Buju sell off!

 Bujus performance at the Tamarac Sports Center, was a big success.

 The organizers must have printed 14,000 tickets for on Instagram they announced this week's that it had sold out, and tonight one of the organizers mentioned the above figure.

Camille came up from Miramar to attend.

The crowd looked larger to me though but who am I to estimate crowds?

I like Buju but had not seen him perform since he came out of jail.

 He did not disappoint.  

I never stayed till the end though for the last time I went to a music festival in Tamarac and stayed till the end, (when Morgan Heritage performed), it took me over 45 minutes just to get on the shuttle bus. I pledged then "never again," as I can get a belly full of my favorite performers on YouTube anytime, without the hassle.😉.

Link:  (https://youtu.be/0OzJXY1x8IU?si=hmy7nHcqCJde1tXr)

We were not allowed to bring chairs tonight but when we got to the park we noticed quite a few people there with chairs!😡 

I think I will write a letter to the organizers to complain about that and the fact that our monitor stopped working before Buju performed and they never even tried to fix it.

I love our mayor though for its because she is a music lover why we have such chart stopping performers coming  to perform at Tamarac. 

This one was called Yard on the Lawn.

Miss Kitty kept the crowd animated.

This event was a huge success and Miss Kitty was excellent, keeping us in anticipation during the band change before the star came on.

Big up Tamarac. 

Aging wisely

 I guess it had to take the racing of my heart for me to wake up to the fact that I am aging fast 😊.(https://joan-myviews.blogspot.com/2026/01/reflections-on-biology.html?m=1)

One thing that comes with aging in this country, is the huge target on your back from scammers.

That's why I appreciated and attended the session hosted by the Broward Sheriff's Department in cooperation with the City today, to help keep us up to date with the constantly evolving world of scamming.

Apparently grandparents fraud is the fastest growing type of scamming these days in Tamarac and it's made so much easier now that it is so ably assisted by AI!

I was really surprised though that the turnout of seniors was so sparse despite it being promoted for weeks at the Senior Center.

Sparse turnout

There was also input from the Traffic Department and the Fire Rescue. 

The traffic department not only reminded us how to remain safe on the roads but highlighted the hot spots in the city.

 Interestingly, the number 1 hotspot in our city is the intersection right beside my condo, at Commercial and University!

Fire Rescue made me realize the many ancillary services they provide. (Our taxes pay for it so there is no extra charge when we use them.)

An important handout they gave us was a "file of life" magnet which they suggested we keep on our refrigerator with up to date information, so if they have to come and rescue us when no one else is around, they can get life-saving information quickly.

A great idea.

Mine is already on my fridge .

No harm is accepting that we are getting there and need to take steps to make the process less treacherous!

Afro Carib festival

 I love Steel Pulse and not having seen them for around 10 years, when I got the info that they would be the stars of the Afro Caribbean festival to close out Black History Month in Miramar, wild horses couldn't prevent me from attending.

Despite the close to an hour commute 

and the long, sometimes tedious wait for them to perform, it was worth every minute.

They must have read my mind as they performed hit after hit from the moment they hit the stage!👏👏👏💞.

It was like a musical explosion in slow motion.⚡🌄🌅🌪️✨

 Oh what a night.

Beautiful Nigerian prints on display 

The Nigerians were the only Africans who had displays at this festival. (Never saw any Caribbean booths beside Jamaica's either!😡)

This Nigerian mother and daughter showed off their outfits.

Jollof rice from Nigeria 

Sonia cops a pose

This band delivered some good African drumming 

Shuga from Montego Bay was good

This dancer kicked off the show. It started almost an hour late though😡.

Vincentian Soca warrior Skinny Fabulous got us out of our seats.

The covered area was eventually fairly full but overall, I expected a larger crowd.

You see, it was promoted as a free event for those wanting to sit on the grass or bring their own chairs.

 However, the covered area up front was being sold for $150.00. Very few people took up that offer though, so they eventually opened up that area to all us 'plebians.' Hence it looks crowded now!

Teflon tried his best but people were tired of having to wait too long for Steel Pulse.

Its actually the first time I ever attended an outdoor event at Miramar.

It is a much larger city than my own Tamarac and with a population twice the size as ours. And the fact that it is dominated by Jamaicans is obvious, based on their apparent love of Jamaica time.😁👍.

