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Cotee Festival Will Have Visitors Rockin' And Rollin' On The River

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By CHERYL BENTLEY

The Suncoast News

Published: May 8, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - It will be a weekend to savor the good life along the Pithlachascotee River.

The ninth annual Suncoast Ford Cotee River Seafood Festival and Bright House Networks Boat Show promises three days - Friday through Sunday - of family activities in the Sims Park and Orange Lake area north of Main Street.

"People can enjoy the riverside park and all the activities that can launch you into spring," said Judy DeBella Thomas, executive director of Greater New Port Richey Main Street, the festival's organizer.

The event kicks off Friday with True Oldies Night, featuring the five-piece '60s Groove band and Richie Merritt's salute to Motown.

The free two-day Blues by the River concert starts Saturday, with shows featuring John Allen and the Cotton Gin, the Willie Lomax Blues Revue and headliner Tinsley Ellis. VIP seating for the evening show is $7.

In name and musical style, Allen and the band pay homage to his parents' roots as cotton sharecroppers in the Arkansas Delta.

Lomax's father was a guitarist who played with noted jazz artists such as Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, Billy Eckstein and Al Haig. Willie Lomax has had two CDs that reached the Living Blues National Radio charts. One featured Shawn Brown, who received a Real Blues Award as best vocalist of the year. He's performing with Lomax this weekend.

Ellis will showcase what Rolling Stone magazine calls his "feral blues guitar." Since his debut album, "Georgia Blue," in 1988, Ellis, who also writes songs, has averaged 150 shows a year.

Preceding those three acts on the Sims Park Amphitheatre stage, the four-member Back Alley Blues Band will make its fifth appearance at the festival with a combination of Chicago and Louisiana blues. The local group has opened for such acts as Bill "The Sauce Boss" Wharton, Charlie Musselwhite and Smokin' Joe Kubek.

The blues mood continues Sunday with a lineup featuring the five-member Dukes of Juke. Three of the founders are still with the group, which has been entertaining area audiences since 1985.

"We play finger-poppin', foot-stompin' rhythm and blues," said saxophone player Bobby Rose. "It's the kind of music when you hear it, you can't sit still."

The seafood festival also boasts a number of activities related to water - fresh and salt. For instance, climb aboard the more than $2 million worth of boats arranged on land around Orange Lake.

At the Salty Dog Seafaring Forum, fishermen will share their tips on hooking the big one.

The free Live Shark Experience will have five 20-minute shows on Saturday and Sunday, starring a live and less-menacing cousin of Jaws. Shark-related artifacts will be displayed each day.

Saturday's kayak race and fun paddle will start at Werner-Boyce Salt Springs State Park in Port Richey and end at Sims Park. Participants must sign up in advance; call the park at (727) 816-1890.

Miss Daisy boat tours lasting 30 to 45 minutes will cost $5. Captain Ray Kelly will be the guide.

Landlubbers can have free pictures taken with a Weeki Wachee mermaid Saturday and Sunday.

On Saturday, auto aficionados can enjoy a classic car show.

Festival activities for children include a slide shaped like a whale, a bounce house and a treasure hunt.

Food vendors will stir up seafood fare such as grouper sandwiches, crab cakes and crawfish etouffee, or snack on corn dogs, funnel cakes and kettle corn.

And Sunday, bring mom to breakfast - eggs, pancakes and sausage - served atop bistro tables.

AT A GLANCE

THE BASICS: The venue is just north of Main Street in the Sims Park and Orange Lake area of New Port Richey. Admission is a suggested $2 donation for festival organizer Greater New Port Richey Main Street.

FRIDAY

True Oldies Night: 6 to 7:30 p.m., Jonathan Cortez; 7:45 to 9:15 p.m., Richie Merritt with "A Salute to Motown"; 9:30 to 11 p.m., '60s Groove

SATURDAY

Blues by the River: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Lazy Boy & Friends; 1:15 to 2:45 p.m., Hybrid Groove; 3 to 4:30 p.m., Back Alley Blues Band; 5 to 6:30 p.m., John Allen and the Cotton Gin; 7 to 8:30 p.m., Willie Lomax Blues Revue with Shawn Brown; 9 to 10:30 p.m., Tinsley Ellis
Salty Dog Seafaring Forum at Orange Lake: 1 p.m., Captain Frank Bourgeois, "Offshore Grouper Tactics"; 2 p.m., Captain Lynn Amburn, "Snook on the Shallows"; 3 p.m., Bourgeois, "Near Shore Grouper Tricks"

Other events: 9 a.m., kayak race and fun paddle, starting at Salt Springs State Park; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., arts and crafts, and Bright House Networks Boat Show; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunset Corvette and Classic Car Show; 12 to 5 p.m., Live Shark Experience (five 20-minute shows)

SUNDAY

More Blues by the River: 12 to 1:30 p.m., Charlie O and the House Rockers; 2 to 3:30 p.m., Dukes of Juke; 4 to 5:30 p.m., Sarasota Slim

Salty Dog Seafaring Forum at Orange Lake: Captain Sergio Atanes, "Tides-Moon Phases and Rigging" at 1 p.m., "Cobia Fishing in the Flats" at 2 p.m.

Other events: 9 to 11 a.m., Mother's Day breakfast; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Bright House Networks Boat Show; 12 to 5 p.m., Live Shark Experience (five 20-minute shows)

DETAILS

www.newportricheymainstreet.com/CRSFBS.htm; (727) 842-8066; info@nprmainstreet.com

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