Chicago had its cows, St. Paul had its Snoopy's and Louisville and Ocala had its horses. Now Florida's Space Coast will have its own sculptures — space shuttles! In November of this year, dozens of six-foot-tall shuttle replicas will orbit the 72-mile Space Coast in celebration of NASA's 50th Anniversary.When this announcement came across my desk, I thought it would be fun to look at some of Florida's community art projects. In 1999, Chicago's "cows" debuted and themed community art projects began sweeping the country. Artists began painting, collaging, bejeweling and bedazzling life-size fiberglass replicas of all sorts of things... all for good causes. Florida hosted its fair share of the artsy sculptures — swans (like the "Uncle Swan" pictured here), flamingos, pelicans, manatees, geckos, horses, jaguars, clowns and more. Plus, you'll never guess what's coming to Orlando this September!
Photo © Dawn Henthorn, licensed to About.com
Tents full of fireworks are plentiful across the state despite the fact that many of the fireworks they sell are illegal in Florida. Got sparklers? They're legal, because permitted fireworks do not contain any explosive compounds, do not detonate or explode, are hand-held or ground-based and cannot propel themselves through the air. That means that all the fireworks that give you a real bang for your buck — firecrackers, torpedoes, skyrockets, roman candles, daygo bombs, and any devices containing explosive or flammable compounds are prohibited. It's a law that the public pretty much ignores and the businesses get around through a technical loophole in the law where any farmer can buy fireworks to scare wildlife away from their crops. Let's just say there are a lot more farmers in Florida this time of year.