It's Time to Gather for the Neighborly PicnicBy Anne McKay GarrisApril 17 is the date set for the annual Neighborhood Picnic, sponsored by the Clearwater Beach Association. The picnic will be held at Triangle Park, between Bay Esplanade and Narcissus Avenue, from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Bring a small dish of something to share, and the rest of it; the food, drinks, fun, and games will be provided by the Board of Directors of the CBA. Members are urged to come, and non-members are invited and will be given an opportunity to become a member while you are at the picnic. Membership dues are $25 yearly. The tradition of a get-together in the spring to celebrate our small, friendly, and united neighborhood, and, for some of us, to also celebrate the end of the yearly invasion of our neighborhood called "Spring Break," is a long-standing one. Several years ago, however, the powers that be in the city of Clearwater decided that neighborhood picnics needed to be encouraged in all our neighborhoods so city representatives selected the date and urged all of the homeowners associations to participate on the same day. Members of the Clearwater City Council and often times, City Departments like the fire, police, and sanitation department, attends the picnics throughout the City. The youngsters enjoy the fire trucks and, last year, they liked seeing, close up, how the sanitation department trucks operate. The adults like the opportunity to meet and greet our city officials on an informal basis without political discussions getting in the way. So make your way, Saturday afternoon, to Triangle Park to visit with your neighbors, meet their visiting family members and enjoy good food and fellowship to celebrate the beginning of what Southerners used to call, "just us chickens" time.
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