Let the Holiday Season Begin!

Southwest Florida’s tropical holiday season is punctuated by something only a tropical zone affords: holiday boat parades, with bejeweled sea vessels taking to the waters around the community, decked out in illuminated holiday cheer.

And Punta Gorda is blessed by not one, but two such spectacles each season.

The Lighted Boat Parade on Charlotte Harbor is now in its 20th year. A product of the Punta Gorda Chamber of Commerce, the annual happening features prominently in the holiday season’s kick-off. (The technical kick-off comes a day before, with the lighting of two Christmas trees in Downtown Punta on Dec. 4.)

On Dec. 5, the Lighted Boat Parade is preceded by the Charlotte County Chamber of Commerce’s Christmas Parade, traversing Taylor Street in Punta Gorda from downtown to Charlotte High School. The afternoon segues into a holiday bazaar at Laishley Park from noon to dusk, featuring tables of trinkets and tidbits, food and fun, orchestrated by the Punta Gorda Chamber of Commerce. Fishermen’s Village provides ample opportunities to keep folks busy between the parade’s end and the boat parade’s beginning. Regional favorite Jim Morris starts playing there at 5 p.m.

Then comes the pièce de resistance at about 6 p.m. — the Lighted Boat Parade, which draws an estimated 10,000-12,000 people.

A year of planning

John Wright, president of the Punta Gorda Chamber of Commerce, told us it takes a full year to put the parade together.

“Our first and primary goal is to make sure the parade is safe. It’s not easy to go out on a darkened harbor at night and find your way around. Not only are there the parade participants, there are at least 250 boats anchored in the harbor. It’s a daunting task, but it’s our job to make it as easy and safe,” Mr. Wright said.

The U.S. Coast Guard, Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office and the Punta Gorda Police Department figure prominently in making the event a safety non-event. The coordinated effort of so many enforcement and civic entities calls for serious advance planning. Two month prior to the parade, the proposal must be approved by city council.

“We have a parade chair, Doug Buuck, who owns All Marine Canvas in Punta Gorda. He’s on hand to give not just safety recommendations, but he’ll give advice on how to decorate your boat,” Mr. Wright said.

“This is my seventh year,” Mr. Buuck said. “We’re shooting for 40 boats to be in the parade. We usually run between 35 and 45.”

COURTESY PHOTOS Regardless of whether a design is glorious or humorous, each lighted boat requires hours of planning and rigging. He explained that another boat parade — one in Punta Gorda Isles set for Dec. 19 — technically has the greatest number of decked-out boats, but the Lighted Boat Parade on Dec. 5 is the largest spectacle on open waters on Florida’s west coast.

“We also have the distinction of being the only (Southwest Florida community) to have two boat parades,” he added.

“Doug has it down to a fine art,” Mr. Wright said. “The route is secure and safe to navigate. What’s new this year is that (the event will be) sponsored by Clear Channel Radio, broadcast live from Fishermen’s Village,” he said. And “For the first time, we’re collaborating with the Sarasota boat parade (on Dec. 12). If you’re decorating your boat, you’ll want it in the harbor,” he said, to have it seen by as many spectators as possible.

Beauty and the barge

Punta Gorda Isles resident Noel Hyde has been participating in the parade for 11 years. His decorations have included a 25-foot trumpeting angel and a 45-foot-tall Christmas tree. A favorite is a 16-foot lighted poinsettia being “watered” with a colossal watering can, complete with lighted streams of symbolic water.

Planning starts months before a parade. “We draw the design on our driveway with chalk,” Mr. Hyde said. Next, a netting material is laid over the design and stretched onto a PVC pipe frame. Then the structure is installed on his 38-foot sailboat.

Family, friends and neighbors readily help in every phase of the project. When the parades are over, the design is taken down and fostered in a neighbor’s backyard — on a pool cage, secured to a tree — anything sturdy enough to support it. When a design is renovated, strings of light figuring prominently into the reconstruction.

As Maya Angelou put it, “I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he or she handles a rainy day, lost luggage and tangled Christmas tree lights.”

Capt. Ralph Allen has been involved with the parade since its inception. Three boats from his King Fisher Fleet at Fishermen’s Village will be in the parade. An affiliate boat, the new Harbor Lady dinner cruise, will be docked in the harbor, offering supreme scenery and dinner for $50 per person.

Capt. Allen’s boats will be outfitted for the occasion. “Good Times Too” will be decked in red. The “Island Star” will be covered in candy canes. And the “Coconut Woman” is demurely flanked with a succession of light strings. “We’re not the most sophisticated,” Capt. Allen allowed, “but everybody has a good time.”

Maximizing the experience

Mr. Wright said that locals create occasions around the Lighted Boat Parade. “Some homeowners host nonprofit events in their homes,” he said.

One Dec. 5 private home gathering will serve as a benefit for the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, with horse-drawn carriage rides, a visit from St. Nick, food and drink and a ringside seat to the boat parade — all for a $50 donation to the nonprofit orchestra.

