By Roger Caldwell
I have to admit that this was the first year that I went to Tom Joyner’s Family Reunion. I was totally blown away by the fun I had, and the folks had on Saturday at the Allstate Family Fun Center at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center. There was something there for everyone in the family, from the youngest, to the oldest.
Tom and his team believe in having fun with a capital F. When I got to the Family Fun Center with some friends around 11:30 AM, Joe was performing, and the women were screaming and the convention center was packed. The concert lasted for 45 minutes, and while the audience waited for the next performance, the host kept everyone laughing and having fun.
Next Chico DeBarge came on and did his thing. His performance was not as good as Joe, but still the women were screaming and they were having fun. While the audience was waiting for Tom Joyner’s family feud, you could walk around the Expo, which was free to the public and let the kids get their faces painted and the kids could jump on the kids play gym. The older kids could shoot hoops and play basketball on the computer games.
There were exhibits, information on colleges, and booths where women could spend money on things they like. Finally, they were ready to have a family feud game with the families competing to get a chance to compete against the TJMS, which stands for the Tom Joyner Morning Show. The show was very funny and TJMS won the game but the losing team won 4 free tickets to fly on Southwest Airline.
The last Saturday free activity was a panel discussion with CNN contributing Editor Roland Martin. His panel discussion was very informative and as always with Roland, there was some controversy. On his panel, he had the three doctors from my hometown Newark, who had written a book entitled the “Bond.” There were also two women on the panel and their contribution was insightful and provocative.
After experiencing Tom Joyner’s Family Reunion this year, I will be the first in line to check out the free musical acts and the Classic Soul Concerts next year. My advice to the residents of Orlando is to support Tom Joyner’s Family Reunion, because he knows how to throw a party with a purpose and some good music.
