November 9, 2023
Stay informed, be engaged and get excited about our bright future!
I am very excited about this issue.
We have a guest writer this month, Jeremy Gardner. He is a local writer, filmmaker and a bartender. I met Jeremy and wrote about him after he had just finished his movie in 2019. Since then, I’ve been asking Jeremy to write something for the magazine. He never said yes, but he never said no. So, I continued to ask him. He agreed earlier this year, I gave him no guidelines, only a deadline. When he turned in a 4800-word essay, I was giddy. When I sat down to read it, I was hooked on the first page. He takes us along his thought process with complete honesty about being a writer, making films, and working as a bartender. It’s his way of storytelling that I found so intriguing and his honesty that I found so humbling. I am absolutely proud of him and I’m excited for everyone to read what he has written.
Please join us on October 26th at 7 pm for a special screening of his movie, After Midnight (2019) at the Historic Ritz Theatre in downtown Winter Haven. Stay afterwards for a Q & A with Jeremy and his co-director Christian Stella. After Midnight was written by, co-directed, and stars Jeremy. It was filmed at several locations around town, and also in Leesburg, FL. This screening is a fundraiser for the Ritz, with very limited seating. Please reserve in advance at centralfloridatix.com, the movie is rated M. I’ll see you there.
Amy Sexson Editor/Partner Haven & LKLD Magazines
Destroyer Media & Marketing
Winter Haven Farmers Market
CentralFloridaTiX.com
Email me: amy@destroyermedia.com
Publisher // Chris Sexson chris@destroyermedia.com
Ad Director // Christine Campbell christine@destroyermedia.com
Editor & Photographer // Amy Sexson amy@destroyermedia.com
Managing Editor & Writer // Tara Crutchfield tara@destroyermedia.com
Art & Production Manager // Steven Maynard steven@destroyermedia.com
Account Representative // Jessica Parker jessica@destroyermedia.com
Graphic Designer // Ella Doyle ella@destroyermedia.com
Media Specialist // Nate Schaller nate@destroyermedia.com
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Event Coordinator // Lyndsey Venrick lyndsey@destroyermedia.com
Contributing Writers Shannon Carnevale Jeremy Gardner
For advertising information please contact: christine@destroyermedia.com
Polk County Public Schools is hosting a Fall Interview Day on Oct. 5, 3 – 5 pm at the Jim Miles Professional Development Center in Lakeland. During this face-to-face event, you will have the opportunity to connect, interview, and potentially accept a job offer. Please come with your resume in hand and in your best dress. Administrators from all over Polk will be in attendance to hire you for the 23-24 school year. If you have questions, please email jobs@polk-fl.net or call 863-534-0781 option 5.
Nine students from Polk County Public Schools are among this year’s semifinalists for National Merit Scholarships. Congratulations to: Nicholas Kieffer, Johnathan Marocco, Abraham Medina, Mohan Nakka, Isabel Philip, Melissa Thomas and Kim-Linh Vo from International Baccalaureate Bartow; Abrar Amin from International Baccalaureate Haines City; and Eric Brown from Winter Haven High. The PCPS students are among more than 16,000 “academically talented” U.S. high school seniors competing for National Merit Scholarships this year.
Program Director Shana Kent-Smith calls Polk State College’s Respiratory Care Program one of the College’s best-kept secrets. Last month, the program was presented with the Distinguished Registered Respiratory Therapist Credentialing Success Award for the ninth consecutive year. Of the 473 Respiratory Care schools in the U.S., fewer than 80 earned that distinction. Polk State’s Program is a two-year program that awards an associate in science degree. Over the latest reporting period from 2019 to 2021, Polk State graduates boasted a perfect 100% rate for job placement, credentialing success, employer satisfaction, and graduate satisfaction. 2023 graduates have perfect 100% job placement and credentialing rate.
Congratulations to the 2023 inductees to the Polk Arts & Culture Hall of Fame. Clifton Lewis was instrumental in saving the historic L.B. Brown House in Bartow from demolition. Milford Myhre was the carillonneur of Bok Tower Gardens for 36 years, until his retirement in 2004. Rick Olivo, who passed away in 2022, has long been recognized as one of Lakeland’s art icons. Harriet Rust, a Polk County native, founded the Davenport Historical Society with thenMayor Peter Rust (her late husband). Bobby Braddock, who left Auburndale for Nashville as a young adult, gained notoriety for writing country music classics. Jazz icon, Nat Adderley is credited with being a founding member of Florida Southern College’s Child of the Sun Jazz Festival. Purchase tickets to the gala at polkarts.org.
Lake Region High’s football stadium received a new name on September 15th. The stadium was named in honor of Stephen White, LRHS’ first principal, who was in attendance. The name was officially announced after the first quarter of Friday night’s game against Lake Wales High. The current LRHS Principal Amy Hardee said, “Before the first graduating class of 1996 set foot on the new LRHS campus, Mr. White made sure every detail was in place. Yet when the school opened, they did not have a football stadium of their own. Mr. White advocated for a stadium.” She continued, “The naming is overdue, because Mr. White will always bleed Carolina blue, silver and black.”
Endeavor Winter Haven, Engage Bartow & Emerge Lakeland gathered to present the 12th Annual Polk Emerging Leaders Awards. Over 200 people from all over Polk County gathered at the Bartow Civic Center to celebrate these young professionals. This year, 19 young professionals were nominated for this prestigious award coming from every corner of the county, representing a wide variety of professions and volunteer service to numerous nonprofit or civic organizations. The 2023 Polk Emerging Leaders Awards winners are Dr. Aimee Franklin, Jon Lane, Alexander Cam, Tayler Baldick and John Helms.
October 10th is the deadline to register to vote in Polk County’s November 7th Municipal Elections in Auburndale, Fort Meade, Lakeland and Winter Haven. Voter registration services will be available at the following locations:
Second 2 None Barbershop at 1320 N Florida Ave. LK from 11 am – 1 pm; Lakeland Regional Health at 1324 LK Hills Blvd. LK from 11 am – 1 pm; Geico Corporate Office at 3535 W. Pipkin Rd. LK from 11:30 am – 2 pm; Auburndale Public Library at 100 W Bridgers Ave. AD from 2 pm – 4 pm; Winter Haven Public Library at 325 Ave A NW, WH from 2 pm – 4 pm; and Polk County Government Ctr at 930 E Parker St., LK from 2 pm – 4 pm. For more information, contact the Elections Office at (863) 534-5888, or visit PolkElections.gov.
