TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Flugtag Soars To Success In Tampa Debut

ADVERTISEMENT

By JOE O'NEILL Tribune correspondent

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 30, 2008

Now we've added "Flugtag" to the Tampa lexicon for that which is festive and funky and fun. Move over Gasparilla and Guavaween.

Actually, the Red Bull Flugtag, a celebration of homemade "flying" machines that drew about 100,000 spectators and three dozen participating teams downtown recently, could carve out its own unique niche.

Frankly, you can make the case that Gasparilla is increasingly compromised by besotted teens and assorted agitators raining on the parade route, and that Guavaween has morphed from bawdy wit and the creative class to crude cliches and perimeter punks.

If Flugtag returns, and the city certainly hopes so, may it remain what it was two Saturdays ago. A salute to teamwork, youthful exuberance, the creative use of PVC pipe and duct tape, and unadulterated fun. There was no need for a Safe House. Only five misdemeanor arrests.

"For us, it was uneventful," said Tampa Police Department spokeswoman Andrea Davis. "We like uneventful."

According to Tampa Convention Center administrator John Moors, the city would love a Flugtag II, but that's up to Red Bull. "I don't think they plan a long way in advance," said Moors. "A year or so - and a fairly limited (Tampa, Chicago, Portland, Ore., in 2008) schedule.

"But they definitely had a positive experience here in Tampa. That record crowd. Who could ask for anything better than that? And it was a whole lot of fun."

Although nobody outdid Icarus, Flugtag, which began in Vienna, Austria, in 1991, did ascend to new heights on the hilarity scale. The themed entries ranged from "Baywatch," "Gilligan's Island," the "Red Baron" and "The Flintstones" to a flying roller skate, University of Tampa minaret, fire engine, rubber ducky and a Cuban sandwich. Even Elvis dropped in. Locals, especially students, were well represented - as were out-of-towners from as far as Texas and Massachusetts.

Not to put too serious a point to it, but the timing was more than fortuitous. Given all the usual reasons to be gloomy or cynical, could there have been a better time for laugh therapy? The themed flying machines, the whimsical choreography, the aerial high jinks, the comic splashdowns. It was fun, and it was funny. Thanks.

Too often, in the era of an individually-wired citizenry, the virtual experience and online everything, there are decreasing opportunities to literally come together as a community. And as opposed to a game or a concert, this one was free.

It also fostered teamwork - whether among aeronautical engineering students, former lifeguards, firefighters or the generically goofy. Just a guess, but I'd wager that when (not if) Flugtag, The Sequel occurs, competition will feature a number of corporate entrants - the slapstick, teambuilding counterpart of those who compete in the International Dragon Boat races that have proven so popular.

Flugtag also underscored downtown Tampa as the place to revel with a cause. Where traffic and humidity - if not gravity - can be defied for a good time.

Tampa's Competition

The good news is that a few weeks ago Tampa was cited as the only Florida city to win a 2008 Outstanding Achievement City Livability Award by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Tampa's prominent recognition was in the large cities, quality-of-life category - along with Chicago, Honolulu and Seattle.

Among other things, such publicity is an obvious recruiting tool.

The bad news is that first place went to Louisville. The same city that's trying to eat our lunch by enticing Tampa's young professionals to "Move to Possibility City."

Cotanchobee Update

Look closely and you'll notice it's not just the Tampa Bay History Center that is under construction near Garrison Channel. Work is also under way on the Cotanchobee Fort Brooke Park Project sandwiched between the history center and the existing Cotanchobee Fort Brooke Park.

The focal point will be Heroes Plaza, which will commemorate those who sacrificed their lives in war. In addition, there will be memorials to law enforcement and emergency response personnel who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

Project work will also include shoreline restoration and construction of a segment of the Tampa Riverwalk.

Projected completion date is early 2009 - but after the Super Bowl.

Joe O'Neill is a South Tampa writer who can be contacted at Moesez@aol.com or www.OpinionsToGoOnLine.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT