Port Richey committee scales back centennial calendar, consolidates children’s events into May festival

Port Richey City committee members agreed to scale back the city’s centennial calendar and concentrate programming so fewer, better-promoted events will run in mid- to late spring. The group voted by consensus at the meeting to remove several March events from the calendar and to fold children’s activities and the flea/craft fair into a single Centennial Festival on May 17, with fireworks and an early-day time-capsule ceremony planned for May 18.

Committee members said the move responds to low attendance and limited volunteer and sponsor engagement following recent storms, and to a desire to give sponsors and vendors six weeks of reliable promotion before an event. “We haven’t got the engagement that we’d hoped,” Member Cheryl Taylor said during the meeting, urging the group to concentrate resources on key events and give sponsors time to commit.

The change cancels or defers the March 8 field day, chili cook-off and 5K as standalone events; instead, organizers will transfer selected children’s activities (tug-of-war, dunk tank, simple field games) into the May 17 Centennial Festival. The committee also removed the Taste of Port…