in
the Orlando market as the “All New Orlando Citrus Parade” in a star
studded celebration to benefit the Give Kids The World Village.

This year the Orlando Citrus Parade organizers choose not to stage the event citing the cost of planning and producing the event.I used to love sketching the Shriner’s at the beginning of the parade route before they got in their tiny go cars to spin their way down the parade route.

The Citrus Bowl Gets a Face Lift

Posted on by Thor

Driving on the East West Expressway to work, I’ve often glanced over to see the Citrus Bowl being stripped down to it’s cement skeleton. I finally decided I needed to get off at the next exit to sketch the work in progress. I know that Orlando plans to host another Bowl game this year, so I’m assuming the reconstruction needs to be done by then. About 90% of the stadium will be torn down and replaced, including
portions that have stood since its original construction in 1937. Only
the upper decks, which were added in 1990 and remain viable as part of a
modern facility, will remain.

The new Citrus Bowl will offer an enhanced fan experience at every
level, with wider, chair-back seating, new concessions areas and
restrooms, and new club and premium spaces throughout the building. 

When the stadium reopens in fall 2014, it will continue to host
signature events including the Capital One Bowl, Russell Athletic Bowl,
Florida Blue Florida Classic and Monster Jam. In addition, the new venue
will allow Orlando to pursue more high-profile sports tourism events
such as neutral-site college football games, NFL preseason games,
international soccer matches, big-name concerts and more.

November 2013

Pre-construction mobilization began.

January 2014

Demolition of lower seating levels began.

March 2014

New seating bowl construction began.

Late Spring 2014

Construction of new concessions, restrooms, team locker rooms and operation/support areas began.

November 2014

Substantial completion achieved (95%) in time to be operational for fall events.

April 2015

Target for 100% completion.

Citrus Bowl Parade

Posted on by Thor

On December 29th, I got up at 8AM to get downtown to sketch the Citrus Bowl Parade as it formed. The sky was grey, and as I drove downtown it started to rain. Walking from my suburban parking spot, I passed a church charging $5 to park in their lot. As I got near the Courthouse, it began to pour. My wind breaker stopped most of the rain but my jeans got soaked. Hundreds of girl scouts were huddled in the courthouse overhangs. I considered sketching some military vehicles, but by the time I got my sketchbook out of my bag, the rain stopped and the drivers jumped in the jeeps and drove off.

Far in the distance I saw the Citrus Floats parked down by the Bob Carr Performing Arts Center. I walked down to the corner of Hughey and sketched the floats. They were the exact same floats I sketched last year. I believe they rubber band the fruit to the floats in the parking lot of what used to be the Amway Arena. A Shriner in a tiny Model A buzzed past me on the way to the parade route. When the floats are not in use, they are stored by the Citrus Bowl. You can see their naked skeletons from the East West Expressway. Then added a bright splash of color being covered in yellow grapefruits and oranges. As I sketched, it started to rain again and I retreated under the I-4 overpass.

Someone asked me where the parade route was and I pointed him to Orange Avenue. I realized he must have considered me an authority since I was wearing a NYC police cap. Terry called to let me know she had come to the parade and she was parked at her office. I finished the sketch and walked to the parade route. It began to pour again. I huddled near the Bank of America building and then darted to an overhang near a pizzeria. A little boy splashed in a curbside puddle. Someone walking by under an umbrella said, “He’s got the right idea.” The boys mom shouted out, “Stop standing in the puddle, you’ll get sick!” Defiant, the boy shouted back, “I won’t get sick.” The parade started. Marching bands took formation and marched by. The color guard girls flags were soaked and heavy. The high winds made it close to impossible for them to spin the flags. They laughed as they tried. The girl scouts walked past with their clear ponchos billowing violently in the wind. A large gust caused all the girl scouts to scream.

The Roadrunner Shriners in their tiny but very loud go-carts spun in circles on the rain soaked pavement. I was afraid they might spin out of control into the crowds on the sidewalk. They were having a blast in the rain. The marching band from the University of Nebraska marched past, with the brass and drums extra loud. The cheerleaders with their red and white pom-poms shouted out, “Go Huskers!” I ordered two slices of pizza and sat at an outdoor table to continue watching the parade. Terry met me at the Pizzeria. There was a large pile of Mardi Gras beads on the table I was sitting at. The pile of beads were all knotted together and Terry got to work trying to undo the knot. When the parade had passed, she continued working on the complex task. I watched the people migrating back to their cars. When the rain slowed to a drizzle, I made my way back to my car and she walked back to her office.

