Do U BBQ? And make (Seg)way

Yep, that’s yours truly... on a Segway.

I was at the Lake Mary Rotary’s Chompin’ Stompin’ BBQ the other night at Seminole Harley Davidson in Sanford. Great event, but since I’m a vegetarian, I left the chompin’ to my friends and went to check out the alternate activities. And ran into Josh, who runs the Segway tours at the Central Florida Zoo. They had a little obstacle course set up in the Harley parking lot and I had to give it a try.

Those Segways are great fun. I'll be ready for the zoo tour any day now. And I was just clowning for the camera there. Really.

Back in the main event area, several area restaurants – including 4 Rivers, Route 46, Rivership Romance and even, believe it or not, Central Florida Regional Hospital – offered samples of their cuisine.

Local dignitaries were on hand as well, among them Judge Linda Schoonover (in the red, dishing up food), Judge Fred Schott (on the left in the center photo) and Lake Mary Mayor David Mealor (bottom photo.)

But what about the food? There was plenty for a plant-eater -- salads and chips and salsa and some ice cream from Mama Loca’s. As for the BBQ, judging by the sauce dripping off the chins of my dining companions, I’d have to say it was pretty good.

We’ll be posting more photos of the event on our website soon.

I am Dragon, Hear Me Roar

Cancer will be feeling the hot breath of dragons this weekend at the 2011 Walgreens Orlando International Dragon Boat Festival.

Designed to raise money to defeat cancer as it affects women, their family and friends, the annual event gets under way this Saturday, Oct. 15, at Downtown Disney West Side.

Never heard of dragon boat racing? It’s a big deal worldwide and here in Central Florida. This particular race attracts recreational and competitive teams from all over North America and has been the catalyst for many new team start-ups in the Orlando area. Want some history? Here you go.

The folks to know: Orlando Health Foundation and Women Playing for T.I.M.E., which stands for Technology, Immediate Diagnosis, Mammography and Education. Also known as WPFT, the organization partners with MD Anderson Cancer Center to raise funds to fight cancer.

And of course there’s a breast cancer survivor division, which will include such local teams as Warriors on Water and Scorch Red and Scorch Black. You can read more about dragon boating and the local teams in this article from the Jan/Feb 2011 issue of Sweetwater Wekiva Springs Magazine.

Last year’s event raised $50,000.

The first race starts at 8 a.m. and contests go on until about 6 p.m.

The photo above, taken a couple of months ago to (ahem...) drum up support for the event, features Orlando Health president and CEO Sherrie Sitarik (second from right) with Orlando Health executives and team members.