October, gentle readers, is all about the big party at the end of the month.
Greater Jacksonville loves Halloween.
Check here for updates on Halloween haunts, harvest festivals and other special events to celebrate the season responsibly and safely in very family friendly ways.
- Soul Food Festival & Parade, Green Cove Springs, Fla., Oct. 5
- Datil Pepper Festival, St. Augustine, Oct. 5
- Amelia Island Jazz Festival, Fernandina Beach, Oct. 6-13
- Greek Festival, St. Augustine, Oct. 11
- Palatka Fall Bluegrass Festival, Palatka, Fla. Oct. 10-12
- Micanopy Fall Harvest Festival, Micanopy, Fla.,Oct. 18-19
- McIntosh 1890s Festival, McIntosh, Fla., Oct. 19
- Ding Darling Days, Sanibel Island, Fla., Oct. 20-26
- Florida Forest Festival, Oct. 23-26, Fireworks Oct. 24
As the fall harvest continues, we get to celebrate even more national food holidays.
Among October feast days you’ll find –
- National Caramel Month
- National Pasta Month
- National Pickled Peppers Month
- National Popcorn Poppin’ Month
- National Pork Month
- National Seafood Month
Days to build festivals around
And just in case you need another excuse to throw a party, here’s a list of weird, national October holidays:
- Name Your Car Day, Oct. 2
- Come and Take it Day, Oct. 6
- Moldy Cheese Day, Oct. 9
- World Egg Day – second Friday of month
- Moment of Frustration Day, Oct. 12
- International Skeptics Day, Oct. 13
- Be Bald and Free Day, Oct. 14
- Dictionary Day, Oct. 16
- Wear Something Gaudy Day, Oct. 17
- No Beard Day, Oct. 18
- Babbling Day, Oct. 21
- Count Your Buttons Day, Oct. 21
- National Mole Day, Oct. 23
- TV Talk Show Host Day, Oct. 23
- Punk for a Day Day, Oct. 25
- Frankenstein Friday – last Friday in October
- Hermit Day, Oct. 29
- National Frankenstein Day, Oct. 29
- Mischief Night, Oct. 30
- Increase Your Psychic Powers Day, Oct. 31
About us
The city of Jacksonville proper is one of the few cities in the United States where the city limits and the county line are the same.
Kick off summer the right way. Take a minute to get to know Greater Jacksonville, Fla.
This makes it the largest city in the state by both population and area.
The Greater Jacksonville Metropolitan Area, about 1.3 million people, surrounds smaller cities and towns that over time have come to be considered “Jacksonville proper.”
Since the First Coast extends all the way to Palm Coast, it’s more accurate to acknowledge, for instance, that Gainesville, Green Cove Springs and Palatka really are part of Greater Jacksonville.
Get a map, and let me prove it.
Draw a line from “Jacksonville” to Gainesville. Then draw another east toward the Atlantic through Palatka and Bunnell to Palm Coast. The First Coast makes the third leg of the triangle you just drew.
Say hello to “Greater Jacksonville”
First, you need to learn some Timucuan, the language spoken by the Indians who have lived in GreaterJax™ for going on 12,000 years.
“Palatka” is European for pilo-taikita, “a place where cattle cross a river.”
Wacca Pilatka was and is the Timucuan name for Jacksonville, which you’ll also see referred to as “Cowford.”
In fact, Pilo-Taikita (Palatka) and Cowford even reported to the same Timucuan chief.
End of Timucuan lesson.
As you may have guessed, Your Greater Jacksonville Examiner is paid to examine the unique and unusual in northeast Florida.
Welcome to her neighborhood.
–GJE–
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©2013 All rights reserved.
OFFICIAL BIO: K Truitt is a second-generation, native Floridian born in Jacksonville. Truitt worked in public higher education for 25 years and knows newspaper publishing, printing and graphic design. Contact: kt.4examiner@yahoo.com