HoliFest

Posted on by Thor

Holi is a religious springtime Festival celebrated by Hindus. It is also known as the Festival of Colors. Holi is celebrated at the end of the winter season on the last full moon day of the lunar month. The main thing I know about the festival is that it is a whole lot of fun watching people throwing brightly colored pigments at each other and using super soakers and water pistols to squirt bright tinted water as well. In Orlando, a large soccer field next to the Citrus Bowl becomes home for this colorful carnage each year.

I parked on a side street on the opposite side of the stadium and walked toward the festival. The field is surrounded by a chain link fence with green mesh which blocked my view as I approached. The news had predicted a 50% chance of rain. The overcast sky meant I would be able to sit out in the open as I sketched. Last year there had been loud Indian music but this year the field was eerily silent. There was a tractor trailer bed parked at one end of the field and I assumed it would be used as a stage. I spoke to the event organizer and he said there had been a number of last minute setbacks. The DJ was running late and the truck bed was a last minute substitution for the main stage.

Only a few merchandise tents were set up. I decided the tent closest to the stage was my best bet to start sketching. Children were already soaking each other with pigments. I was wearing an old white T-shirt and old white pants that were paint rags. A teenage girl approached and hit me full force with her super soaker. I was surprised by the force of the stream. When I sat down and started blocking in the sketch, her little eight year old brother started squirting me with his small water pistol. I was able to block his shots with my hand. Once people saw what I was working on, I became Switzerland and there was a cease fire.

From the tent, they sold sodas, coconuts, colored pigments and colored water for pistols. I was surprised when the whole Psycho City Derby Girls roller derby team greeted me. Jeff Ferreeand Bucky Garrabrant were there with a group of friends. Jeff pointed towards his friends in the middle of the field. “Yeay, we are the ones who look out of place.” he said. But brightly splashed with pigments, they blended right in. I felt bad that they couldn’t experience the full brunt of the festival. Only 20 to 30 people were throwing pigments at any given moment. That didn’t stop people from having fun soaking each other in small groups. Children of the tent merchants crowded around me to see what I was drawing. Their mom stopped over and asked me the name of the blog. Rather than try to remember it all, she assigned each child a word to remember. She pointed to the oldest girl, her word was “Analog”, the next girl recited “Artist”, and the next girl recited “Digital”. A young boy walked up and said, “What?” “Not what!” They shouted back, “World”. The mom pointed to each child in quick succession and they had it down pat.

The organizer told me that they had expanded the festival to run over both days on the weekend. With this sketch done, a family got on stage and began singing a Hindu chant with drums as accompaniment. It started to rain and I decided to come back the next day. The next day it rained however and the festival was canceled.

Fresh from Florida Parade

Posted on by Thor

I woke up late on Saturday morning and realized I had to rush downtown to catch the parade formerly known as the Citrus Bowl Parade. I knew where the parade assembled since I had sketched the police horses the prior year. I parked north of Lake Eola and walked to Orange Avenue. I could hear the college bands playing as I approached. A lanky man walked up behind me and said, “Looks like you got the best seat for the parade.” “Well it’s the cheapest.” I replied. He started complaining about how the parades name had changed. “They always have to fix things that aren’t broke.” He said. He broke off to head south.

I wanted to sketch the assembly area since folks would be standing still waiting for the parade to start, which makes sketching much easier. A Nebraska band stood in bright red and white uniforms. Majorettes practiced twirling their batons. It was a warm beautiful day. I’m sure they were glad to be removed from the cold Nebraska planes. Since I was late, I knew I wouldn’t have enough time to sketch a whole band. I needed to find something bigger, bolder and less likely to march away.

I started to sketch people holding Macy’s balloon styled “Power Ball” red orbs, but then the parade started to move. They walked away. I erased them and walked a block back to start the next sketch. Old cars caught my eye along with women on stilts. Who can resist sketching women dressed up as candy canes on stilts. They were on a side road waiting for their turn to get on the parade route. I soon realized these were all performers from Universal Studios.

Bands marched loudly by. Shriner’s in mini automobile go-carts buzzed around in circles in the intersection. The police horses clomped through the intersection but they weren’t in the parade this year. They must have just been there for crowd control. When the parade had past me, a street cleaner immediately got to work brushing it’s way north up Orange Avenue. I realized I hadn’t had breakfast. I ordered a hot dog from a vendor across from the Court House. Being in the staging area, I got to see the whole parade and I wasn’t in a crowd that could block my view. As I walked back to my car I could see where the parade was ending. People had paid $23 to sit in bleachers and the intersection was mobbed with people. I wasn’t tempted to shove my way in.

