By Jen Horton
posted Jul 12, 2008 - 9:30:46am
It's summer. It's Florida. It's hot.
And, in Downtown DeLand, it's about to get a whole lot hotter.
Tropical Nights is back for its 10th year, and it's going to be muy caliente 6-9 p.m. Friday, July 18.
"Tropical Nights is one of the most fun nights we have. Everyone just cuts loose and has a good time," MainStreet DeLand Association Past President Janet Dixon said.
Last year, thousands of attendees packed the streets and cut loose during the festival. Merchants threw open their doors for extended shopping hours, and many had festive food and drinks for folks to sample, as well as special sales.
On Indiana Avenue, folks danced to the steel drums of Tropical Hammer and limboed the night away.
According to Dixon, this year is going to be bigger and better.
"There will be the limbo contest, a hat contest, and chances to win $5 to $50 in MainStreet bucks," Dixon said. "They can register at the merchants with 'Register Here' signs, and in the MainStreet booth."
Current MainStreet President Janet Bollum said it will be a night of fun to break the humdrum of the long, hot summer.
"It's time to get out of the summer doldrums," she said. "We want everyone to join in."
Bollum said grass-skirt-clad women will travel the Downtown area, staging impromptu limbo contests.
Tropical Hammer will be back to perform smooth, Caribbean steel-drum music on Indiana Avenue.
Gary Monroe will be the featured author at The Muse Book Shop, 112 S. Woodland Blvd., and right up the street at Gold Leaf Gallery, 110 N. Woodland Blvd., Sherrill Schoening will be the featured artist.
Other creative folk can put their best work on their heads for the hat contest. Participants can register at the MainStreet booth on West Indiana Avenue.
Tropical Nights will also be a great time to shop, especially with the newly unveiled Frequent Buyer Card.
The cards, which can be purchased at the MainStreet booth, cost $5, and feature discounts at 20 MainStreet merchants. The potential savings total more than $100.
"You can get your money back the first time you use it," Dixon said.
MainStreet DeLand Executive Director Jack Becker said the discount punch-card and Tropical Nights are good ways to save gas, shop locally and get reacquainted with what Downtown has to offer.
Becker said he often speaks to groups, and talks about the variety of merchandise Downtown merchants offer, that nobody else offers.
"It's the uniqueness of some of the stuff. You can't find it anywhere," he said. "I hear a lot of people say 'I didn't know they had that.'"
West Indiana Avenue will be closed off for entertainment.
Frequent Buyer Cards can be purchased at MainStreet DeLand, 100 N. Woodland Blvd. For more information, call (386) 738-0649 or visit online.
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