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100th cross dive planned to last detail

From buses to baklava, preparations are on a scale never before seen in Tarpon Springs. But planners say they are ready.

By ROBIN STEIN
Published January 1, 2006

	[Times photos: Scott Keeler]
	Walter Postma, 56, of New Port Richey holds a honing pigeon at Spring Bayou in Tarpon Springs on Friday. It will be released during the 100th Epiphany celebration as a symbol of the Holy Spirit.
	Philip Ferrone of Tarpon Springs' street department installs a centennial Epiphany banner onto an Orange Street pole on Friday. The banner shows a picture of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who will visit the city for Epiphany.
	Epiphany by the numbers
	Coming Tuesday: In recognition of Tarpon Springs' centennial Epiphany celebration on Friday, Tuesday's St. Petersburg Times will include a special section featuring historic photos and memories from 100 years of Epiphany celebrations. The section will also include information on Friday's event and the first-ever visit of the worldwide spiritual leader of the Orthodox Church, His All Holiness Bartholomew. Also look for sptimes.com's multimedia section the the 100th Epiphany celebration.
	Full coverage

TARPON SPRINGS - It will be an event on the scale of a Super Bowl, involving the security of a state visit and carrying the significance of divine revelation.

This week Tarpon Springs will celebrate the city's centennial Epiphany, an ancient Greek Orthodox ceremony commemorating Christ's baptism in the River Jordan.

Each year's Epiphany celebration draws as many as 30,000. But this year, the city is expecting 80,000 visitors and VIPs, including the worldwide leader of the Orthodox Church, who will travel from Istanbul to attend.

That means planning, on a scale Tarpon Springs has never seen.

From the private planes to the parking lots, buses to baklava, bird training to satellite broadcasts, every detail of the event has required a series of meetings, reams of paperwork and a never-ending stream of e-mail and phone calls among a multitiered network of committees.

Coordinating it all is William Planes, chairman of the 2006 Patriarchal Epiphany Visitation committee.

Typically a daylong event, Epiphany will encompass a week of celebration this year, Planes said. Putting it together has cost $1.6-million and a year of work for dozens of volunteers.

Epiphany preparation usually takes five months, beginning in August, said Emmanuel Gombos, who has helped with the planning since 1975.

"This is going to be quite an impact for a little city," he said.

"I am excited about the Patriarch coming. It will be a beautiful centennial affair, a homecoming if you will."

The Glendi celebration, usually held in Craig Park, will be at the Sponge Docks, to accommodate a crowd that could be four times the usual size, said Spanos Harding, head of the Glendi committee.

When the hungry throng arrive at food tents, 6,000 salads, 5,000 pastries, and 10,000 souvlakis and sandwiches will await them. "They should have plenty to feed 20,000 people at Glendi in the first couple hours," said Harding, who added he had taken several weeks off from work to help prepare.

But even with nine tents, 200 tables and 3,000 chairs, seating will be tight. The menu was planned for portability. "Everything's going to be in a pita," Harding said.

Besides the food, fire extinguishers and portable toilets, Harding has also been overseeing the entertainment subcommittees, which are coordinating the two local bands, 400 Greek dancers from around the country and a team of Budweiser Clydesdale horses from St. Louis.

The logistics of moving 80,000 people in and out of town - and keeping them safe - has been the central task consuming Sgt. Jeff Young of the Tarpon Springs Police Department.

Add to that mix the presence of a religious figure considered by the U.S. government to be a head of state, and the security for the event will be formidable.

More than 15 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies have donated officers and time, Young said. "On Epiphany day we will have over 150 law enforcement officers involved with this event, the Glendi and the dinner that night in Tampa."

There will also be 75 EMS personnel posted in the city throughout the event, he said.

The biggest challenge, Young said, will be ensuring people understand that the city isn't designed to handle a crowd that large.

"It's not (Raymond James) stadium," he said. "People are going to have to be patient; not everyone who goes down to the bayou is going to see the cross thrown."

Those willing to settle for a preview, though, may be able to catch a training session of sorts.

For several weeks, Walter Postma has been training birds at Spring Bayou for the big day, when one will be released as a symbol of the Holy Spirit.

Postma is not Greek or Orthodox, but after more than 30 years owning Walt's Auto Parts a block away from St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral, he developed a deep regard for the Greek community.

"I love the Greek people; they are so warm and family-oriented," he said.

The Epiphany birds that Postma trains are not doves, but actually homing pigeons that can find their way home from 300 miles away, he said.

"They mate for life, just like the Greeks; they are so home-oriented," he said.

Like everything else about Epiphany, getting the bird ready requires a surprising amount of preparation.

For the past month, Postma has been training three birds - two for backup - for the 20-mile trip from Spring Bayou to Postma's home in New Port Richey.

"It's just like an athlete," Postma said. "I exercise them and keep their muscles tight to make sure they are up for the race."

They even have a special training diet of green Gatorade.

You never know if a problem like a hawk or power line could arise, but so far, so good, he said.

Sometimes it takes four hours, sometimes a whole day, but they have always found their way home.

[Last modified January 4, 2006, 14:49:31]