As the acorn grows

Although Oakland Park is a relatively young city, it does have a storied history. A project is underway to document and preserve this history through the voices of those who witnessed it, and participated in it. The Floranada Project is an ever-growing archive of video and audio interviews with long time residents. It will cover every corner of the city and be a comprehensive resource for those interested in how OP got to where it is today. Those interested in contributing their stories please contact Darleen Mitchell (954-564-5997) or Robert Rutherford (954-632-9051).
In the meantime, enjoy the above video snippet of Ted Galatis, Sr., who as a young city attorney shepherded Oakland Park's geographical expansion.

View of a secret

In a bizarre display of secrecy and disdain, Oakland Park Main Street has again slighted the residents of Oakland Park. An event to honor hometown hero Jaco Pastorius and muralist Bill Savarese was held at Jaco Park on Dec 2, the day after Jaco's birthday. The concept of honoring a muralist alongside the music giant would be merely absurd, but the fact that this event was a private affair -by invitation only- borders on elitism. Bear in mind, OPMS is a public-private organization whose largest single contributor is the City of Oakland Park; that is, the taxpayers. Yet OPMS did not see fit to hold a public celebration of Oakland Park's best known resident.

World's Greatest Birthday

Today would have been Jaco's 60th birthday. Although the City isn't doing anything to mark this significant date, there will be a party for him in Boca Raton. See flyer below.

Broward Musicians Association at Elks Club this Sunday

RIP, Jaco

Yesterday marked the 24th anniversary of Jaco's passing. A year ago his son Julius marked the date by visiting the place our city named in his father's honor and sent a beat across the green. Below is a video of the visit.

Main Street at night, revisited

One year after Oakland Park Main Street's Michael E. Carn's comments and six months after the beginning footage was filmed, GrOP revisited Main Street to take note of its current state. Noticeable improvements? No, in fact quite the opposite. The north end is a forbidding black hole, the strip is devoid of activity, and there is nothing going on to attract visitors. But the street looks great.

There are some good things happening with OPMS, however. More tiles have been installed on the Jaco Park mural and food trucks are coming soon.

Backyard medicine, visualized

About a year and a half ago, horticulturist David McLean gave a lecture at the library about medicinal plants that can be grown in the yard. Here is the speech on video, with separate vids for each plant. Be well.