- September 7, 2024
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With "The Garfield Movie" playing at Epic Theatres of Palm Coast, the Palm Coast Historical Society took the opportunity on Saturday, May 25, to remind residents that this is not the fictitious feline's first visit to the city.
Children and adults posed with Garfield — actually Margaret Leon dressed in a Garfield costume — in the theater lobby before two matinee showings of the movie. They also learned about the cartoon cat's connection to Palm Coast.
ITT Community Development Corporation signed an exclusive agreement with United Feature Syndicate Inc. and cartoonist Jim Davis in 1985 to use Garfield in promotional material. He was Palm Coast's mascot for four years.
"He is one example of our uniqueness," said Kathy Reichard-Ellavsky, president of the Palm Coast Historical Society. "Palm Coast is the only municipality to have a licensing agreement with Jim Davis."
The Historical Society brought memorabilia, including a Garfield phone which was gifted to new Palm Coast home buyers in the late '80s.
Reichard-Ellavsky said a lot of people don't know about the Palm Coast Historical Society and its museum at Holland Park. Garfield is a way to get the word out, she said, just as he did nearly 40 years ago.
For more information about the Palm Coast Historical Society, go to palmcoasthistory.org or the Palm Coast Historical Society's Facebook page.