One Spark opening ceremony tonight

[thelakelander]

Hear from Tom Murphy, former mayor of Pittsburgh

Lucky you! Just in case the hundreds of creators aren't enough, the One Spark Speakers Series is not to be missed. Tonight, Downtown Vision, Inc. is partnering with One Spark to offer tonight's Florida Blue Speaker Series session for FREE to the public.

At 5:30 p.m. at the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts' Terry Theater, hear Tom Murphy, the former mayor of Pittsburgh, talk on "The Changing Rules of Community."

[thelakelander]

More pictures from today:











Btw, I ran into a college classmate that I hadn't seen since graduation day.  He lives in Miami and is in town for a educational workshop taking place at the Omni.  Good week for an out-of-towner to get sent to DT Jax.

[fsquid]

how often does the skyway stop?  might hop on in San Marco if my kids soccer game gets rained out tomorrow.

[thelakelander]

Every 4 to 7 minutes.

[fsujax]

back today at lunch. Crowds seemed bigger. Long lines at the food trucks again. The duck is seriously stealing the show. Just the time I was there at it, four people wanted their picture taken with it. Lots of people on the skyway many for the first time. Amazing to see so many on the Skyway, it will actually get used if we had people downtown like that all time.

[dougskiles]

Truly amazing event!

[fsujax]

oh, and I never seen the lobby of the Bank of America tower so alive!

[Cheshire Cat]

I hope people will pay close attention to the venue locations as some are deep inside the buildings or on floors above the ground level of most displays.  So when you see a yellow venue sign, don't hesitate to explore inside.   

[dougskiles]

oh, and I never seen the lobby of the Bank of America tower so alive!

You could say that about all of downtown during the middle of a work day.

[thelakelander]

back today at lunch. Crowds seemed bigger. Long lines at the food trucks again. The duck is seriously stealing the show. Just the time I was there at it, four people wanted their picture taken with it. Lots of people on the skyway many for the first time. Amazing to see so many on the Skyway, it will actually get used if we had people downtown like that all time.

Being a fly on the wall, I listened quietly to the conversations taking place inside my crowded car.  A Skyway regular mentioned he hadn't been on a car that crowded since his days in New York. A young couple, who had just moved to town was riding it for fun.  Others in the car gave them instructions on how to access the line to the Southbank so they could get a river view.  Another group from the burbs mentioned that the system was pretty nice and that they loved trains but the problem was that it didn't go anywhere except downtown.  When asked why won't the city extend it by another rider, no one had an answer.

[thelakelander]

oh, and I never seen the lobby of the Bank of America tower so alive!

You could say that about all of downtown during the middle of a work day.

Two things really stood out to me.

1. People on crosswalks in mass for multiple blocks.  It was a scene that one expects in a lively city on a regular basis.

2. The Hemming Plaza regulars peacefully co-existing with everything else taking place.  The park felt alive and the benches and trees were huge amenities on a relatively hot day.  Just goes to show, the issue with Hemming is programming, not the regulars who enjoy the park now.

[fieldafm]

The Hemming Plaza regulars peacefully co-existed with everything else taking place.  The park felt alive and the benches and trees were huge amenities on a relatively hot day.  Just goes to show, the issue with Hemming is programming, not the regulars who enjoy the park now.

Had this exact same conversation Wednesday night with a few festival goers.  One person said 'I think the people at OneSpark put OneSpark tshirts on homeless people to hide thenm'.  It was an interesting debate.  I invited that person to come to Hemming with me tommorrow so I could point out the park regulars so she can see how they seemlessly integrate along with everyone else when the park is programmed in positive ways.   

[dougskiles]

Maybe they were all hiding in the yellow duck?  I really hope the duck stays for a while.

[tufsu1]

2. The Hemming Plaza regulars peacefully co-existing with everything else taking place.  The park felt alive and the benches and trees were huge amenities on a relatively hot day.  Just goes to show, the issue with Hemming is programming, not the regulars who enjoy the park now.

I noted the same thing to CM LOve and CM Redman Wednesday night while in the park

[Dog Walker]

We stayed as long as we could yesterday, but the last Riverside Trolley returned at 7:00PM.  WAY to much to see in one visit.  Will go back when the rain stops today since what we want to see next is at the landing.