The City of Winter Haven will be constructing sidewalk café space in the existing parallel parking spaces along Central Avenue West. Central Avenue West will be closed between 2nd Street and 4th Street. 3rd Street will remain open as well as the sidewalks and access to the businesses. The work is scheduled to go through midNovember 2023. During this time, the road will be closed to traffic. The sidewalks and access to the businesses will remain open. All traffic should follow all detour signs for safety purposes. If you have any questions, please contact Angie Hibbard - Project Manager for City of Winter Haven at (863) 291-5656.
Oct. 5 – 29 at Theatre Winter Haven. The story of an extraordinary girl who dares to take a stand and change her own destiny. Packed with high-energy dance numbers and catchy songs. Days and times vary. theatrewinterhaven.com
Oct. 6, 6 pm in Central Park in downtown Winter Haven. Main Street Winter Haven’s 16th Annual Oktoberfest will have over 40 Florida craft, local and German beers. Buy a tasting ticket and sample as many of the beers as you’d like. The Brass Heart Band will perform live, German food available for purchase. centralfloridatix.com
Every Saturday & Sunday at LEGOLAND. The party kicks off as Monsters take over LEGOLAND® and host the party of the year featuring: Live Entertainment & Shows; Limited-Time Attractions; Character Meet & Greets; ALLNEW Fireworks Show; And Trickor-Treating! Purchase tickets online. legoland.com/florida
Oct. 13, 7 – 11:11 pm at ART/ifact Studios in Lakeland. Join seven lucky artists on one unlucky night for an in-depth exploration of superstition. Shop the Dark/Oddities Market, drinks available for purchase. $13 admission (includes 2 drink tickets). All ages welcome. centralfloridatix.com
Oct. 14, 9 am – 3 pm at the Polk State College Winter Haven campus. This annual family-friendly event will showcase student art, activities for the entire family, a car show, food, music, crafts, and so much more! Get all the autumn vibes at Fall Fest. polk.edu/fallfest
Oct. 17, 6 – 9 pm at Bonnet Springs Park. The Polk Arts & Cultural Alliance will honor six individuals who have all made their mark on Polk County and beyond. They will also recognize local arts individuals and organizations via a series of annual awards. Tickets are available at polkarts.org.
Oct. 21, 4:30 pm at The Bike Shop of Winter Haven. Slow Roll is a FREE community gathering. “Slow roll” through downtown Winter Haven and stop mid-roll to take in the Cypress Gardens Ski Team show. Ride back and meet at Grove Roots to hang out. Sign up on FB @slowrollskishow.
Oct. 26, 7 pm at the Ritz Theatre. One night only showing of the movie in our cover story written, directed and starring local Jeremy Gardner with a Q & A after the show. Specialty cocktails & snacks available for purchase. This is a fundraiser for the Ritz, very limited seating. Purchase tickets in advance. centralfloridatix.com
Oct. 28 & 29 from 9 am – 5 pm at Lake Wailes Park in Lake Wales. The free community festival features a heritage village with historical demonstrations of pioneer camps and early American trades. Buy hand-crafted goods from these vendors along with more than 60 craft market vendors. lakewaleshistory.org
Oct. 28, 7 pm on Lake Silver at MLK Jr. Park. Watch the worldfamous Cypress Gardens Water Ski Team perform a free Halloween Spooktacular show. Bring a chair or blanket to sit on, concessions available for purchase. FB @CypressGardensWaterSkiTeam.
Try the Ultimate 4-Hour Tour, 2-hour Downtown Tour or the Spirits Pub Tour. Walk and hear the ghostly legends told to you by your guide or use ghost finding equipment inside locations to find the spirits yourself. Book in advance. americanghostadventures.com
Oct. 4,7:30 pm at the Dr. Phillips Center. Experience a very special evening of unique arrangements of familiar favorites and seldomheard deep cuts from the eight-time Grammy winner, Beck. He will make his debut performance with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for one night only. drphillipscenter.org
Oct. 6, 8 pm at the Dr. Phillips Center. Ms. Ross’ unprecedented career has made her the most successful recording artist and entertainer of all time. A Legacy Evening with Diana Ross and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is a night you will always remember. drphillipscenter.org
Oct. 7 & 8, 9 am – 5 pm at Central Park in Winter Park. This is the only juried fine art festival exclusively featuring Florida artists. The community-oriented sidewalk show presents quality visual art and live entertainment for the entire family. winterpark.org/autumn-art-festival
Oct. 12, 8 pm at Central Park in Winter Park. Free to attend, bring a blanket or chairs. Starring Vincent Price and Carol Ohmart, a millionaire offers $10,000 to five people who agree to be locked in a large, spooky, rented house overnight with him and his wife. enzian.org
Oct. 14, 6:30 – 10 pm at the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens. It’s kids only (ages 5-12) at the Zoo on this special night. Everyone will get to meet animals up close, take a flashlight tour of the Zoo, play games, make a craft, and enjoy a snack. Registration required. centralfloridazoo.org
Oct. 19, 6 – 11 pm at CityArts (39 S Magnolia Avenue). Halloweeninspired art created by regional, national, and international artists. This unique art exhibition will be paired with food, drinks, entertainment, and spooky art vendors. ddlm2023.eventbrite.com
Oct. 20 & 21 at the Dr. Phillips Center. This big band concert features the Central Florida Community Arts Big Band playing a spook-tacular concert filled with notso-scary thrills and chills fit for the whole family. drphillipscenter.org
Oct. 22, 7:30 pm at the Dr. Phillips Center. The Beach Boys mark more than a half century of making music and have become synonymous with the California lifestyle. A download of Mike Love’s new album is included with every ticket purchase. drphillipscenter.org
Oct. 25, 7 pm at the Amway Center. Celebrate opening night with the Magic as they take on the Houston Rockets. All fans in attendance will receive a free shirt, while supplies last. Purchase tickets in advance. nba.com/magic
