13th Annual Dad-Daughter Date Night returns to Plant City
Attention dads and daughters, grandfathers and granddaughters, uncles and nieces and father figures everywhere. Come and join in on the fun as the Plant City Parks & Recreation hosts the 13th Annual Dad-Daughter Date Night at the HCC Trinkle Center, 1206 North Park Rd.
The exciting event is designed for girls ages three and up and their father or father figure, featuring a night of entertainment, food, dancing and a free photo. Come dressed to impress for this year’s theme, Arabian Nights.
The event will be held on Feb. 12, 2022, from 4 to 7 p.m., with doors opening at 3:15 p.m. for pictures and pre-event activities. The cost is $35 per pair and $10 for each additional young lady in attendance.
The deadline to register is Friday, Feb. 4 but the event fills quickly, so reserve your spot soon!
E-mailed registration forms are being accepted and will be time-stamped in order to keep them in the order that they are received. Paid registration is required for the event and payment options include checks payable to the City of Plant City, you can stop in person to pay by cash, check or credit card at the Planteen Rec. Center, 301 N. Dort St, or the Parks & Rec department can set up an invoice to be paid online by credit card for email forms.
Registration forms are available on request by emailing the Parks & Rec Department at recinfor@plantcitygov.com or by calling 813-659-4256. For more information, or to register as a sponsor for the event, contact Maggie Cole at mmorona@plantcitygov.com or 813-659-4256.
Strawberry Crest student named 2021 Congressional App Challenge winner
On Friday, Dec. 17, 2021, Florida Congressman C. Scott Franklin announced the winner of the 2021 Congressional App Challenge, a competition designed to encourage student participation in computer science and coding and to recognize their efforts as they pursue those skills.
This year’s winner was Varun Patel, a junior in the International Baccalaureate program at Strawberry Crest, for his development of the app Py-iMessenger, an iMessage chatbot that allows users to execute a variety of functions through text messaging.
The yearly contest accepts computer programs, or apps, that are written for any platform in any programming language. A press release explains that the contest was created as Congress recognizes that STEM and computer-based skills are essential for economic growth and innovation and that the U.S. has been falling behind on these fronts.
“By some estimates, the U.S. may be short by as many as one million programmers by 2021,” the release said. “These are high-paying, high-demand jobs. To maintain American competitiveness, it’s crucial that the United States invests in our youth now and helps them acquire these valuable skills. The CAC encourages students to pursue those skills and recognizes them for their efforts.”
Winning teams are invited to Capitol Hill every spring to demonstrate their apps to their Representatives at a celebration called #HouseOfCode, a prestigious demo day in student STEM.