Harmony Festivals

[Geo]

Our family has mostly stopped attending these events. Why? Because they are
really nothing special.

I would like to think that Harmony aspires to more than mediocrity. Yet
Harmony festivals don't show that.

The impression we get is that Harmony Development Company puts on these
"festivals" as just another marketing gimmick to attract new home buyers.
That's not something that we bought into when we moved here.

In my opinion we need events that are unique to Harmony. We need something
special for the benefit of Harmony residents, not just for the benefit of
the developer. We need something real, not something made up for
unsuspecting prospects. The "Dark Sky Festival" comes closest to this ideal,
but it now seems to be straying from its initial promise (ie. showing the
downside of light pollution by showcasing science in the dark).

It looks like Harmony is now attempting to get back to its earlier
equestrian theme (eg. Najorka Horses and Graze Restaurant in the town
square). Why can't this idea be expanded into an equestrian festival,
perhaps one which coincides with the Kentucky Derby in May? Something
similar was discussed a few years ago (see "Harmony Horse Amenity Q & A -
New Efforts at Openness",
http://groups.google.com/group/harmonyfl/msg/800dcc1792cb4fde ).

Now that we have a budding community garden in Harmony (one that's not quite
open, but time will tell), perhaps we can turn the "Harvest Festival" into a
real harvest and bring a few talented chefs from Orlando to turn some of
Harmony's crops into delicious outdoor meals for all residents to enjoy. The
state of Florida recently passed its own "Cottage Food" law. Why can't
residents now offer their own wares as desserts for sale (eg. pies, cakes
and cookies) with free samples at future harvest festivals?

I don't think that we need festivals that offer little more than the usual
hodgepodge of road show food. We need the heart and soul of Harmony to offer
whatever is unique and special about us.

Note: This message will also be posted here:

http://eventsatharmony.com/blog/harmony-festivals-resident-focus-group/

[Dave Leeman]

Concerning the garden, Mr Schiro writes, "Now that we have a budding

community garden in Harmony (one that's not quite open, but time will

tell)". What exactly does "not quite open" mean? It sounds like some
are excluded, but Mr Schiro does not say that outright. I wonder if
Mr Schiro could elaborate on that statement and provide some evidence
to back it up. I have been gardening for more than a year, and as far
as I know no one has ever been turned down. It is my understanding
that any Harmony resident may ask for a plot and start gardening right
away. Is this not correct?

[Geo]

I'm glad you asked Dave. (I knew you'd pick up on that. ;o)

If you don't mind, I will reply in a few days (ie. after Christmas).

Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah!

[Geo]

I will start a new thread: "Harmony Community Gardens" and respond there
Dave.

[Geo]

Although I posted it last Thursday, my comment first appeared today on:

http://eventsatharmony.com/blog/harmony-festivals-resident-focus-group/

The moderator (Bill Fife) was on vacation.

Here's a snapshot of the above page as it appears today:

http://www.webcitation.org/64EGXfWNy

This shows that the developer is willing to host some criticism on one of
it's own sites. This may be a good sign. We'll see.

-----Original Message-----
From: harm...@googlegroups.com [mailto:harm...@googlegroups.com]On
Behalf Of Geo

[Geo]

I am sorry to report that contrary to what I was led to believe by the
developer, resident feedback on the developer's website is actually edited
for content.

Here's what I originally posted to
http://eventsatharmony.com/blog/harmony-festivals-resident-focus-group/ :

http://www.webcitation.org/64EGXfWNy

Here's what's out there now:

http://www.webcitation.org/64H0e8mdz

As you can see, the links I originally provided were stripped out. You will
also notice that there is no hint that my post was edited by the developer.

This just confirms what I assume most of us already suspected. We can't
trust the developer to publish unfiltered commentary from residents. That is
why a completely independent alternative source of information is so
important.

My suspicions were also piqued when it took more than 92 hours for my post
to actually appear on the developer's website. Although Bill Fife (the
moderator) was working on the Sunday before my post appeared (ie. 24 hours
prior), he still did not release it until I contacted him about it on Monday
afternoon. I suspect that Bill had to get grudging approval from his boss,
Shad Tome, to release it.

FYI, anything submitted to this forum cannot be edited by moderators or
anyone else (Google does not allow it). Either it appears in its entirety or
it does not appear at all (eg. spam or off-topic posts).

Finally, notice that directly navigating to the "Harmony Events Blog" (
http://eventsatharmony.com/blog/ ) doesn't actually display resident
comments (see http://www.webcitation.org/64H1bqzt6 ). You have to somehow
know to click the "Harmony festivals-resident focus group" header to see the
comments (unlike the other blog sections that automatically display the
content behind their headers).