Summerfield residents Nick, Alessandro and Annya Hernandez pose with Super Bowl XXXVII MVP Dexter Jackson, who let Alessandro try on his Super Bowl ring.
Photo by Lesley Dwyer
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The Hernandez family might not be huge Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans, as evidenced by Alessandro Hernandez’s Miami Dolphins jersey, but they are fans of Dexter Jackson, the former Buc.
“We’re FSU people, and he played at FSU,” said mom Annya Hernandez of Jackson's time at Florida State University.
The Summerfield residents were at the Mall at University Town Center on Saturday for the Dad’s Day Block Party presented by Tri County Air Conditioning and Heating. And while dad Nick Hernandez was the man of the hour, it was Alessandro who received the special treat.
Jackson chatted with the family about FSU before letting Alessandro try on the Super Bowl ring he won with the Buccaneers in 2002 when he was named Most Valuable Player.
Jackson along with three other former pro athletes were the block party’s main event. Jackson and Shelton Quarles signed autographs for the Buccaneers and Ruslan Fedotenko and Darren Puppa signed for the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Outside the mall, the crowd was entertained with batting cages, ax throwing and a sword fighting performance by the Steel Ring Academy. Gofruit was selling specialty lemonades with fruity flavors like mango and watermelon, and Bathe A Bin pulled up their big, pink truck to demonstrate how a garbage can gets clean again.
Summerfield residents Nick, Alessandro and Annya Hernandez pose with Super Bowl XXXVII MVP Dexter Jackson, who let Alessandro try on his Super Bowl ring.
Photo by Lesley Dwyer
Lakewood Ranch residents Zavier and Jaslyn Lumbsden celebrated their dad Samuel at the UTC Dad's Day Block Party in 2023.
Photo by Lesley Dwyer
Jeremy Presley visits UTC from North Port to meet former Bucs safety Dexter Jackson.
Photo by Lesley Dwyer
Venice resident Robert Hunek wears a Tampa Bay Lightning shirt to the Meet & Greet with two-time Stanley Cup champion Ruslan Fedotenko and asks him to sign his photo "To Bob."
Photo by Lesley Dwyer
Local Tampa Bay sports fans line up at the Mall at University Town Center to get autographs from former Buccaneers and Lightning players.
Photo by Lesley Dwyer
Rich Hart of Tri County Air Conditioning & Heating impresses the kids with color changing cups. Tri County sponsored the block party.
Photo by Lesley Dwyer
Bradenton resident Autumn Daugherty takes a shot at the inflatable goal post set up by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the Dad's Day Block Party.
Photo by Lesley Dwyer
Meadows residents Pankaj, Ira and Rachana Chaudhari shop and celebrate dad.
Photo by Lesley Dwyer
Sarasota residents Gustavo, Lea, Gia and Astrid Bustamante finish up some Häagen-Dazs ice cream and head back to the block party.
Photo by Lesley Dwyer
The Dad's Day Block Party at the Mall at UTC features goodie bags and meet and greets inside and ax throwing and batting cages outside.
Photo by Lesley Dwyer
Rita Saturno, Irene Blanchard, Donna Lynch and Kellie Marchinkoski leave the dads at home in Connecticut for a girls' trip.
Photo by Lesley Dwyer
Venice residents Chase and Tyson Brown pick up ax throwing quickly. The first-timers each hit a bullseye.
Photo by Lesley Dwyer
Sarasota residents Jackie Williams and Josh Friedl sign their waivers and wait their turn to get into the Axe Haus to try ax throwing for the first time.
Photo by Lesley Dwyer
Avery Fuller and Chris Fontana demonstrate historical European sword fighting for the Steel Ring Academy.
Photo by Lesley Dwyer
Batting and ax throwing are the main activities outside at the Dad's Day Block Party.
Lesley Dwyer is a staff writer for East County and a graduate of the University of South Florida. After earning a bachelor’s degree in professional and technical writing, she freelanced for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Lesley has lived in the Sarasota area for over 25 years.