Oct. 7, 4:30 pm at the MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre. See Willie Nelson, The Avett Brothers, Gov’t Mule, Elizabeth Cook, and Particle Kid perform live. This event is rain or shine. Purchase tickets in advance. midflorida.com/about-us/ amphitheatre
Oct. 8, 8 pm at Rooster & The Till with guest, Chef Zach Meloy. Meloy has degrees in both Spanish and ceramics from Samford University and a culinary degree from Johnson & Wales. Seats are very limited for this six-course tasting menu with wine pairing. Reserve in advance. roosterandthetill.com
Oct. 10, 5:30 pm at Amalie Arena. Bring the Thunder as you watch the Tampa Bay Lightning take on the Nashville Predators in the season’s home opener. Make your night memorable with a personalized message flashed on the scoreboard for an additional charge. nhl.com/ lightning
Oct. 13 – 15 at Curtis Hixon Park in Tampa. Celebrate German beer, cheer, games, dancing and singing along the Hillsborough River. Join in on Friday night when they tap the inaugural keg at Tampa’s largest Oktoberfest. VIP experience available. oktoberfesttampa.com
Oct. 14 & 15, 21 & 22 at Armature Works. Fall Fest spans two weekends, featuring live music performances, a food drive benefiting Metropolitan Ministries, a pumpkin patch, festive treats, and activities for the whole family. armatureworks.com/event/ fall-fest
PENGUIN WADDLE
Oct. 14, 4:30 pm. Registered guests will meet at the iconic Tampa sign at Sparkman Wharf and waddle (walk 0.2 miles) along Channelside Drive over to The Florida Aquarium to meet some of their resident African penguins at a family-friendly block party. flaquarium.org
Oct. 19 – 22 at The Sound. This signature event’s performances include The Beach Boys, Gladys Knight, Buddy Guy, and the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band plus many more. Purchase tickets for one day or all four. Find the full schedule online. rutheckerdhall.com
Oct. 21, 10 am at Al Lopez Park. Help raise funds for F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Down Syndrome West Florida. Whether you have Down Syndrome or other Special Needs, know someone who does, or just want to show your support, register at ds-stride.org/ friendsbuddywalk
Oct. 21, 6 pm at the Straz Center. This highly anticipated annual fundraiser revels in all that The Straz has to offer. Begin the evening with cocktails and a silent auction, followed by fine dining on the Morsani Hall stage. End the evening with an exciting live auction and entertainment. strazcenter.org
Oct. 24 – 29 at the Straz Center. Based on Tim Burton’s dearly beloved film, this musical tells the story of Lydia Deetz, an unusual teenager whose life changes when she meets a recently deceased couple and a demon with a thing for stripes. strazcenter.org
In early 2019, a team of scientists announced they had made an incredible discovery.
After shimmying up a fig tree on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, in search of an entrance to a remote cave system, a member of their research group had stumbled upon a previously unknown prehistoric pictograph.
By analyzing the calcite “popcorn” that had built up over millennia on the surface of the paint (a method of chronometric dating based on the slow decay of uranium into thorium, as well as some other scientific shit I don’t fully understand involving isotope levels), they were able to determine that the pictograph was nearly 44,000 years old.
To put that into perspective, whoever this ancient artist was, who scrambled up that rock face with a coconut husk or horn or skull-bowl full of primitive paint and tagged that wall like some Fred Flintstone Banksy, did so forty thousand years before the Great Pyramid at Giza was built.
Though not the earliest pictograph ever uncovered, the find at Sulawesi is certainly no slouch. When ranked strictly on a timeline, it slots comfortably into the top three. Age, however as so many vibrant, older folks are fond of saying is just a number; and the “when” of this particular painting, (impressive though it may be), is not what makes it so special.
It is, of course, the “what” of the thing.
- Continued on Page 24 -
On its face, the pictograph depicts a simple hunting scene. It is only upon closer inspection that it becomes clear the human characters have been rendered with exaggerated, animal-like features. Long snouts. Beaks. Horns and tails. Anthropologists refer to these types of artistic figures that appear in early human cave art all over the world, as “therianthropes.” A fancy word for Animal-People. Hybrids or shapeshifters.
In the painting, the hunters wield spears and face off against a menagerie of beasts that although recognizable as native fauna have been portrayed as outsized, disproportionate monsters. Kaiju-sized dwarf buffalo. King Kong warthogs. Taken together the therianthropic flourishes of the hunters, the gigantic creatures these artistic liberties suggest the pictograph may in fact be an expression of prehistoric folklore. Something more akin to mythology, or a fantasy narrative, than to a simple act of rote record-keeping.
Put simply, the Liang Bulu’Sipong 4 pictograph may very well be the oldest known example of recorded storytelling in human history.
Right around now you might start to wonder where the hell I’m going with all of this (admittedly pretty cool) cave painting history blather. That’s fair. Perhaps you’ve even backtracked
to check you haven’t missed something. Or skimmed ahead, searching out keywords to confirm you’re reading the right article. Wasn’t this supposed to be about a local filmmaker? Something about that grumpy-looking bearded guy at the local brewery making some kind of monster movie?
Don’t worry, you’re in the right place.
I’m just having a bit of fun with storytelling structure. Employing a common entertainment trope known as “the cold open,” in which a movie or TV show begins suddenly, often in an unexpected setting, with unfamiliar characters, in media res. Essentially, the audience is dropped into the middle of an ongoing drama, devoid of context, and expected to trust that the storyteller will make it all make sense later.
Believe it or not, I do actually intend to try to draw a line across a vast chasm of time, and connect a moment in ancient human prehistory directly to my own personal pre-high school adolescence.
Because forty-four thousand years after that story went up on that cave wall in Indonesia, in the Summer of 1993, my life changed forever.
