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Event Goes With The Flow

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By PAUL CATALA, Tribune correspondent

Published: October 27, 2007

TEMPLE TERRACE - Although she calls Florida home now, Celine O'Donnell isn't so sure just how safe some of her neighbors are, so she asked.

'Do they go after people? I've seen them near the river,' O'Donnell said.

Standing next to her, Jaime Swindasz held one of those neighbors - a 5-year-old alligator - and reassured her that the reptiles do not generally attack unprovoked.

'We need to remember these guys have been here millions of years, and we're building houses on their homes, on their breeding grounds,' said Swindasz, an education instructor with the Lowry Park Zoo.

It was interactions such as the one between O'Donnell and Swindasz that organizers of RiverFest 2007 were hoping for.

Held Oct. 20 at Riverhills Park, an estimated 1,500 people stopped by to learn about their natural surroundings, hear some music and have a leisurely meal under the canopy of oaks.

Around the park pavilion and under cloudy skies, tables and booths representing park agencies, environmental groups, civic organizations and community groups were set up. Visitors learned about the lives of gopher tortoises, found out about the cycles of local ecosystems and chatted about wildlife they have seen in their neighborhoods.

'We've had fun. We learned a lot checking out the displays and learning about what all is around here,' said Dealey Dansby, who attended RiverFest from Forest Hills with her 8-year-old daughter, Hailey.

Besides the real wildlife on display, guests could 'adopt' a toy bat for a small donation to the Temple Terrace Preservation Society. The proceeds will go toward constructing a replica of the original Temple Terrace Bat Tower, which burned down in 1979.

'It seems to be working really well. We even have kids that want to adopt the bats. They are asking questions and generating an interest in the new tower and the bat roosts that we already have out,' said Leitha Bowles, Preservation Society vice president.

Among the other 18 exhibitors were Big Cat Rescue, Crystal Springs Preserve and Nature's Classroom.

'It's a good way to showcase Temple Terrace. ... It's just one of those events we have in Temple Terrace that brings our community together,' said Marshall Duncan, RiverFest coordinator and the Temple Terrace recreation aquatics supervisor.

RiverFest included the Canoe Challenge, a 5.5-mile leisurely paddle down the Hillsborough River and the Mayor's Cup, a 1.5-mile canoe race to 56th Street and back to the park. For the third year in a row, the Mayor's Cup was awarded to brothers Rob and John Tozier, whose canoe finished first in a field of four.

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