SPECIAL EVENTS ON TYBEE
By Robyn Rosner - Facilities/Special Events Coordinator
Hello and Happy New Year! 2020 sure sounds weird to say… Though we don’t have flying cars yet (which would be way more beneficial to solving the traffic
problems of Highway 80 than 4 lanes would), Tybee does officially now have its very own lighted nighttime Christmas Parade! For those of you that missed the first
one last month, I’m going to be honest - you really missed out, but not to worry because after the outrageous amount of people that loved this year’s event, there
will be many more nighttime Christmas Parades to come. How it took Tybee until 2020 to make this change will remain only for the mere recollection, “I remember
watching the Christmas Parade in the daylight” or “There used to be a separate event just to turn on the Christmas tree lights,” years from now when someone is
trying to validate themselves in the never-ending squabble of who really is ‘Tybee.’
While the Christmas Parade is the last of the parades every calendar year, Tybee sure doesn’t wait long to start the procession of processions all over again. Kicking
off the ever-growing list of our annual parades is the MLK Parade on January 11th, followed by the Mardi Gras Parade on February 22nd, and the Irish Heritage
Celebration Parade on March 14th. That will at least get us through the winter months.
The Christmas Parade isn’t the only annual event on Tybee being enhanced! The 2020 Wine Festival will be moving the location of their signature event, The Grand
Wine Tasting, from the Lighthouse Grounds to Memorial Park, and adding a secondary festival event to follow in the Tybee Island Gymnasium.
Happening at the end of this month, we also have another annual event with some revitalizations, the Critz Run. This weekend event consists of five different race
courses from 1 mile to 13.1 miles, totaling up to the 26.2 mile marathon distance. The race weekend provides entertainment and fun, not just for the runners, but
also family and friends that come to cheer the racers on as well. The biggest change for the Friday evening portion of the event is that the location will change from
the North end location by the Lighthouse and North Beach Entrance to the South End, with races ending and festivities beginning on Tybrisa at the Roundabout.
Though the 5K Course is moving from the North to the South End, the course is really just a simplified version of last year’s 10K course, so the same streets, some
with smaller sections, will be utilized, and this will be in the evening at 6:30pm instead of on Saturday morning. The biggest changes for Saturday are the 10K
Course and Half Marathon. The 10K Course at 7am will still include streets along the Back River, but this year will extend all the way to Lewis Avenue. The Half-
Marathon at 8:30am will include a small portion of Highway 80 as the private road, and Battery Drive will be included in the course for the first time ever. For most
of the Half Marathon, the other streets utilized on the North End remain the same as last year. The afternoon races do not have any significant changes from last
year, and the final overall awards ceremony will be held at the post race party near the Tybrisa Street finish line. Run one, run them all, or just come on down to
cheer on the runners!
These changes to Tybee’s annual Special Events aren’t the only upgrades being made in the event realm. I also have a lot of ideas and projects I hope to accomplish
over the 2020 year to help make everything from the application process to the resident and business notification methods more beneficial to all involved – both
the residents and the event organizer(s). We look forward to seeing you at the fun event festivities throughout the 2020 year!
42 TYBEE BEACHCOMBER | JAN 2020