Coastal Companion

Your ultimate guide to the coast

Jacksonville Green, Health and Wellness Expo 2010

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This year’s expo takes place at the Prime Osborn Convention Center in downtown Jacksonville on Saturday, May 15 and Sunday May 16, 2010.
Click the play button here to check out the interview we did with Martin Kabaki from the Jacksonville Green Expo and Dwain Stephens from Publix regarding the event.

Green Living, Health and Wellness under one roof
The event offers seminars and exhibits on green living and building, health and wellness topics. The annual Jacksonville Green Expo is run by Global Greenup, LLC. The company’s President Martin Kabaki says, “We’re very excited that the Green Expo is growing. ”
Purity Gikunju, Operations VP of Global Greenup, says, “In addition to fantastic displays of environmental products and services ranging from CFL bulbs to solar panels, there are going to be informative workshops to show people innovative and practical ways to be more environmentally conscientious in their lives and in their workplaces. We’ll have a Green Kids Zone, for children to play while they learn the importance of taking care of the environment. We are also planning to host a speaker series to brainstorm on different ways which will help in bringing more green jobs to the First Coast.”

North Florida Clean Cities Coalition
The 2010 Jacksonville Green Expo will also be used as a launch pad and a forum to bring awareness to the newly created North Florida Clean Cities Coalition. The Coalition is a campaign by the federal government to help reduce dependency on foreign oil and promote regional economic opportunities.

Exhibition Hours: 10am to 5pm on both days. For more information about the upcoming Green Expo, please  visit www.JacksonvilleGreenExpo.com

Last year we visited Jacksonville Green Expo and made this video.

New Year’s Eve in Jacksonville

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Ring in the New Year downtown Jacksonville

New Year’s is always a big deal in Jacksonville, and not only because of the big game. Many of us can’t wait to say goodbye to 2009 and ring in a new brighter year. Come to downtown and plan to spend the day!

Downtown Jacksonville starts its celebration early with a 5K run. The Vystar 5K run is held at 1:30 pm right before the Gator Bowl Parade, and runs along the parade route.

Gator Bowl Parade
Then at 3:00 pm it’s time for the big parade. The Gator Bowl parade hits 60 this year, but this won’t stop this parade from going strong. Traditionally the parade includes floats from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, Fernandina Pirates, the Shriners and a huge variety of colorful floats, music from both high school bands and college bands, and much more.

The parade starts at the Prime Osborn Convention Center and on Water Street in front of the Federal Reserve Bank. It continues east on Water Street to Independent Drive, left on Laura to Bay Street, following Bay street back to the Prime Osborn Convention Center.

After the parade you can head to the Landing for pep rallies for the football fans, the Christmas Tree Light shows, and then it’s a New Year’s Party with live entertainment on stage.

There’s also a Party in the Park at Metropolitan Park, beginning at 5:00 pm. with live music from Donavon Frankenreiter and others.

Fireworks
At midnight it’s time for the grand finale of the evening when we count down to 2010. Spectacular fireworks will light up the sky and reflect in the waters of the St. Johns River. The fireworks are actually shot from barges located in the river right in front of The Jacksonville Landing, the Hyatt Regency Hotel and Metropolitan Park.

The fireworks can be viewed from the Northbank and Southbank. For more information, call (904) 630-3690.