Oct. 5 Event in Osswald Park Will Feature Live Music, Food Trucks, Games, Marketplace, Kids’ Zone, and Fun for Everyone
FORT LAUDERDALE -– Nearly a decade after his passing, former Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner Carlton B. Moore continues to be remembered by family, friends, and the community he served with love and dedication. On Saturday, Oct. 5, they will honor his legacy with a special celebration at Osswald Park, located at 2220 NW 21st Ave. in Fort Lauderdale.
The Carlton B. Moore Friends & Family Day, taking place from 3 to 8 p.m., will feature a lively lineup of music, games, and activities. Miami Brown, a popular funk and R&B band, and South Florida comedian Chicken George are among the headline entertainers.
The event will also include a bid whist tournament, performances by the Ashanti Cultural Arts Dance Team and the Dillard High School Steppers, a mobile arcade game truck, free haircuts provided by the Florida Barber Academy, food trucks, a kids’ zone with a waterslide, bounce house, and other activities, a vendors’ marketplace, a raffle of exciting prizes, and more.
First launched in 2019, the event is sponsored this year by the City of Fort Lauderdale and Commissioner Pamela Beasley-Pittman, King’s Security, the Samuel F. Morrison Community Impact Fund of the Broward Community Foundation, and the Westside Gazette. Moore, who passed away on April 2, 2014, at the age of 60, served on the Fort Lauderdale City Commission for more than 20 years and was a past president of the local branch of the NAACP.
The Friends & Family Day event, organized by the Carlton B. Moore Freedom Foundation (CBMFF), is a celebration of his life and ongoing commitment to the community he loved.
“We are excited to once again host Friends & Family Day at Osswald Park in memory of my father and his commitment to the community,” said Forrest Moore, CBMFF President and the youngest of the commissioner’s two sons. “Each year, the event grows bigger, with more people coming out to enjoy the festivities. It’s a labor of love for our foundation, and we’re proud to share that love with the people of Fort Lauderdale.”
The event will include the presentation of the Carlton B. Moore Community Service Award, first introduced in 2022. This year’s honoree is Zarline Jones Scott, a retired Broward County educator who served the district for 45 years as a teacher and administrator. Scott is a graduate of Bethune Cookman College (now Bethune Cookman University) and is a longstanding member of the Zeta Rho Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
A faithful member of St. Christopher Episcopal Church for 65 years, Scott volunteered her time as a member of the church’s choir and in the Kitchen Ministry. Scott also has served as a member of the Sistrunk Festival Board for more than 20 years, and she has been featured in the Fort Lauderdale News, Readers Digest, Jet Magazine and Ivy Leaf Magazine.
“Through her work as an educator, her dedication to her church, and her service in the sorority, Mrs. Scott has made a lasting impact on countless lives,” Moore said. “We believe she represents the same values and commitment that guided my father throughout his career as a civil rights activist and public servant.”
Carlton Moore’s passion for service was partly inspired by his mother, Ada B. Moore, a longtime teacher and supervisor at Sunland Park (now Carter Park). Ada Moore, who helped organize the inaugural Friends & Family Day in honor of her son, passed away shortly after the first event.
In addition to hosting the annual Friends and Family Day, the CBMFF advocates for the release of inmates affected by mandatory minimum sentencing and awards scholarships to Broward County students. Since its inception, the foundation has awarded more than $50,000 in scholarships to high school graduates.
This year’s scholarship recipients include Terri Gipson from Dillard High School, who is attending the University of South Florida to study medical technology; Taniyah Harrell from Fort Lauderdale High School, who will study criminal justice at Florida A&M University; and Oshene Whittick from Dillard High School, who is also attending Florida A&M University to study nursing.
“Education is the key to success, and we are proud to support our scholarship recipients as they pursue their dreams,” Moore said. “We look forward to seeing them make a positive impact on their community.”
Sponsorship and vendor marketplace opportunities are available for anyone interested in supporting Friends & Family Day. For more information, please contact the Foundation at 954.328.7848 or cbmffoundation@gmail.com.
About the Carlton B. Moore Freedom Foundation Inc.
The Carlton B. Moore Freedom Foundation, Inc., a 501c(3) charity, was established in 2014 to honor the memory of Fort Lauderdale Commissioner Carlton Moore by helping inmates who may have been treated unfairly because of mandatory minimum sentencing and by awarding scholarships to high school seniors at St. John United Methodist Church and Fort Lauderdale and Dillard high schools.