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As Washington, D.C., celebrates the nation’s 250th anniversary, Florida will have a major presence in the nation’s capital city.
Sunshine State tourists can already visit the Florida House, Washington’s only embassy for a state. They can also visit the Florida pavilion at the Great American State Fair. And of course, the first Floridian to serve as President will give a speech on the Fourth of July at the National Mall.
The most explicitly Florida celebration of America’s semiquincentennial arguably sits on the northern boulevard of the National Mall inside the fair.
While much of the coverage of the Great American State Fair has been negative, surrounding low attendance and cancellations by musical acts, Florida’s exhibitions have been a marked exception, earning friendly write-ups in USA Today and countless social media posts. Byron Donalds, a candidate for Governor, also conducted a Newsmax interview from inside the pavilion.
Bryan Griffin, President and CEO of VISIT FLORIDA, said the pavilion was a combined effort of several state agencies, including the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Florida Department of State and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. The success of the promotion has exceeded expectations, Griffin said.
“The point of the Great American State Fair, and all the 250 efforts that we’re doing from VISIT FLORIDA and from the state of Florida, is to celebrate our country,” he said.
“That celebration honors our past, but also reminds future generations of why we’re a good nation and the ideals that we’re founded on. We wanted to be a part of that. We also knew that this was going to be a great opportunity to showcase our state among all the other states.”
That’s a lot to pack into a 30-foot-by-30-foot space, but the pavilion utilizes it well. Visitors quickly see fact boards celebrating such famous Floridian entertainers as Tom Petty and Jimmy Buffett and such literary giants as Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and Marjorie Stoneman Douglas.
An information wall offers trivia like Florida’s official state bird, flower, reptile and pie. And rooms built with video walls create the illusion of being underwater with manatees or in the middle of an orange grove. In the last room, children can play a hole of putt-putt golf on a green in the shape of Florida.
“Of course, you really couldn’t tell the story of Florida without golf,” Griffin said.
Griffin said the pavilion saw more than 9,000 visitors in a single day after the event opened. Many shared photos and spread praise by word of mouth.
He acknowledges that giveaways including Florida panther stickers and free manatee plushies have also attracted a crowd. The pavilion also will be raffling off a St. Augustine vacation for one family that has passed through the space.
But the hope is that the event will spur thousands of those walking through to later travel to the Sunshine State and see Florida’s offerings in person.
“People who visit the pavilion are going to be reminded of all the great things there are to do and see in Florida, and it’s going to help us drive visitors to the state,” Griffin said.
The Great American State Fair will be open through July 10, allowing visitors for 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays through Wednesdays. For those attending on July 4, the event will stay open until midnight.
That day, Florida’s most prominent politician will also be at the fair that day. Trump kicked off the Washington event with a rally-style speech on June 24, and said he will speak again at the event at the Independent Day Celebration. That means an official Florida resident will address the nation from the mall the day America celebrates a quarter millennium since the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
But for those seeking a more air-conditioned way to see Florida’s role in the nation’s history, the best locale may be a little east of the mall. Florida House on Capitol Hill will host open house events on July 3 and 4 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Ethan Leckie, Communications and Events Coordinator for the embassy, said all visitors will be greeted with free orange juice and Gatorade (Florida’s other famed contribution to the beverage marketplace).
The Florida House right now has its “Legacy of Launch” exhibit running on the history of the aerospace industry in Florida, especially notable as Kennedy Space Center just celebrated its 60th anniversary this week. The exhibit looks back at 75 years of aerospace activity in Florida, from the early Mercury missions to the recent Artemis launches.
“We were founded in 1973 by an act of the Florida Legislature, and we’ve been around for almost 53 years. I like to describe us as a slice of Florida in D.C., so we try to represent the state the best way, the best nonpartisan way, we can,” Leckie said.
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