Tribute to Stevie

 We had fun. Yep. 

The band calls themselves " Hotter than July."😁. 

They were.

This was at the tribute to Stevie Wonde and they played lots of his greatest hits.

Tamarac always has wonderful concerts in their parks. It's because the Mayor, Michelle Gomez is a big music lover and it shows.

Jamming with Sonja and Carol.

Nice setting, good music, good weather and good friends.

Culture

 Tamarac's annual multi-cultural event was held yesterday and as usual, Carol and I had to be there.

I also saw many other familiar faces from the Senior Center in attendance, yet somehow the crowd still looked a lot sparser than usual!

 I think it's the ICE effect, as Tamarac is a city of immigrants, yet even when people are in the USA legally, many seem to be nervous about going out. 

Maybe they are scared of harassment, since racial profile is the in thing now😡.

As usual, before going over to the big stage, there were cultural performances showcasing the countries represented in Tamarac.

Venezuelans

Thai

Mariachi band (Mexico)

Irish dancers

Then it was time for great music and the Lionel Richie band really delivered.

The Lionel Richie band

Their lead singer was really good and had us on our feet as he belted out Lionel's greatest hits.

These young people were however my all time favorites. 

They are super skilled.👏.

We had shuttle buses from convenient locations to the Tamarac Sports Complex where the show was held and they ran regularly.

Another well organized event.👏

Congrats to Mayor Michelle Gomez and her culture-loving team.

Celebrating in Tamarac

It was 90 degrees in the 6 pm sun, but we found good shade in between some food trucks, as we got ready to enjoy the 4th July celebrations at the Sports Complex in Tamarac.

Since Tamarac is the nifty city, Sonja and Camille came up from boring Miramar to groove with us😁.

 And they had a great time.

And guess who was working non-stop on the holiday? Yup our venerable, ever-present Community Center manager Michelle Sendik 😊.

Those who weren't able to walk too easily from the shuttle bus stop to the field, had her ride service waiting to help out! (Our shuttles were brand new dreamliner buses to boot too!).😊

Driver Michelle

I also saw the other Michelle, the energetic Mayor Michelle J. Gomez, appropriately decked out in stars and stripes, actively engaging with constituents and visitors as usual.

 The music was fantastic. 

That band, 'The Jam Band,' really knows him to put on a great show. And it's lead singer, a young lady, was versatile and unstoppable.

 Her repertoire was drawn from popular songs from every genre of music and she delivered with amazing pitch, intensity and energy.

 Unbelievably, they kept us rocking  for an hour and a half hour,  before taking a short break and resumed for another hour, up to when the fireworks begun! 

An absolutely amazing and flawless performance.

Where we sought sanctuary from the sun was far from the band stand, but excellent for the fireworks which were a fitting finale to what was another entertaining event, put on by my favorite city.

There was lots for the kids, young and young at heart to do too.

Our 91 year old friend Phyllis doesn't stay long at these events, but she never misses any❤️.

Good music, lots of good food choices from the trucks, first class entertainment, camaraderie and lots of fun all the way.

Another enjoyable celebration at 'the 'city of our dreams.'

4th of July

This year, I went to my first Fourth of July event, since becoming a citizen of the USA.

This was hosted by Tamarac City at the Sports Complex. The package included lots of music and at nine pm, fireworks.

                                    

The music was provided by the Cachet Band, which has been in business for over 20 years and describes itself as playing a wide range of musc.

                                    

This is a really high energy band with excellent musicians and singers who had the audience getting up off their feet and rocking on a regular basis, as they belted out popular pop and Latin music.

Posing with Mayor Michelle

As a Jamaican, I was however very disappointed that they never played even one Reggae piece of music much less Soca or Calypso!

For one of the things I love about the city of Tamarac, is how integrated it is with a mixture of born American and host of Latinos and Caribbean people all living together in harmony.

The Mayor was everywere

Tamarac has a very good Mayor too in the person of Michelle Gomez. Not only is she high energy and an excellent Mayor, but also, I have been to City Hall where I have observed that the workers there represent all the groups that make up this great city.

So having Cachet, as good as they were, dissing us Caribbean people, really hurt!

Ours was a peaceful, family day. 

I say that, as these days, living in America and going to events where two or three are gathered, can be hazardous to your health and life.

Look at what happened in Chicago as Americans gathered to celebrate their special day.

In case you have not heard, this was the day that a vicious killer, allegedly a Robert Crimo 111, climbed on to the roof of a building in Highland Park, in the northern suburbs of Chicago, and using a rifle made for warfare, murdered seven people and injured 31 others, who had simply gone out with their families to enjoy an independence parade.

This is just another occasion in which much less persons could be killed or harmed if ordinary civilians were not allowed to purchase and carry rapid fire weapons of war.

But the Republicans, who are in the pocket of the NRA, (National Rifle Association) refuse to keep these weapons off the streets.

It was therefore not surprising that this latest alleged  murderer was a Republican who frequented Trump rallies as numerous pictures and videos have emerged showing him present there.

We in Tamarac are grateful that our event was peaceful and full of comradery and good music.

There were a number of officers from the Sherriff’s department constantly circling the grounds on golf cars, so if that is what contributed to us having a peaceful fun filled family affair appropriately finished off with half hour of quality fireworks lighting up the skies, we are thankful.