Now, whether or not I manage to connect those two moments in a remotely convincing (or at the very least, compelling) way without running this whole thing off a cliff into a sea of pretension is still very much up in the air. Fifty-fifty, I’d say. For one, because how any one reader responds to any piece of writing is an inherently subjective experience. Also, quite simply, I haven’t written it yet.
So, you’re just going to have to trust me.
To help in that regard, you should know that I am also utilizing another, quite famous, storytelling trope in this opening. More of a “rule,” really, and one I have always endeavored to follow. Known as “Chekhov’s Gun” it is a narrative principle, established by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, which states that if, in the beginning of a story, a gun is mentioned, or seen hanging on a wall, by the third act, it had better be fired.
Otherwise, it shouldn’t be there.
The Sulawesi cave painting is Chekhov’s Gun.
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Isaw a couch in front of a door.
That’s how we got here. How all of this started.
The script I wrote. The movie it became. On up to this very article, even.
This is, of course, a wild oversimplification. The main thrust of the screenplay—concerning long term relationships and the inevitable resentment that festers when one person shoulders the lion’s share of the sacrifice necessary to maintain it had been percolating in the dark parts of my head and heart for years before I ever had “the vision.”
Similarly, my singling out those three specific milestones— screenplay, movie, this article intentionally glosses over the countless, arguably more important bits that came between them. All the hard parts. The really tough stuff. It ignores the struggle. The best, most rewarding experiences. The blood in the veins. The meat on the bones. The shit that really sticks in your teeth. Moments that, were I writing a different article, would be milestones in and of themselves.
It is, in fact, another example of the profound power of storytelling: Its ability to collapse time. To turn entire epochs into ellipses. Those bits of white space between the script, the movie, and this article, essentially add up more than a quarter of my entire life. But in the interest of brevity (something I’ve never been particularly interested in, and as a result, have rarely managed to achieve) I have no choice, for now, but to leave those moments in the ellipses…
And get back to that damned couch in front of that door.
To be clear, it wasn’t a dream. I didn’t sit bolt-upright in bed, break out in a cold sweat, and reach for a notebook on the nightstand. I never considered it a premonition or prophecy of any kind because, well, that would be crazy. And I only previously made reference to it as a capital-V vision with my tongue planted firmly in the meat of my cheek.
It was just an image. A flash across my mind’s eye that lasted all of an instant.
Come from nowhere. Apropos of nothing.
Like a bug smacking a windshield.
There wasn’t even anything particularly interesting about either the couch or the door outside of their unusual proximity to one another.
There was no corpse on the couch. No family sat on it, all dressed up in period clothes, like Dust Bowl-era farmers in their Sunday best; only with black eyes and their mouths sewn
shut. There was no enormous Saint Bernard sprawled across the cushions, either. Slobbery, slick red muzzle. Gnawing on a long bone… With a foot on the end of it.
It was just a couch. It was every couch ever made. All distilled down into one. The couch from every classic sitcom. The one the title family all piles onto in the opening credits. All shouldered together, smiling and being silly.
The door was equally unremarkable. There were no bullet holes. No misspelled Beatles song title scrawled across it in blood. It wasn’t at the end of a long hallway, locked from the outside, with a peephole in the middle, looking in. Nor did it open on a rickety staircase that disappeared into a basement… where something, somewhere down in the dark, was growling softly.
It was just a door. Wood. Painted, off-white, maybe. Maybe not, I’m not sure. But there was one other curious detail that stood out about it at the time: It was a front door.
The main artery through which family and friends, food, overdue homecomings, big hugs, and sometimes bad news and even bad guys, flow directly into the heart of a home. And that couch, the one shoved up against it–it should be noted the inside of the house. All but wedged into a narrow foyer. Its plush, curving arms scraping the walls on either side.
I was, of course, immediately aware this was an unusual place to find a couch, not least because it flew in the face of nearly every, unassailable tenet of Feng-shui. I simply had to know more.
Who would do such a thing? Why would they do it?
Certainly, it wasn’t to stop someone getting out. Moving the couch to get out the door would be annoying, no doubt; and it would surely slow any attempted escape. But it was, at most, a minor inconvenience.
Perhaps then, I surmised, it had been dragged out into the mud room and shoved up against the door in an attempt to keep someone out.
Maybe even something.
That had to be it. It was the only thing that made sense: I was looking at a rudimentary, hastily constructed barricade.
I still had no idea who had put it there, but I had just managed to hook my fingertips on the edge of the “why.” Which, of course, turned out to be merely the flaky skin on the outside of an onion; and my peeling it away had managed only to reveal layer after layer of countless new questions.
Not least of which was: If the couch was in front of the door to keep something out…
What the hell was trying to get in?
I sat down at my computer, opened my screenwriting software, and wrote the following:
HANK wakes up on the couch.
He is in his early thirties but is carrying a few more years under his eyes, and in the wiry beard on his neck and jowls.
He swings his feet to the floor and yawns and cracks the knuckles of his toes on the hardwood.
Two things suddenly make this otherwise pedestrian moment quite surreal:
The first, is when he pulls an enormous double-barrel shotgun from the cushions behind him and lays it casually across his lap.
The second, is when it becomes apparent that the couch...
IS BARRICADED AGAINST THE FRONT DOOR.
Hank yawns. He scratches his greasy head. He claws the crust from the corners of his eyes.
Then he stands with the shotgun and stretches and groans and lumbers out of frame.
For a moment we linger on that bizarre image:
A couch, in front of a door.
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Boom! Mystery solved. I had figured it out! The person who had built the strange couch-barricade was…
A guy named Hank, apparently. Who–not coincidentally (on the off-chance I managed to finish whatever this was and get it made)–happened to look quite a bit like me. Though I still had no idea who this man really was, where he was, what he did for a living, or what he was trying to keep out of his house, I had made a bit of progress.
That opening scene amounted to almost one single page of a screenplay.
And this, dear reader, is but a glimpse into the maddening, inefficient, nightmare that is–and has always been–my writing process. Try as I might, to plot out my stories with Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey, or make “mind-maps” or beat sheets, or lay three acts out on Syd Field’s Screenplay Paradigm, or in Dan Harmon’s Story Circle, I have never once managed to actually do it.
