Evening star., 1937-12-12

poets to swim in January golf all
winter, pull enormous fish out of the
gulf stream and go home Drowned
like properly toasted slice of bread.
And, like a piece of toast some get
burned if they're not careful. When
they find the worlds largest spring,
the Nations Oldest city, a $50, 1000. 900
art museum, midwinter fairs and
scores of beautiful gardens, it's like
getting 13-egg dozen from the grocer.
RUT despite all other inducements,
sunshine remains Florida's No.
attraction. Next in line is sports.
From the time Coral Gables Trop-
ical Park sends horses to the post for
its first race, this year on December 20.
until the last baseball team heads
homeward in April it is sports, sports
and more sports.
You could not possibly attend all the
golf and tennis tournaments, enter
all fishing contests, see all games in
the Grapefruit League, or follow the
nags between Tropical and Hialeah
unless you have 20 doubles. No mat
ter what sport you favor, you'll find
its players somewhere in the State,
excepting, Of course, skiing and ice
skating.
Each of the larger resorts claims
distinction for one sport but to keep
you puzzled over what to do it will also
offer host of others. In Miami it's
horse racing. in Palm Beach polo, in
st. Petersburg sailing, in Orlando
harness horses, in Daytona Reacn
auto racing, while Fort Myers and
Sarasota will bow to none on tarpcn
fishing during the spring.
Florida stands unchallenged as the
headquarters for spring baseball train
ing. 1t will be late February before
this activity begins. but when 1t does
the ball fan will be dizzy trying to
decide where to go. There will be 2l
!, teams, eight from the major leagues.
With camps along the lower Gulf Coast
or in the lake region.
The Boston Red Sox will be in Sara
sofa, the Detroit Tigers in Lakeland,
the Yankees in st. Pete, the Washing
ton Senators in Orlando. the st. Louis
Cardinals in St. Pete, the Cincinnati
Reds in Tampa, the Boston Bees in
Bradentor and Brooklyn Dodgers in
Clearwater.
Smaller resorts will have Interna-
tional League and American Associa-
ton teams.
With SO much water, Florida Is a
sailors heaven. Already thousands
Of pleasure craft, varying from great
yachts to compact cabin cruisers, have
followed the season South to the East
Coast. This year part Of the fleet
will invade West Coast cities, for q
new, shallow-draft canal has been
opened from Stuart across Lake Okee-
chobee to Fort Myers
There will be round of sailing re-
gattas, motor boat racing and the
more venturesome shippers will cross
the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas and
Havana for additional thrills.
THE State thinks it the duty of a
good host to keep visitors enter
tanned and one form is to whirl you
from one resort to another. II you
don't rise to the sports bait. the next
lure is festivals and carnivals, be-
ginning with the Greek Epiphany cere-
mony at Tarpon Springs on January
and continuing through Ruskin's to-
mato fight in April
Tampa's Gasparilla, when that old
pirate comes to town, as you've seen
in newsreels, is the best known fete.
This season it comes on January 81.
Sarasota has what 1t calls Sara
de Sofa pageant in Frebruary and st.
Petersburg tops its season with a Fes-
tival of States on March 29.
Fairs in midwinter, with handsome
displays of vegetables, citrus and other
tropical fruits, bring hundreds into
(See FLORIDA, Page G-7