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Hernando Today

Tangerine Set To Drop For 2009

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By TONY MARRERO Hernando Today

The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 29, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - The year is nearly over and that means the big citrus is about to fall in Brooksville.

The seventh annual Tangerine Time New Year's Eve celebration is set for 9 p.m. to midnight at the Jerome Brown Community Center and nearby Tom Varn Park. The park is located at the corner of West Jefferson Street and Darby Lane.

Revelers seeking a non-alcoholic, family-friendly way to ring in the New Year have found their event, said co-founder Wayne Vutech.

Admission is free and so are the hot dogs, cotton candy, peanuts, sodas and other refreshments, but organizers ask that attendees bring a non-perishable food item for the Salvation Army.

"It brings the community together, and you get to help a whole lot of people who are less fortunate," said Vutech, who came up with the idea for Tangerine Time as he and his wife were coming home from a party at Brooksville Country Club one New Year's Eve.

The event's trademark is a 7-foot tall fiberglass tangerine that falls to earth in the last 10 seconds of the year. The fruit is a take-off on the New Year's ball drop in the Big Apple's Times Square and a way to honor Brooksville's once-thriving citrus industry.

As in years past, there will be plenty of events for children, Vutech said. One aims to teach a serious lesson in a fun way.

Kids will be asked to put on special glasses that distort their vision and then try to push a wheelchair around a pylon course. The goal is to give future drivers a firsthand look at the dangerous of driving under the influence.

There will be door prizes aplenty, including two bicycles. Every child will walk away with some kind of prize, though, and the first 500 partiers get a free T-shirt.

Adults and children alike will enjoy performances by singer and ventriloquist Mikki Taylor and her husband John, who does Elvis tunes, Vutech said.

Sgt. Safety will return this year to provide child identification kits for families.

The event is coming together as it has since 2001 with the help of volunteers, local businesses, and the efforts of City Clerk Karen Phillips, Vutech said. The Brooksville Rotary Club is a main sponsor.

More volunteers are always welcome, Vutech said. To find out more about the event or to volunteer, call him at 352-799-7420 or the city clerk's office at 544-5407.

If you go

WHAT: Seventh annual Tangerine Time New Year's Eve celebration.

WHEN: 9 p.m. to midnight Wednesday, Dec. 31.

WHERE: Tom Varn Park and the Jerome Brown Center, at West Jefferson Street and Darby Lane.

ADMISSION: Free, but revelers are asked to bring a non-perishable food item for the Salvation Army.

CONTACT: Wayne Vutech, 352-799-7420, or the Brooksville city clerk's office at 352-544-5407.

Reporter Tony Marrero can be reached at 352-544-5286 or lmarrero@hernandotoday.com.

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