Everything I have ever finished has been the result of a flash of inspiration, followed by weeks, months, and often years of blindly groping in the dark for breadcrumbs and lifelines.
This article is no exception. It is part of the reason I resisted committing to it for so long. It is also why I have amassed no fewer than nine individual documents comprising an equal number of false starts over two months attempting to write it. And it is why I am still bushwhacking through word thickets on the eve of a deadline while my wife works my shift at the bar, to give me every last minute to maybe find my way out of the writing woods.
Speaking of the woods…
WhenI first saw the A.A. Stivender House, there was a moment however brief in which I thought I had actually manifested the damned thing.
That I might literally have written it into existence. Willed the house into the world through sheer force of imagination. The power of a pen on paper. I could almost see it happening. Set back from the road as it was, hidden in a hug of oak trees behind curtains of Spanish moss, literally building itself, a board at a time. Not all at once, but over months and years. Each time I wrote a sentence referencing Hank’s home it would grumble awake in the woods and grow a little more. A little bit bigger. From the foundation to the wide wraparound porch, on up to the tall brick chimney jutting from the roof like a castle spire. Its crown choked by an enormous osprey nest. A beautiful green bloom of infection threatening to spread over the whole of the place that called to mind “The Lonely Death of Jordy Verill,” from George Romero’s Creepshow
In reality, of course, none of that happened. The enchanting, imposing, Italianate-style home that would become a major character in my third feature film was already standing a full hundred years before I was even born. Built in 1881, by a dentist from Alabama in what would become the city of Leesburg, Florida, (but at the time was a small citrus-industry outpost known as Eldorado,) it was absolutely perfect.
So perfect, in fact, it had already been featured in a major motion picture years earlier. Away We Go was a sweet, rambling dramedy starring Maya Rudolph and John Krasinski, as a couple on the verge of parenthood who travel the country visiting friends and family, looking for the perfect place to put down roots. In the end, they decide on the childhood home of Rudolph’s character. Enter, the A.A. Stivender House.
This connection was no coincidence of course. The house had been suggested to us by our friend, Juan Ortiz, who is a talented filmmaker in his own right. (Seriously, if you’re curious what I look like in a knit panda mask eating a severed thumb, check
out his film Fingers). Anyway, years earlier, Juan had been hired to sit at the Stivender property to ensure no one vandalized the Away We Go set overnight. During these security details, he would often call Christian Stella, my co-director and lifelong filmmaking partner, just to have someone to talk to in order to distract him from the spooky sounds and pitch-black darkness of the location.
It is no wonder he insisted we consider the place for our monster movie.
Which, by the way, we were finally, officially, actually making.
And it had only been six years since I first saw that couch in front of that door.
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In that time the script had gone through countless rewrites. Some, a product of my own restless tinkering; but a fair amount that were insisted upon by a rogue’s gallery of producers (with mostly good intentions) who mostly, eventually, just quietly vanished. My personal life had changed dramatically in that time, and I had begun to question, if we ever managed to get the movie made, whether I would still be able to relate to the themes and emotions that had inspired me to write it in the first place.
By the last of those endless drafts, one character had been cut down to nearly nothing, two characters had been collapsed into one, (come to think of it, two monsters had been collapsed into one) and nearly thirty pages had been excised completely. Somehow though, I mostly still recognized it as the story I originally wrote.
The biggest change to the script however, wouldn’t be implemented until that final rewrite.
During a conference call with investors and producers, I got the sense that interest might be flagging a little when the subject of where we envisioned shooting the film was raised. From the very first draft, I had always imagined the story taking place in New England. I was living in Connecticut when the story was written, and we had shot our previous two features in the upstate town of Kent, near the border of southwestern Massachusetts. At that time, there had been quite a few recent indie, artsy, horror movies set in the moody, foggy forests and meadows of old-world America, and for some reason, without running it by my partners, I blurted out something along the lines of:
“I’ve always wanted to make a movie in the middle of Florida. In the part of Florida most people don’t see. The part that feels like the south. No beaches or theme parks. I’m talking about sweet tea and Spanish moss. Snakes and gators and swamps and old orange groves and good old boys in big trucks.”
A month later, we were knocking on doors in Leesburg, trying to find the owner of the house I thought I might have written into the world.
“I’ve always wanted to make a movie in the middle of Florida. In the part of Florida most people don’t see.”
Much ink (and even more audio) has been spilt on the After Midnight.
And why not? Filming a movie is the fun part.
Running around town scouring flea markets and thrift stores and filling a box truck with enough furniture and knick knacks and bric-a-brac to turn a hundred year old home with no electricity or running water into something that looked warm and loved and livedin. Catching a half dozen beautiful yellow rat snakes that seemed to be furiously mating and occasionally dropping from the rafters onto the porch. Working with some of my favorite creative people in world. Trying not to crack up laughing next to Henry Zebrowski, one of the funniest comedians alive, every single time he was on camera; and at one point having to be gently told by producers during the editing process: “You know you can’t leave every single one of his ad-libs in the final movie, right?” Getting permission to sing, screen, the entirety of a song that was a touchstone anthem of the early nineties. And of course, having the unbelievable opportunity to have one of my special effects heroes make a full-body, practical monster suit inspired by words I wrote, and then getting to actually physically fight that monster. It was a dream. Every single day.
Of which I believe there were exactly eighteen.
That’s it. Eighteen days. Less than three weeks.
Then it was off to a dark room to edit and color correct and sound design and sound mix and add temp score and argue and wait for the real score and phone calls and phone calls and notes and notes and notes and notes and flying to Los Angeles to make monster roars snarls and growls and oh by the way, I wasn’t working while all this was happening so pretty soon it was back to the day job!
Which brings me to another reason I politely declined the offer write this piece, and screen our film, in the past:
I don’t particularly like telling people I’m a filmmaker.
More often than not, I would rather most people not know I make movies.
I am well aware what a difficult circle that is to square, given three thousand bloviating words I’ve dedicated to talking about precisely that subject up to this point.
