Coral Springs’ longest running festival turns 30 this year.
Our Town America, which began in the late 70s at Mullins Park before moving to Sportsplex, will run three days beginning tomorrow. The festival promises a mixture of professional and local entertainment, arts and crafts, a variety of food and an opportunity for people in the community to mingle. Proceeds from the festival will help nonprofit organizations in the community.
“The festival has grown like Coral Springs has grown,” said Ernest Kubasek, festival chairman. “It has gone from a little thing at Mullins Park, when there was nothing in the park, to the hugely popular festival it is now. We try to put on a good show every year and people always respond. The festival is the only one of its type in the city.”
The festival normally attracts anywhere between 60,000 to 75,000 people over the weekend, said Fran Cunningham, event coordinator. “As long as the weather is good, we will have a good turnout this year as well. We get people from Coral Springs, and other cities like Tamarac, Parkland, Coconut Creek, Miami, Plantation and Weston.”
“This year, we have introduced the open mike section, which will give people in the community a chance to get up on stage and do their thing,” Cunningham said. “They will have their five minutes of fame; it should be lots of fun for performers and spectators alike. The classic car show will be a big draw as well [as] we had 120 cars last year.”
“We have different acts coming in [and] there will be something on the stage all weekend,” said Joe Pozzuoli, who is in charge of entertainment. “We have a magic act on Friday night and Cirque performers from the Broadway cast of Jungle Fantasy on Saturday night. We will have the beauty pageant Saturday morning [and] that is always hugely popular.”
Pozzuoli is waiting to see how the community would respond to the open mike section. “I have no idea how it is going to turn out. Everyone will get five minutes of stage [and] if someone is good, he or she will get five minutes more.”
While Parks Tae Kwon Do, Xpress Yourself Dance Company and Armando Magic Show will perform Friday, Actors Inc., Beat Street, Starbound Performing Arts Studio, USA Martial Arts Centers, U4ria Dance Studio, Rock-Ette Dance Academy, Mrs. P’s Dance & Acrobatic Studios Inc. and Systol are scheduled for Saturday. Coral Springs Institute for the Performing Arts, Dynamite Dance, Leryl and open mike is on the menu for Sunday. The opening ceremony will feature the Coral Springs Police Honor Guard.
Ticket prices haven’t changed from last year, Kubasek said. “In today’s economy, we need to keep prices as low as we possibly can. This is an event run by volunteers [and] what we want to see is charities make some money and people have a smile on their faces.”
Bill Otto, who was festival committee chairman for more than 20 years, is confident of the event being a success. “Everyone enjoys a good time; people need a break from the daily stress. Our Town America offers a wide variety of entertainment [so] there is something for everyone in the family. We have a very good reputation [and] we will have another successful year if we are blessed with good weather.”
Our Town America will be March 5 to 7 at Sportsplex, 2575 Sportsplex Drive in Coral Springs. Tickets cost $17 for four hours and the parking fee is $5. Visit or call 954-752-0126.
