Mayor Rob Marlowe
There will be a special treat this coming Saturday: The Force Awakens will be the family night movie in the park. Be sure to check out the cool video in the link above. This will likely be the “must see” event of this year’s family movie series. The Force Awakens, like all of the family night movies, will be free of charge. Bring your lawn chair or a blanket. The festivities will start at 5:15 and the movie starts at 7:30.
You may want to pack a picnic basket, or better yet, stop by for an early dinner or get a “to go” meal at one of the many fine restaurants in downtown New Port Richey. Ottaway’s Ice Cream Parlor is yards from the park and serves sandwiches. I had a pressed cuban there last Friday and it was quite delicious. You also can’t go wrong by picking up a pizza and sodas at Cornerstone Pizza and then walking over to the park.
This comes on the heels of this past weekend’s Comic Con at the New Port Richey Recreation and Aquatic Center. By all accounts, it was quite popular.
Both of these events are examples of how New Port Richey has been changing for the better. Elaine Smith and her entire Parks and Rec. crew deserve major credit for coming up with affordable, fun stuff for families to enjoy.
Bob Smallwood, President of New Port Richey Main Street, Inc., sent me a pdf from Roger Brooks International. It offers 20 Ingredients of an Outstanding Downtown and is an interesting read. We don’t have all 20 ingredients, but we’ve got quite a few, with more in the planning stage. For example, we spent a couple hours this past Monday night working through design options for a new wayfinding system and gateway signage that will make it clear that you are now inside the city limits as opposed to just being in West Pasco.
Great family entertainment options, a wide selection of dining options, a growing retail presence, and nice homes and apartments within easy walking, biking, or golf carting distance from each other are all pieces of the puzzle that are coming together. I’m going to make a note to myself to revisit the 20 Ingredients list in a year to see how we’ve progressed.
I’m looking forward to seeing all of your downtown this weekend.
Rob Marlowe, Mayor