And in the spirit of transparency to peel back the curtain a bit this particular section has proven such a difficult and delicate to write, I have in fact skipped it, written the ending, and come back to it now to tackle it last.
There is just simply no easy way to say you would rather the public at large be unaware of your ambitions, without sounding either ashamed of said ambitions, or otherwise ungrateful of the job that keeps your lights on and supports your pursuit of those goals.
And yet I am neither ashamed nor ungrateful of either.
On the contrary, were my moviemaking endeavors ever considered to be even the faintest of freckles on the vast body of cinematic history (somewhere on the back of the thigh probably) it would be one of the proudest achievements of my life.
Similarly though it may be harder to believe job slinging beers at Grove Roots Brewing, to be one of the most
rewarding “obligations” I’ve ever had the privilege of lucking into. Had I not weaseled my way into such a warm, supportive place, there is little to no chance my wife and I would still be in this town, let alone the state.
It may be a cliche to say your coworkers are your family; but if they all end up members of your wedding party, and their children are your flower girl and ring-bearer, or when they’ve given you six months off to make a movie, and so many customers ask after you that they name a beer “Where’s Jeremy?”, the sentiment rings a bit more true.
Nevertheless, regardless how I feel about my involvement in either my day job or my dream job, they are rarely symbiotic. Consider the following, fairly common scenarios:
Jeremy is behind the bar. A customer approaches.
JEREMY
How we doin today?
CUSTOMER
Good, good.
JEREMY
Can I help you find something?
CUSTOMER
Don,t you make movies?
JEREMY
Uhh, well... Kinda, yeah-
CUSTOMER
Cuz I make videos too. I got this new drone, and I,m trying to make a bunch of promo stuff...
Jeremy sighs.
DISSOLVE TO:
Jeremy hunches over the sinks behind the bar, washing dishes. A customer approaches.
CUSTOMER
Hey you make movies right?
JEREMY
I’ve made a couple, yeah.
CUSTOMER
What are they called?
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Save the Dates:
Online Silent Auction:
OCTOBER 27 - NOVEMBER 2, 2023
The Gala:
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2023
Please join us at Polk County’s premier fundraising event, the Winter Haven Hospital Foundation Gala. This year’s Gala event will feature live music by Atlanta-based “THE MAXX”, four-course gourmet dinner, exquisite wines and open bar, and exciting auctions filled with incredible trips and experiences.
All proceeds will be utilized locally to support the Foundation’s American Psychological Association accredited Clinical Psychology Training Program.
For more information: (863) 292-4138 or whhfoundation@baycare.org
Mr. & Mrs. George O’Neill, Jr. Presented by:JEREMY
Well there,s a few, but the ones I wrote and directed myself-
CUSTOMER
Cuz I got one of those Fire Sticks, so I can watch pretty much any movie for free.
Jeremy sighs.
INT. BREWERY - NIGHT
CUSTOMER
I heard you make movies.
JEREMY
On occasion.
CUSTOMER
You gotta cast me in the next one.
INT. BREWERY - EVENING
CUSTOMER
Are you the guy that makes the movies?
JEREMY
Uhh, I mean. Probably, yeah.
CUSTOMER
Well there,s no paper towels in the men,s room.
Obviously, these interactions are the exception, not the rule. And for the most part the people I have met in this town have been supportive and generous, to an almost sickening degree. In fact, when it was announced After Midnight would have its international premiere at a festival in Switzerland, the regulars at the brewery were the ones who bought nearly a thousand dollars worth of t-shirts I’d designed to try and raise money to make the trip. Most of them never even picked up the shirts. They just wanted to help.
The reality is, I have gone bowling with [name redacted] and competed in a Moon Pie eating competition with [name redacted]. I have snuck out of a live performance in Montreal to get burgers with [name redacted] and done a live, drunken reading of the Road House screenplay for charity with [name redacted]. I have stood for an hour, signing autographs in a foreign country after a sold-out screening of my film, and been all over the world and won countless audience and acting awards. I did a People magazine photo shoot at the Tribeca Film Festival where my last movie had its world premiere, and if all of that sounds a bit pompous that’s because it is supposed to.
Because I often find it very difficult to explain these things to people when they think it is “cute” that I make “videos.” And I rarely feel like a filmmaker, when I’m sweeping up glass or cleaning up spills.
Well, first and foremost, because twenty-five years ago, in my hometown of Kissimmee, Florida, someone thought it worthy to organize a film festival.
Because of that person, that event, and that communal space, my friends and I felt inspired to make our first feature film. We also met numerous other aspiring filmmakers we never would have known were making the same kinds of silly movies in the same stupid town. One of those people, twenty years later, would ask me to put on a panda mask and eat a man’s thumb, and later lead us to that hundred-yearold house I might have manifested.
So if writing this article, or screening our film, somehow facilitates an interaction between a few shy kids who feel like they’re alone in wanting to make weird movies in this big, weird, state, well, then every unsolicited audition I’m forced to endure, or drone reel video I’m forced to watch on someone’s phone while I’m working will be worth it.
Now, about that cave painting…
Iwas twelve years old in the summer of 1993; so the particulars of the night itself escape me. But considering it was the middle of June in the middle of Florida, it’s probably safe to assume it was pretty damn sticky outside. And for my money, humanity has yet to dream up a more perfect sanctuary from the heat than the cool, dark of a movie theater.
Which is where I found myself that evening.
I have to assume some of the more film-savvy readers, by this point, have long figured out what it was I saw that night, so I won’t beat around the bush any longer…
It was Jurassic Park.
Steven Spielberg’s classic sci-fi adventure may seem like little more than big budget, high-brow Hollywood camp to some people; but I imagine those people weren’t twelve when they first saw it.
I was obsessed with dinosaurs as a child. My grandmother is fond of recounting being told by my first-grade teacher that I corrected her spelling of Diplodocus
And here they were, larger than life, flesh and blood, as real as anything I’d ever seen.