The festival was quite good though, although some performers could have been left out.

of

But what the heck, Steel Pulse saved the day.

Hispanic music

 My little city Tamarac Florida, abuts  the cities of Sunrise and Coral Springs. We are the smallest city though: Tamarac's population is around 75,000, Sunrise 100,000 and Coral Springs 141,000. (Approximates all).

 However, because we have an activist music-loving mayor, Michelle Gomez, we tend to have many fun events which attract persons from those neighboring cities.

 Especially to our regular concerts in the parks.

We took in the Latin concert in Sunrise.

On  the other hand, before last night, I had only found one event in Sunrise which I felt was worth joining in. 

That was a day trip to Key West. 

 (https://joan-myviews.blogspot.com/2025/03/that-key-west-trek.html?m=1).

However, I have never attended an actual event in Coral Springs, although, I do walk at their Three Mountains Park on Saturdays. 

The name is a joke though as Broward County has no hills much less mountains.😅

However in Coral Springs, they did dredge a canal once and dump the dirt nearby to make 3 little hills, which is what was turned  into that small park with the auspicious name 😁.

As my muscles can never improve if I only walk in flat areas, I must not be disparaging, as I have gratefully adopted that area for a weekly trek🙏.

JOAN, MY VIEWS.: A hill at last! 

Yes, I  know I am rambling! It's only because I attended the Hispanic Heritage concert in Sunrise and was just reflecting on what the adjoining cities offer in comparison to mine😊.

You see,  like Tamarac, (JOAN, MY VIEWS.: ICE, culturally disruptive), Sunrise also had a Hispanic Heritage Concert during their celebration of Historic Heritage Month.

 It was held on the 10th October in their fairly new, beautiful amphitheatre.

The attendance was low in the beginning as it had rained all day and I imagine the ICE monster hadn't helped. 

The rain stayed away in the late afternoon though and it was actually a nice night. So the crowd grew slightly later and appeared to almost double.

Everyone was in high spirits throughout.

I love Latin music.

Latin music is so energetic and lively. One reason for this is it's pulsating beat as the rhythms are often built around throbbing African drums.

For the first hour at Sunrise, music was provided by DJ Genesis and the selections were good, as he played popular hits from every Latin American country, identifying them as he went along.

         Venezuelan dancers do their thing.

Then the live band La Nota took over and kept the vibes soaring throughout.

They had a half hour break during which Venezuela dancers, even mere babies  entertained.

It was a beautiful, cool night after the rains and the music, camaraderie and general entertainment was good.

Pity so few people turned out to enjoy what was a really very well planned and executed event.

ICE, culturally disruptive😡

 One of the reasons for America's popularity and success, has been the comfortable diversity in the country. 

Surrounded by Sonias'!

Now, because of the disruptive and destabilizing methods being used by ICE, many legal immigrants are feeling uncomfortable and withdrawing into their communities.

Tamarac,  Florida seems to be going along that path.

I love my city, Tamarac 

Tamarac is a tiny but vibrant city of only slightly over 75,000 people. The makeup  is, just over 30% Hispanic, while the vast majority are Afro Americans and Caribbean, with a tiny number of others who originated from Europe, living comfortably together. 

Admirably too, because we have a wonderful music-loving Mayor, (Michelle Gomez,) we have quite a few concerts and cultural events annually.

When these events are held in the parks, you usually see this great cultural diversity in action.

However due to the fear now pervasive especially in the Hispanic community, due to the heavy handed operation of ICE, the attendance at these events this year, appear significantly smaller. 

I first made this observation after the 4th July Independence concert, as even then, you could see a trend where legal immigrants were preferring to stay home rather than tolerate the possibility of unnecessary, brutal and embarrassing harassment.

Poor turnout at the concert.

Nevertheless, at the Hispanic concert last night, despite the small numbers, spirits were high and the music good, as Tomasito Cruz and the rest of his trio had us rocking non-stop to music from throughout Latin America.

 We all had a good time and the weather which had been rainy and miserable all week, was perfect for this event.

Know what I realized too? How much Hispanic men love to and can dance.

They are on the dance floor throughout, in comparison to say, Jamaican men, who tend to excel at sitting around and  watching their partners jump and wine. 😁

Cruz in action.

Such a pity so many people missed out on the great entertainment due to the uncertainty of the times.

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.