Mr. Wright urges participants and bystanders to visit the chamber’s Web site (www.puntagorda-chamber.com) for full details about what to expect. The site contains information about registering a boat for the parade, including a captain’s registration form. “The only thing we require (of boaters) is that they a mandatory captains’ meeting at 7 p.m. on Dec. 3 in the Laishley Marina’s community room,” Mr. Wright said.

Fishermen’s Village, the Isles Yacht Club and Laishley Park are favorite viewing areas. Some parking restrictions apply, and can be found on the chamber’s site.

And the party plays on

Immediately following the boat parade, the Punta Gorda Chamber will host a free party at Laishley Park celebrating its fifth year in business.

A few days later, parade boaters are thanked for their hard work and contributions at a first mate’s cocktail reception at the Captain’s Table Restaurant.

“Money can’t buy what these guys offer up for free. They don’t have to do this. They do it because they want to, and everybody has such a good time,” Mr. Buuck said.

As for why he serves as the captains’ captain year after year, Mr. Buuck said, “I meet the neatest, coolest people. They’re absolutely fun.”

Despite the hours of planning and hard work amid the frustration of failed and tangled lights, the show goes on as it has for 20 years, out of sheer joy, dedication and love of community. ¦

events


Holiday kick-off events
Friday, Dec. 4
Lighting of Christmas trees in downtown Punta
Gorda
• 6 to 6:30 p.m. — city tree at Marion and Taylor
• 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. — Downtown Merchants’ Association
tree at Olympia and Taylor
Saturday, Dec. 5
Charlotte County Chamber Christmas Parade
• Noon
Parade begins at the intersection of Marion and
Taylor in Punta Gorda and proceeds along Taylor
to Punta Gorda High School
Holiday bazaar presented by the Punta Gorda
Chamber of Commerce
• Noon to dusk at Laishley Park
The 20th annual Lighted Boat Parade
• Starts at approximately 6 p.m.
(inclement weather date: Dec. 12)
After-Party
• Starts immediately following the boat parade.
Punta Gorda Chamber celebrates its fifth anniversary
at Laishley Park
Saturday, Dec. 19
Punta Gorda Isles boat parade on the canals.
Boaters who wish to participate can contact Tom
Little at Kalani@comcast.net or 639-9442
Information
• Lighted Boat Parade: www.puntagorda-chamber.
com
• Fishermen’s Village: www.fishville.com

Ghosts and Goblins of Halloween Night, Downtown Punta Gorda

Luxury Homes of Punta Gorda Launched!

The luxury home market is strong in Punta Gorda...and for good reason! Where else can discriminating buyers purchase a luxury home situated on the water with in a thriving SW Florida town for these prices?
Those looking to live the high end lifestyle for low end prices should check out the newly launched "Luxury Homes of Punta Gorda" site at www.LuxuryHomesofPuntaGorda.com.

Update on Area Foreclosures

September home sales soared 42 percent in the Sarasota-Bradenton market and 56 percent in Charlotte County-North Port, spurred again by bargain-priced foreclosures and the $8,000 first-time homebuyers tax credit.

Even with distressed property so prevalent in the mix, prices held flat to the north and rose 7 percent month over month to the south.

Lower-priced homes remain in strong demand.

"We are red-hot below the $200,000 mark and if you have something nice below $100,000 you can expect multiple offers," said Charryl Youman, vice president of the Venice Chapter of the Women's Council of Realtors. "This is an opportunistic market for buyers like I've never seen."

The strong regional performance came against the backdrop of statewide sales that rose 34 percent. Sales across the nation rose 9.4 percent last month -- the highest level in two years -- as buyers scrambled to complete their deals before the tax credit expires.

But the strong performance in Southwest Florida continued the debate about whether pricing has bottomed.

"Have we reached the bottom in Venice in the lower price range? Yes, we have," said Youman, an agent with Prudential Florida Realty. "Where we haven't seen people line up for is anything above $400,000."

She cited the Gran Paradiso development in Venice as an example of pricing pressures. Originally listed at $626,000, the furnished and decorated three-bedroom, two-bath homes with a pool and lake view have been reduced to $389,000.

Youman has sold 41 homes in Sarasota County this year -- nearly half within the last 90 days.

But others remain unconvinced that such positive signs signal that housing has exited the doldrums, especially with rapidly rising unemployment.

"I don't know if we've seen anything dramatically different with these new numbers," said Sean Snaith, director of the Institute for Economic Competitiveness at the University of Central Florida. "Activity is up, but prices are not clearly finding the bottom yet."

A true turnaround in Florida's housing market could be some time away, he said.

"Until we get that stabilization of prices and start heading north instead of south, it's hard to say that we're talking about a housing market that's back in balance," Snaith said.

'A mini-boom'

Though sales rose 34 percent statewide, pricing slipped month-over-month, down about 4 percent from $142,000 in August, data released Friday by the Florida Association of Realtors showed.

The median sales price nationally was $174,900, slightly lower than August's $177,300.

Closer to home, foreclosures in Sarasota are beginning to feature more homes at the upper end, said Adam Robinson, with Siesta Key-based Key Realty.