Jurassic Park is not my favorite film of all time, but it will always have a piece of my heart, and it changed the trajectory of my life because I became so infatuated with the film (mind you, this was before the internet) that I gobbled up every bit of media I could find about it in an effort to stay connected to the feeling I had from watching it. Magazines. Newspapers. TV news shows like 60 Minutes and late night talk show interviews with the cast. As a result, I became, for the first time, keenly aware of the making of a movie, irrespective of the experience of simply seeing it.
And I would never watch a movie the same way again. I devoured every issue of magazines like Premiere and Entertainment Weekly. Fangoria and Filmmaker. I knew directors’ names. Special effects artists. Character actors.
Knowing and talking about these things informed the friends I made, and eventually, the things we made together. From that day forward, I have always been as compelled by the way these stories are told, as I am with the stories themselves.
As for how I plan to try to tie that 44,000 year-long line to that moment in 1993? Well, I think it’s kind of obvious:
I went into a dark cave and saw a story on a wall in which humans squared off against enormous, terrifying creatures.
And the fact that all those millennia ago, some unknown, ancient ancestor, felt compelled to tell a similar story on a wall in a dark cave, makes my lifelong passion for telling and experiencing those same kinds of stories feel like a profoundly and intrinsically human one.
And that makes me feel like it is a noble, worthwhile pursuit.
However, if after slogging through this (admittedly long-winded) pap, that connection feels like a tenuous stretch at best, or is otherwise underwhelming to you; allow me to hedge my efforts with one last storytelling trope…
It is called “The Unreliable Narrator.” Which, I think, is fairly selfexplanatory.
Basically, it means you never should have trusted me.
PLEASE JOIN US FOR A PRIVATE SCREENING OF AFTER MIDNIGHT WHILE WE RAISE FUNDS FOR THE HISTORIC RITZ THEATRE.
Q & A WITH DIRECTORS JEREMY GARDNER AND CHRISTIAN STELLA TO FOLLOW.
OCTOBER 26, 7 PM
VERY LIMITED SEATING, PLEASE RESERVE YOUR TICKETS IN ADVANCE.
CENTRALFLORIDATIX.COM
If you’re craving something, chances are it’s on the menu at Cravin’ Haven. This rotating menu food truck boasts “food with no borders” and an inviting patio dining space. What started as ‘just something to do’ became the Best Food Truck in Winter Haven in only a year.
Winter Haven resident Phillip Brooks worked in construction for 25 years. A year and a half post-retirement, Brooks was getting restless. Ex-wife Mandy Brooks encouraged Phillip that if he was going back to work, it should be something he wanted to do. He decided to open a food truck. “I’ve done a little competitive cooking,” Brooks said. “I’ve just always loved to do it. I didn’t realize it was such a big job until we got this place here.”
After a year of preparation, Cravin’ Haven opened off Dundee Road on September 23, 2022. Just a few days later, Hurricane Ian barreled through the state. To say it was a rough opening would be an understatement. But, a year later, Cravin’ Haven has built a loyal following and was voted Best Food Truck in the 2023 Best of Haven readers’ choice awards.
“I knew that I wanted to be able to serve what I want to,” Brooks said. “I always knew I’d be serving some sort of barbecue.” But Cravin’ Haven isn’t a barbecue joint by any means. This Dundee Road dining destination offers “food with no borders.” Patrons might get a barbecue brisket sandwich one day and a banh mi another. Brooks has chosen not to limit his offerings to one culinary genre.
Their rotating menu includes fan favorites like brisket, pork, or ahi tuna tacos, as well as their famous smash burger. “The most fun part is I just love cooking and coming up with new menus,” Brooks said.
Cravin’ Haven’s tacos come served in upright stands, so they don’t slide all over the place – an appreciated touch. Though each delicious in its own right, the ahi tuna tacos stole the show. Two tacos are filled with succulent seared ahi tuna and topped with micro greens, avocado, fresco cheese, sprinkled with sesame seeds, and finished with house wasabi lime aioli.
- CONTINUED ON PAGE 39 -
Second only to the tuna tacos was the gourmet smash burger made with a homemade ¼ pound burger piled with American cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and onion, served with fries and coleslaw.
Their fresh, all-natural jumbo chicken wings are also climbing the ranks for a top spot on the menu, available in garlic parmesan, barbecue, or Buffalo (mild, medium, or hot). Don’t skip out on the authentic Cuban sandwich pressed with house-smoked pork, ham, pickles, Swiss cheese, and mustard on Cuban bread.
Though one might be tempted to take their food and escape to the air conditioning from the oppressive Florida heat, Cravin’ Haven’s screened-in patio is a shaded spot to lounge for lunchtime. A breeze wafts teasing aromas from the food truck into a screened-in patio with ample seating and string lights.
“When I opened it, I opened it for me, so I’d have something to do. I never thought for a second that it would take off like this,” Brooks said. Some of his biggest supporters have been ex-wife and friend Mandy Brooks and her mother, Brenda Mitchell. Brooks said of Mandy, “She’s been a massive help from day one.”
Brooks now has four employees and a traveling food trailer in addition to the stationary food truck. Daughter Katie is on the team, along with prep cook Renee, and Ryan, who works in the traveling trailer. “The biggest surprise is how we’ve been accepted,” Brooks said. “It grew really fast around me.”
Katie, who formerly worked in a food truck at LEGOLAND, discussed the best part about working at Cravin’ Haven. “Just working with family is good and getting to know all our customers,” she said. She noted the food truck’s success: “It’s amazing. […] I’m so honored.”
A year in, Brooks has his sights on a brick-and-mortar with no set plans just yet. “I think that’s anyone’s dream to see their food truck go to a brick and mortar. Just waiting on that one investor,” he said. “I like this, what I’m doing. But a brick-and-mortar would be the payoff. It would mean I made it.”
Cravin’ Haven 3223 Dundee Rd., Winter Haven 863-604-9423 cravinhavenfl.com
FB: Cravin’ Haven IG @cravinhavenfl
3 ounces whiskey
1 ounce Benedictine
5 ounces cold brew coffee
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1 egg white (raw)
Ice Grated cinnamon for garnish
In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add whiskey, Benedictine, coffee, maple syrup, and egg white. Shake vigorously. Strain into 2 glasses over ice, garnish with grated cinnamon. Ages 21+ please drink responsibly. *Recipe adapted from The Sexton.
