Village’s celebration picnic to mark 10-year milestone

Attendees line up for popcorn and other snacks during last year’s event.

Palmetto Bay was incorporated in 2002, so the annual picnic event celebrating the village becoming a municipality has reached a special milestone — its 10th year — and takes place on Mar. 3, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Once again the community outdoor party will take place at Coral Reef Park, 7895 SW 152 St., with an anticipated attendance of 4,000.

The yearly get-together, which is free to the public, features thousands of hot dogs, roasted ears of corn, soft drinks and other goodies. There will be games, rides and other activities for the kids, information booths and displays by Miami-Dade Fire/Rescue and Village Policing Unit as well as other organizations, and music provided by local school bands and groups.

Because the annual Mayor’s Cup Baseball Tournament is scheduled each year during the picnic, rival teams from Palmetto High School and Coral Reef High School will do battle at 1 p.m. at the park’s ball field. Mayor Shelley Stanczyk, who will throw out the first pitch, said she’s looking forward to this year’s event.

“I’m very lucky and honored to be the mayor during our 10th anniversary,” Mayor Stanczyk said. “Each year we celebrate our incorporation, the ability to do that, the vote and the naming of our city. We’re a huge success story. We all know how lucky we were because incorporation brought us so many positive things.

“We’ve been successful financially. We’ve learned a lot from looking at the history of older cities so we wouldn’t repeat the things that didn’t work. This 10th year celebration is a true landmark in the success of Palmetto Bay.”

Anyone who wants to learn more about the history of the village can sign up — on a firstcome, first-served basis — for the Palmetto Bay Historic Highlights Bus Tour during the picnic. It’s a one-hour tour on a Village IBus featuring a short history of Palmetto Bay, complete with curbside visits to several significant historic properties and sites. Register at the Historic Preservation Advisory Board’s info booth starting at 11 a.m.

Mayor Stanczyk said she thinks there always has been something special about the annual picnic and what it means to residents.

“I like the sense of community that it really brings to the whole town,” Stanczyk said. “Everybody comes together at the park — older residents, young residents. Everyone contributes to making it a success. Our residents volunteer to run it. It’s really a very big community spirit event; it contributes to that hometown feeling of Palmetto Bay. It’s an event our residents talk about all year long. It’s great.”

For information, call Mary Fernandez, Planning and Events coordinator, at 305- 234-6383.


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