You would be hard pressed to find someone walking along Downtown Sanford who is not familiar with the George Zimmerman trial.
Folks here experienced firsthand the tension that shooting brought to their backyards a year ago. Now they're relieved the trial is about to get underway.
The heart of Downtown Sanford is along First Street, where the talk of the town is the Zimmerman trial -- how long it took to get here, and fear of what it may bring.
Both locals and tourists are relieved the trial is about to start.
"I think it’s about time it does get underway," said Carole Arnason, who is visiting Sanford from Palm Coast. "It’s been a long time coming. It needs to be on the way and get over so justice can be done."
"It’s a relief," said Marvin Brown of Sanford. "It took long enough, so it’s about time."
"It's not really a relief, but it’s gonna get some people a little worried and its gonna get some people into town but, I don't think it’s gonna be striking up a huge racial tension thing," said Sanford resident Glenn Dowdle.
You may recall that days after Trayvon Martin was shot Febraury 26 of last year and Zimmerman was arrested. Protests followed, bringing tension to this otherwise quiet community.
Some believe that tension may return once jurors are picked and the trial starts.
"It might, it might have some down here like last time," Brown said.
Folks here in Downtown Sanford tells us they're happy the trial is about to start, but they also want it to end as soon as possible so Sanford can return to normal once again.
Protesters descend on Sanford
As expected, protesters made their voices heard outside the Criminal Justice Center in support of Trayvon Martin
One group proclaimed Monday National Hoodie Day in honor of Trayvon Martin, who was wearing a hoodie the night he was shot and killed.
“We want justice. It’s not just a nice thing that we would like and if it doesn’t happen, that’s fine too," said Noche Diaz with the Revolutionary Communist Party. "We want justice and it’s going to take people politically acting in a very outright bold and upfront way and demanding justice in order to get it in this case.”
“I just feel like it’s time for the family to heal, they really need to heal," said Jennifer Sherman. "They’ve been holding on to this for too long. It needs to settled and done. Everybody needs to heal.”
The protest zone is divided into two sections. One in support of George Zimmerman and the other side in support of Trayvon Martin. Our cameras didn't see anyone on the Zimmerman side.