"We're seeing more of the higher-end properties coming on the market, though that's not what's selling right now," Robinson said of his territory. "Anything under $450,000 is where the buyers are, and under $250,000 you are usually seeing multiple offers."

One reason it is proving difficult to move high-end properties is financing. Jumbo loans are not easy to come by, so even a home discounted from $1 million to $700,000 is a tough sell because buyers still need 20 percent down and face a high interest rate if they can even get the loan.

"Even if you have excellent credit, it remains difficult," Robinson said. "If they don't have cash, they could have a challenge."

Is the worst over?

While home sales and housing construction have risen steadily after hitting bottom earlier this year, most economists believe that the worst is not over for home values.

The rising jobless rate, currently at 9.8 percent nationally and 12.5 percent in Southwest Florida, is likely to put more people behind on their mortgages and push more into foreclosure.

"There's more supply that's going to come into the marketplace," said Stan Humphries, chief economist at real estate Web site Zillow.com. "That additional supply will outpace demand."

Whatever the future may hold, Betty Grambell is enjoying the moment. The manager with Bradenton's Wagner Realty said out-of-state buyers are flooding her with phone calls and e-mails.

"They're hearing that it is a good time to buy and they have taken care of their financial situations up north and they are in a buy mode," she said.

Sales activity for Wagner is on track to double this month when compared with September as people not only rush on the tax credit, but to be in their homes by the end of the year so they can claim a homestead exemption.

"I'm pleasantly surprised," she said. "I'm really looking forward to a good month."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this story.
Courtesy of HeraldTribune.com

Early Morning Walk in Laishley Park, Punta Gorda

Parkapoolza!!

Charlotte County, FL - Charlotte County Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources will host PARKapalooza at the CharlotteSportsPark. This all-day music festival will feature Little River Band along with merchandise vendors, food and beverages, a kid’s game zone, and plenty of live entertainment. See the poster here!

Tickets for this event are now available for $10 per person in advance of the event or $15 per person on the day of the event (admission for ages 3 and under is free).

Vendors wishing to obtain space to sell their products or services will be given the opportunity to do so on a pre-registration basis; however, space is limited to the first fifty (50) paid applicants.

Please contact the CharlotteSportsPark at 941.235.5010 or visit our website at www.CharlotteCountyFL.com and follow the PARKapalooza link for ticket sales, event information, and vendor applications.

The public can also call 941.625.PLAY to learn more about this and other Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources events and programs.

Date: Saturday, October 10, 2009

Time: 12:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.

Location: Charlotte Sports Park

ANNOUNCING! 25 Best Places to Retire-PORT CHARLOTTE!!

Port Charlotte, Fla.

Port Charlotte is tops for sailors.
Population: 48,000
% over 50: 44%
Typical 3-bedroom home: $170,000
Housing prices down: 63%
State income tax: None

Lots of places in Florida have been battered by the housing bust. But this laid-back Gulf Coast town, just across Charlotte Harbor from pricier Punta Gorda, arguably best hits the sweet spot of great prices and great amenities.

Homes here cost less than half what they did in late 2005, and about 40% of them sit on canals and waterways leading to the harbor - which has 270 square miles of cruising waters and 219 miles of protected shoreline.

But H20 is far from the only reason to move here. The area boasts top-notch medical facilities. The town's Cultural Center houses a 500-seat theater and offers year-round classes in everything from Japanese embroidery to belly dancing. And there's great bird watching in 42,000-acre Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park, which has hundreds of avian species and is crisscrossed with hiking trails and kayaking blueways.

The lack of a Florida tax on income -- including interest and dividend income -- only sweetens the deal. --S.M.
See complete data, including tax rates, for Port Charlotte

Contact Hollie Dustin, HomeChoice Real Estate to grab your dream home here! 941-916-2251, anytime!

StormPulse Hurricane Tracker

It's that time again, folks.....
With the pleasures of living in paradise comes the dreaded anticipation of Hurricane Season...now in full swing. Stay on top of the latest hurricane activity to affect southwest Florida by visiting StormPulse...

Punta Gorda's five-year revitalization began on August 13, 2004 and has been going strong ever since. Join the citizens, businesses, and local government who have been working together in partnership to achieve dramatic results. We welcome those who helped Punta Gorda begin this process, especially those from surrounding counties without whom the revitalization would have had a slower start. Save the date of August 15, 2009 for Punta Gorda's Five-Year Xtreme Makeover Celebration. Festivities will begin at 1 p.m. in Laishley Park. Don't miss the fireworks that will cap off a day of fun for people of all ages. Come together as a community... Visit the website here.

Remember August 13th, 2004?

Hurricane Charley made landfall in southwest Florida on Aug. 13, 2004. Not since Hurricane Andrew in 1992 had the Florida peninsula seen such devastation. Five years after Hurricane Charley, Punta Gorda has emerged better than before. Read the story and actually click on the photos to see the same scene immediately following Hurricane Charley...by Emily Nipps:

http://blogs.tampabay.com/photo/2009/08/hurricane-charley-punta-gorda-anniversary.html