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Dania Beach CRA’s Annual Arts and Seafood Celebration Wins 10 Sunsational Awards

Monday, August 1, 2022 - 7:41am

Dania Beach, FL-Dania Beach hits the winners circle again at the 28th annual Florida Festivals and Events Association (FFEA) Convention & Tradeshow winning first place in five (5) categories; Commemorative Poster, Facebook, Program/Event Guide, Promotional Mailer, and Website.
Awards also included second place for Instagram campaign, T-shirt design, Television placement, and Tickets and Invitation, and third place for Emergency Action Plan. The 10 awards make the Dania Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (DBCRA) proud owners of over 45 FFEA Awards on behalf of the City of Dania Beach for the annual Dania Beach Arts and Seafood Celebration and PATCH promotional items.
There were over 500 submissions from 60 organizations in South Florida, the Dania Beach Arts and Seafood Celebration winning placement over 140 events.
Representing the Dania Beach CRA at this year’s FFEA Awards were CRA Operations Manager, Kathleen Weekes, and Strategic Communications and Outreach Representative, Kisha Eugene.
The DBCRA team worked with Creative Designer Connie Barone to develop out of the box digital designs which also struck first place for promotional items at the event.
Special thanks and congratulations are extended to Social Media Consultant, Terra Spero of Real Time Marketing Group who created a great look and comprehensive pages for the event website resulting in First place and Second place for its Facebook campaign.
The Emergency Plan was a new category introduced this year at FFEA and the DBCRA’s action plan developed by event logistics producer Stewart Auville of Standing Ovations took home third place. This being a critical and extremely sensitive area for event producers who seek to ensure safety and security for thousands in attendance.
For the past 28 years, the Florida Festivals & Events Association has celebrated members' achievements in event marketing, programming, service and innovation through the Sunsational Awards. The Sunsational Awards are judged in three different budget levels and 20 different categories.

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Eighth Annual Dania Beach Arts & Seafood Celebration Returns with a 
Generous Mix of Performance, Visual and Culinary Arts

Friday, March 4, 2022 - 3:02pm

Something is cooking in Dania Beach! Dania Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) and the City of Dania Beach proudly present the eighth annual Dania Beach Arts & Seafood Celebration on Saturday and Sunday, April 2 and 3, from 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. on Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, at Frost Park, 300 NE 2 Street, Dania Beach. Free admission and free parking.

The award-winning event includes live music and entertainment, mouthwatering culinary chef showcases and tastings, visual arts, performance artists, a juried art exhibition, a giant sand sculpture being built over the two days, interactive activities, culinary vendors and food trucks, dessert artisans, children’s activities and more.
Dania Beach Mayor Tamara James notes, “Dania Beach, Broward County’s first city, is alive with thriving arts, hospitality, and marine communities. What better way to celebrate the city than to bring back this family-friendly event that has been a success year after year. We look forward to welcoming guests from throughout South Florida to our celebration.”
Like most major events during the COVID-19 pandemic, the popular festival was canceled in 2020 and 2021. While restrictions have been lifted, there will be safety measures to ensure patrons and vendors feel safe during this year’s festival.
At the free festival, enjoy live music featuring headlining tribute band, Queen International Tribute Show Band on Sunday, and 4NR2: Foreigner Tribute and Rocks Aerosmith Tribute on Saturday, as well as musical offerings from Paul Anthony and the Reggae Souljahs, Whipping Post, Catabella Music, Kedesh Cornelius, Big City Dogs and School of Rock.
Bring your appetites to feast on a cornucopia of delicious seafood and other specialty treats available through vendors, food trucks, and local culinary artists at the Chef Showcase where you will find Johnny Alarcon Ruiz, Findler Charles and Tahnee Rolles, among others.
There is more than just browsing and purchasing from a variety of artists booths, you can also experience art in the making. Watch and interact with local artists as they take center stage at the street art live theater. This year, professional artists Andrew Moschburg, Marcos Conde, and Ivan (IVO) Yanez will bring blank canvases to life with their own masterpieces.
Major sponsors include The Casino @ Dania Beach and FPL. For more information on schedules performances and more, visit DaniaBeachArtsandSeafoodCelebration.com.

Photos of performers and artists from the last event held in 2019 are available upon request.
Highlight video (2019): https://youtu.be/9xgNGcAche4 Photo galleries:  https://bit.ly/DBASCphotos

COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY: CRA PLAN UPDATE

Friday, March 4, 2022 - 9:08am

The foundational document when creating a Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) and the designation of a Community Redevelopment Area is a “FINDING OF NECESSITY FOR REDEVELOPMENT” (FON). The initial FON for Dania Beach is dated May 8, 2001. The Dania Beach Community Redevelopment Agency was established by the City of Dania Beach and Broward County in 2002. The Downtown Community Redevelopment Plan was adopted in 2004, confirming the creation of the Community Redevelopment Area encompassing 506 acres.

A second FON was completed in August 2008. Subsequently, Dania Beach Community Redevelopment Agency adopted the 2009 Community Redevelopment Plan, which, among other things, modified the CRA Boundaries to encompass 1,349 acres.

The last Community Redevelopment Agency Plan was adopted in June 2015. According to K. Michael Chen, Executive Director of the Dania Beach CRA, “It is best practices to keep the CRA Plan current, fresh, and relevant by updating it every four to five years and we are overdue for an update.”

The CRA issued a Request for Proposals (RFP NO. CRA-21-031) on October 22, 2021 to secure consulting services to update the CRA Plan. The RFP closed on November 29 and responses from five significant firms were received. The members of the RFP Review/Selection Committee reached a unanimous consensus to recommend Vanasse, Hangen, Brustlin, Inc. (VHB).

VHB was founded in 1979 and currently employs 1,600 passionate professionals including engineers, scientists, planners, and designers. They have over 30 offices on the U.S. east coast, from South Burlington VT., to Sarasota, FL. Some of the recent community plans include:
Ybor City Vision 2020 Master Plan Update (Tampa FL) - Historic District
St Pete 2050 Vision Plan (St. Petersburgh, FL) - Florida APA Award
Parramore Comprehensive Neighborhood Plan (Orlando, FL) - Florida APA Award

The VHB team has the experience in creating Florida CRA plans, and includes the technical resources needed to deliver the Dania Beach Plan Update by working with the staff, residents, and property owners. VHB will take a Market-Driven planning approach to updating the Dania Beach CRA Plan. Their approach includes significant inter-active engagement with our residents, neighborhoods, businesses, investors, and elected officials – BE SURE TO PARTICIPATE WHEN THE CHARRETTS ARE ANNOUNCED!

At the February 8, 2022 CRA Meeting, the CRA adopted Resolution No. 2022-CRA-002 approving the selection of Vanasse, Hangen, Brustlin, Inc. and directing the CRA to negotiate a contract with VHB to reflect the Scope of Work described in the CRA Plan Update Request For Proposals.