|
Clematis Street EventsClematis By NightClematis By Night is a block party in Centennnial Square on the 100 block of Clematis Street. The most amazing thing about Clematis By Night is that it happens every Thursday evening. Yes, that's right, EVERY Thursday night. There is always a band, a lot of vendors, beer, city security forces, and usually a pretty good crowd. It might be cancelled on very rare occasions if a hurricane is approaching or there is just a massive deluge of rain. But for the most part, it does take place, every Thursday night from 6 PM to 9:30 PM. The weather usually dictates whether there are a hundred people or thousands of people turning out. The highest turnouts usually occur during the winter months when the weather is most perfect, or when a particularly well-known local band is booked. But regardless of the season, Clematis By Night goes on, every single Thursday of the entire year. The event is put on by the Community Events division of the Mayor's office of the City of West Palm Beach. The concept was created over a decade ago, and it's been so successful that it has been continued through all these years. I don't recall ever seeing any city with such a long-running event that occurs every single week. Especially during the high-turnout days during the nicest weather, it is not uncommon to hear remarks from visitors like "This happens EVERY THURSDAY?!!" This is one of the nicest and most unique aspects of Clematis Street that many of us full-time residents have come to take for granted. We have a well-attended street party here every single week of the year.
Sunday at the Meyer
Throughout the long Florida summer, the event called Sunday at the Meyer is held once a month at the Meyer Amphitheater, the park just to the south of Clematis Street on the West Palm Beach waterfront. The event is held in the late afternoon on Sundays. For the summer of 2009, they managed to round up a pretty good collection of musical talent from the 1970's to perform at these events. July featured the band Ambrosia, with hits such as "That's How Much I Feel", "Holding On To Yesterday", and several other well known soft hits of that era. This is a really nice event in a really nice setting, conducive to all ages, as you can see from the below pictures.
Green MarketThe West Palm Beach Green Market happens every Saturday morning from October through April. The location is just one block north of the eastern end of Clematis Street (just off Banyan Blvd next to the intracoastal waterway). Saturday Oct. 17th 2009 marked the kickoff of the 15th season of the West Palm Beach Green Market. This is a fantastic event which draws people from all over Palm Beach County and beyond. In fact, the vendors comes from all over Florida, as far as Homestead to the south and Melbourne to the north. There are hundreds of vendors selling fresh fruit, vegetables, flowers, etc., direct from the farm. Thus, this is the best place to get fresh produce without the middleman, at great prices and of great quality. The event runs from 8 AM to 1 PM and it is a regular Saturday morning ritual for many who are hooked on this market. Arrive early (i.e. 8 AM) if you want to avoid the crowds and get your pick of produce (because the crowds already are beginning to stream in at that time). The first greenmarket of the 2009/10 season was no exception. Nice crowds were there at 8 AM, and then by 9 AM, it was so crowded that it was hard to make your way through (see first two pictures below). Most people come in to downtown West Palm by car for this market, and park at the Banyan parking garage right next to the site; however, since we live downtown, we can conveniently hop on our bicycles (with baskets for carrying produce) and pedal the four short blocks between our condo and the green market (see last two pictures below). That's my wife drinking coconut water out of a coconut. 
MoonfestMoonfest is a huge block party that occurs once a year, generally on the Saturday night closest to Halloween. It is centered in the Clematis Street 500 block but it's impact spills well over into the 300-400 blocks of Clematis, and along Rosemary Avenue all the way between Clematis and City Place. Every year, this event draws many thousands of ghouls, goblins, and other strange creatures. I don't have to actually attend Moonfest to see it -- as huge crowds of creatures seem to park in City Place every year on this day and then walk down Rosemary Avenue to the 500 block of Clematis Street. The little block of Rosemary Avenue between Datura and Clematis, which our balcony in the the 610 Clematis condo building faces, is usually rather quiet, but not during Moonfest! You can see for yourself in the below pictures from Moonfest 2009. The sidewalk on Rosemary Avenue becomes standing-room only, and you better watch out for who (or what) is standing near you. 
|