Citrus Floats

Posted on by Thor

I spent an afternoon searching for the spot where volunteers rubber band thousands of citrus fruits onto wire meshes to create the floats for what was formerly the Citrus Bowl Parade. The new name of the parade is the “Fresh from Florida Parade.” I heard volunteers would be working feverishly at the old Amway Arena. I went there assuming the floats would be inside the Arena. I was surprised to see that the Arena was surrounded by chain link fencing and it is considered a construction site. lt turns out the Arena is being demolished to make way for a Creative Village. The interior is now being demolished, and the building is slated to be rigged with explosives and will implode in March of 2012. I walked around the fenced in Arena. A security guard in the parking lot asked if I was going to the game. “No.” I replied. “I’m looking for volunteers working of floats.” He directed me to the opposite side of the Arena. A huge crowd was gathered in a line going through a security check point. They were being scanned for explosives by the Department of Homeland Security and local police. “This is a rather big fuss for a few floats.” I thought. This turned out to be parking for the college football game happening at the Citrus Bowl. People had to go through security before getting on a bus to the Bowl Game.

I hiked down to the new Amway Center searching for floats as well. No luck. I visited Terry at her downtown office and she located a press release online. It turned out the floats would be at the Amway Arena the next day. At least I got plenty of exercise. So the next day, I hiked to the Arena and I could see the bright orange and yellow citrus peaking through the foliage around the parking lot from a block away. I settled under a shady oak and sketched. I had expected more floats. Volunteers were still securing fruit to the wire mesh with rubber bands but the floats looked pretty complete. The construction had occurred for two days at the Convention Center. They were then driven to the Arena for final touch up before the parade the next day. I wondered what roads they must have driven. Did they scream up I-4 at 55 miles per hour? Wouldn’t the citrus bounce off causing a catastrophic citrus pile up? More than likely they took side roads creating a minor traffic back up.

As I was finishing up the sketch, someone drove away in a golf cart to get dinner for the volunteers. The sun blazed warmer as it moved towards the horizon making the oranges even more orange as the shadows lengthened.

Holi Fest at the Citrus Bowl

Posted on by Thor

I went to the Citrus Bowl to sketch Holi Fest knowing full well that this Indian springtime celebration would touch and color my life. Last year I went to the event in a black suit and that was a mistake. Live and learn. I walked past the Police Mounted Unit Barn and the horses greeted me by walking up to the fence. Across the street the Indian music was playing loudly and I saw that some people were already multi pigmented. I seated myself with my back against a light pole and immediately got to work. A husband, wife and daughter settled in next to me. The little girl was maybe 5 years old and the supersoaker water pistol she carried was as big as she was. She aimed it at me once and I raised my sketchbook up to my face in a joking gesture of self defense. The dad told her, “No!” I was a little disappointed. A few minutes later I was shot in the right shoulder from behind with a bright purple stream. I wiped the stained pages of my sketchbook and kept working. A woman approached from behind and wiped my cheek with a bright blue pigment.

The field wasn’t very crowded when I started the sketch but by the time I finished there had to be at least a thousand people all joyfully throwing pigments and chasing each other with pigmented water pistols. Melissa Kasper from DRlP Dance company came out to do research for Jessica Mariko, DRIP’s founder who was unfortunately out of town. I hugged Melissa who was like a giddy school girl ready to play. I gave her a plastic bag to protect her camera and then she bounded away to put a few things back in her car. The next time I saw her she was covered in pigments and she had met some friends who were swing dancing to the Indian music. When my sketch was finished I introduced myself to her friends who were all brightly colored. They had a bag of pigment and they helped fully initiate me.

For my second sketch I decided to introduce myself to an Indian family that was sitting against a fence. There was constant activity. People tended to keep turning around always on the lookout for a brightly colored shower from behind. In the opening remarks from the stage it was announced that people came from as far away as North Carolina, New York and Nebraska. The word Holi came from Hola which means sacrifice. The festival celebrates the beginning of spring. It asks that we renew ourselves and move forward with love, understanding and compassion. There was no drinking at the event. The family I was sketching offered me several round fried dumplings dipped in a sweet yellow sauce. They were quite good. After finishing my second sketch I bumped into Hannah Miller and Jack Fields. They and their friends were vibrant and bright. When I left the event, I had to go to Loews on an errand. I turned a few heads as I wandered the aisles. The clerk checking me out said, “You must really get into your painting!” “Yes I do.” I replied.