More #FriendshipFountain Construction

If you are planning on taking a trip to Friendship Fountain in the near future don't be surprised when you see new Construction Fencing on the East side of the Fountain...

As reported by Beth Slater (@newzgrrl on Twitter) fencing is in place and Rick Sawyer from the City of Jacksonville has confirmed this is the beginning of the Pergola addition to the east side of Friendship Fountain.

Estimated completion is not known at this time but we are certainly excited to see the City following through with this :)

Now we just need that pesky "Blue Box" replacment to arrive to get the lights and sounds of Friendship Fountain back to normal...

Mothers Day is this Sunday and there is a  Mother’s Day Boat Cruise to benefit the St. Johns Riverkeeper, 10 a.m.-Noon from #FriendshipFountain Reservations needed: Contact 904-256-7613 or shannon@stjohnsriverkeeper.org.
St. Johns RiverKeeper

Until next time,
Bob

#FriendshipFountain Update

Rick Sawyer, from the City of Jacksonville, sent us an email this morning and it appears that the "blue box", basically the electronic heart of the Fountain's Music and Light systems, has gone haywire and a replacement is on it's way.

Until it has been replaced the sounds and lights of Friendship Fountain will not be operating, however the water jets are unaffected.

We will post more information as it becomes available.

Until next time,
Bob

#FriendshipFountain Lights Issue

According to an update I received this Morning from Rick Sawyer, Park Maintenance Superintendent, an Issue cropped up Friday or Saturday night with the Fountain's Lighting which the Contractor is looking into.

So if you visit Friendship Fountain in the next few days the lights may not be working properly...

Will keep everyone posted as I get any information from the City.

-Bob

Green #FriendshipFountain? St. Patrick's Day

For St. Patrick's Day the City of Jacksonville is planning on turning Friendship Fountain GREEN :)

According to an update I received yesterday from Rick Sawyer, Park Maintenance Superintendent, City of Jacksonville, Friendship Fountain will be Green from March 12, to March 19, 2012 for St. Patrick's day...

Should make for some nice pictures not to mention just getting into the spirit of things.

The Fountain turned PINK for the Weekend of Feb 11 - 12, 2012 in Honor of the National Marathon To Finish Breast Cancer or better known as the 26.2 with Donna...

Certainly like to see the Fountain helping to promote Holidays and Events around town :)

Till next time,
Bob

#FriendshipFountain Schedule Update

I received an email from Rick Sawyer, Park Maintenance Superintendent, City of Jacksonville, this morning with just an update on the scheduling for the Fountain, which remains basically the same for the foreseeable future.

The basic Friendship Fountain hours of operation are scheduled as follows:

Fountain Water Feature: 9:00 AM ET to Midnight Daily 7 days a week.

Ambient Light Program starts: 4:15 PM ET to Midnight daily.

At the present time the Fountain is basically set on Low (as far as height of the Water streams) due to changing wind and potential freezing conditions.

Again Rick would appreciate any information from the public if you should note any irregularity in the Fountain Operations so they can continue to identify any issues.

Just drop a line here and I will pass them on...

Also I had the opportunity to get down to Friendship Fountain On Feb 4 and I must say I was pleasantly surprised by the overall condition of the Park.

It appeared to be well maintained and the grass doing very well on the South, North and East sides of the Fountain and the West side, which takes the brunt of traffic and water overspray appeared to be recovering compared to a visit a month earlier...

I was there during the Free River tours given by The Jacksonville Water Taxi and there were about a 100 or more folks lined up for the rides while I was there, was very nice seeing the number of folks. Also watching the kids running and playing on the grass surfaces of Friendship Fountain Park just makes me realize what an improvement the Renovations last year made...

I want to pass on my Thanks to Rick for keeping us updated, what a welcome change ;)

Till next time, Bob

#FriendshipFountain Update - Hours & More

I have received many inquiries over the last month or so regarding the Hours of Operation for Friendship Fountain and today I received an email from Rick Sawyer who is now supervising Operations of Friendship Fountain.

Some background first... Apparently the programming for the Fountain is still experiencing some glitches and requires resetting occasionally which has disrupted the routine hours for the Fountain Operations however they have been working with the Contractor to sort those out.

The basic Friendship Fountain hours of operation are scheduled as follows:

Fountain Water Feature: 9:00 AM ET to Midnight Daily 7 days a week. (Note that the water is regulated to reduce overspray based on wind speed)

Outside Lighting: 6:00 PM ET to 7:00 AM ET

Inside Fountain Lighting: 4:15 PM ET to Midnight daily. (The early start is to allow for manual check to ensure programming is running)

Additional notes: During the winter months the water height is further regulated based on the possibility of freezing temps to prevent water spray from affecting the Main Street bridge.

Rick would appreciate any information from the public if you should note any irregularity in the Fountain Operations so they can continue to identify any issues.

Just drop a line here and I will pass them on...

Till next time, Bob

#FriendshipFountain Holiday Music Program - Corrected

I had originally posted that the Friendship Fountain Holiday program would be playing starting on Nov 7, 2011 however I miss understood the schedule sent to me and today I received clarification with the corrected information.

The Holiday Music program will run from Nov 23, 2011 December 31, 2011

My apologies to everyone for the incorrect earlier dates and any inconvenience...

-Bob