The 5th annual Great Cities Symposium, hosted by Scenic Jacksonville, has been canceled because of Hurricane Milton.
The event was planned for Oct. 10 at the Garden Club of Jacksonville.
Scenic Jacksonville said Oct. 7 it is looking for a new event date in early 2025 with the same speaker and venue.
Guest speaker Carol Coletta, president and CEO of the Memphis River Parks Partnership since 2017, spearheaded Tom Lee Park, a 31-acre riverfront park that is a model for inclusive, environmentally restorative urban parks, according to a news release from Scenic Jacksonville.
Named one of the top 100 Most Influential Urbanists, past or present, by Planetizen in 2023, Coletta also led the Tennessee city’s Mayors’ Institute on City Design, a collaboration of the National Endowment for the Arts, U.S. Conference of Mayors and American Architectural Foundation.
Scenic Jacksonville’s Great Cities Symposium is a program for civic land business leaders that aims to inform, educate and spark community conversations about the vibrancy of peer cities and how Jacksonville can learn from their successes and challenges and implement initiatives and solutions for the benefit of the community, the nonprofit said.
The primary fundraiser for Scenic Jacksonville, the event supports the nonprofit’s work to preserve, protect and enhance the character of Jacksonville’s natural and built environment.
The Jacksonville Daily Record is a sponsor.
Other sponsors include Gateway Jax, Foley & Lardner LLP, the Brinton family, Barbara and William Harrell and Bert and Demetria Livingston.
Visit Scenic Jacksonville at scenicjax.org
Milton impact
Milton is expected to make landfall in the Tampa area Oct. 10 as a major hurricane and continue on an east-northeast path across the Florida peninsula. Northeast Florida forecasts call for high winds and up to 12 inches of rain.
Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency Oct. 5 because of Milton in 51 counties, including Duval and Northeast Florida.