Celebrating in style
Young girls screamed and carried on as KC and the Sunshine Band entertained thousands of people at the village's 10th-anniversary celebration
Label: Pinecrest
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YOUNG GIRLS SCREAMED AND CARRIED ON AS KC AND THE SUNSHINE BAND ENTERTAINED THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE AT THE VILLAGE’S 10TH-ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
BY KATHLEEN FORDYCE [email protected]
Pinecrest residents celebrated the village’s 10th year with a small-town picnic Saturday and then danced the night away with KC and the Sunshine Band.
The event, which was free for residents but required tickets to get in, was packed with more than 3,000 people, the maximum allowed into Evelyn Greer Park. The festivities also included performances by the Miami Palmetto High School marching band and jazz ensemble, and the Singing Miamians, a barbershop group.
“It’s just a really fun thing to do,” said 16-year resident Maribel Lauber, who was there with her two children, her friends and their children. “It’s fun for us to do as a group and there are fun things for the kids to do.”
Residents camped out on blankets and in lawn chairs while children ran around the park and on the playground.
As the concert got underway and KC took to the stage - complete with lights and a disco ball - people of all ages took to an impromptu dance floor in front of the stage.
Among the songs the band performed were Please Don’t Go, I’m Your Boogie Man and Get Down Tonight.
John Perruc, 44, said he was impressed that KC was the headliner.
“I was a fan of them in high school,” he laughed as he stood on the park lawn swaying to the music with his 4 1/2-year-old daughter on his shoulders.
KC joked with the crowd, especially a group of girls gathered in front who screamed and cheered him on.
“We were your mothers’ NSYNC,” he said, addressing the girls and referring to a pop group popular in the ’90s. “You mothers used to scream like that. I forgot what that was like.”
Also at the event were state Rep. Julio Robaina, Miami-Dade commissioners Katy Sorenson and Carlos Gimenez, former Pinecrest mayor and current School Board member Evelyn Greer and Palmetto Bay Mayor Eugene Flinn.
Pinecrest Mayor Gary Matzner reminisced about Pinecrest’s beginnings - a grass-roots effort by residents to break away from the county and become its own municipality.
He said its dreams of becoming a “small, hometown community” have come true.
The village paid $70,000 to put on the event. Sponsor EWM Realty kicked in $25,000 and Commercial Bank, the fireworks sponsor, donated $5,000.
Photographs And Captions
LET’S GO CRAZY: Tina Malloy, left, with daughter Katie Malloy, 6, on her shoulders and best friend Linda Russell and daughter Emily Russell, 7, cheer on KC and the Sunshine Band.
LIGHT UP THE SKY: Zachary Perlman, 9, reacts to the fireworks display at Evelyn Greer Park during Pinecrest’s 10-year anniversary celebration Saturday.
Shared credit: PHOTOS BY EMILY HARRIS/MIAMI HERALD STAFF
Companion Cover
CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES
About 3,000 Pinecrest residents partied with K.C. and the Sunshine Band Saturday at the village’s 10th anniversary celebration at Evelyn Greer Park. Story, PAGE 3
Credit: EMILY HARRIS/MIAMI HERALD STAFF