Mocktail: In a tall glass, add 4 ounces cold brew coffee and 1 teaspoon of maple syrup. Add ice and stir to combine. Pour 3 ounces tonic water over top of coffee mixture, stir gently. Garnish with an orange peel twist.
In 1915, Adelaide Henry, after her secret sin killed her parents, sets out for Montana, dragging an enormous steamer trunk that’s locked at all times, to become one of the “lone women” taking advantage of the government’s offer of free land where she hopes to bury her past.
By V. Castro
Struggling with a darkness that threatens to consume her, Alejandra discovers she, like the women in her family before her, is being haunted by La Llorona, the vengeful and murderous mother of Mexican Legend, and must summon everything she’s inherited from her foremothers to banish this demon forever.
By Grady Hendrix
Forced to return to the small Southern town where she grew up to sell her late parents’ house, Louise discovers that her and her brother’s old grudges pale in comparison to the terror that still lurks within its walls.
By Isabel Canas
When the US attacks Mexico in 1846, Nena, a healer striving to prove her worth, and Néstor, a member of the auxiliary cavalry of ranchers and vaqueros, find their reunion overshadowed by the appearance of a nightmare made flesh.
By Christine Schiefer & Em Shultz
This guide includes some of the country’s most notorious crime scenes, hauntings, and supernatural sightings. You’ll also find Christine and Em’s personal recommendations to the best local bars and ice cream parlors, oddity museums, curiosity shoppes, and more.
The Edgar Award-winning author of “The Wicked Boy” documents the story of 1930s Hungarian ghost hunter Nandor Fodor and the traumatic details surrounding the case of a London housewife’s bizarre supernatural experiences.
By Alice Schertle
Picking up his animal friends for a costume party on Halloween, Little Blue Truck attempts to guess the identities of his dressed-up passengers while thinking about what kind of costume he should wear himself.
By Jared Chapman
It’s Halloween! All the Vegetables are excited to dress up for Carrot’s Halloween Party. There are spooky costumes and scary costumes; costumes for feeling fancy and costumes for feeling goofy. But which costumes should Carrot wear?
By Mike Petrik
When Sammy gets to be in charge of the family’s haunted house, he gets right to work, but his family isn’t sure they can take a full year of Sammy’s spooky tricks.
Mary Anne should never have thrown away that chain letter she got in the mail. Ever since she did, bad things have been happening to everyone in the Baby-Sitters Club. With Halloween coming up, Mary Anne’s even more worried-what kind of spooky thing will happen next?
Bartow Ford has been giving away a truck during the fall for as long as Bartow Ford President Benny Robles Jr. can remember. He noticed that when it came time for the giveaway, only a few finalists and family members would show up. “I always felt like, especially back in the day, when you hear about a dealership giving away a vehicle, you kind of write it off as a hoax or a gimmick to get people in the door. And we really are giving away an F150,” he said.
“I wanted to come up with an idea where a lot of people would be there from the community, but I wanted it to be fun for the community. There’s no radio spot or TV commercial I can do that’s going to make someone buy a vehicle that day, but if I can have a wonderful time with the community and they have a wonderful time at the dealership, and in the meantime, we raise a lot of money for local charities – that should stay pretty top of mind,” Robles said. “We feel like the community is really what makes Bartow Ford special, whether it’s the employees that we have or the customers that we have – we feel like they’re part of our family. To be able to get together, have a great time, listen to some country music, and give away an F150 sounded like a good idea.”
Last year, the dealership launched Bartow Ford’s Concert on the Lot Series. They’re revving up again for a premier county music concert featuring multi-platinum GRAMMY nominee and CMA and ACM award winner Lee Brice. Joining Brice on the Bartow Ford stage is good friend and country music vocal powerhouse Randy Houser. “We are so excited to bring this entertainment experience to Polk County at a ticket price that makes it affordable for more people in our community,” Robles said. “We promise it will be a night to remember.”
Bartow Ford is partnering with 97 Country and The Dallas Bull for the November 11 event, which will be held at the dealership. Doors will open at 5 pm, and music begins at 6:30 pm. A variety of food and beverage vendors will be on hand. In addition to the night’s entertainment, one lucky concert attendee will win a Ford F150. Contest details will be available on BartowFord.com as the event gets closer.
Bartow Ford is committed to charitable work with organizations like the Achievement Academy and VISTE, and this event will be no different. Tickets, which can be purchased at BartowFord.com, are $31. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Humane Society of Polk County and the Wounded Warrior Project. According to woundedwarriorproject.org, “The WWP mission is to honor and empower Wounded Warriors who incurred a physical or mental injury, illnesses, or wound, co-incident to [their] military service on or after September 11, 2001.” As the concert falls on Veteran’s Day, Robles said, “I also want to take care of the veterans because we appreciate all the sacrifices they’ve made.” Robles said he looks forward to interacting with the community at the event. “I feel like that’s what makes it special, that connection.”
When Lee Brice isn’t selling out arenas, writing and recording songs, or building new brands like American Born whiskey, you’ll find the family man with his wife Sara, two young boys, and baby daughter. Meanwhile, with more than 14 million in RIAA-certified sales and streams, and nearing three billion spins on Pandora, Brice continues to enjoy massive success at country radio, digital streaming services, and on the road. Lee is also a GRAMMY nominee, a CMA nominee, and a double ACM award winner, and he’s taken six radio singles to Number One: “A Woman Like You,” “Hard To Love,” “I Drive Your Truck,” “I Don’t Dance,” “Drinking Class,” and “Rumor.” Garth Brooks, Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney, and others have recorded his songs, and he’s performed on numerous TV shows, including NBC’s Today, ABC’s The Bachelor, NBC’s The Voice and FOX’s Miss USA 2018. Lee’s “Rumor” is the current single from his fourth studio album, Lee Brice, released November 3, 2017, on Curb Records. The RIAA Certified Platinum single is Lee’s sixth number-one hit, appearing in the top spot on the Billboard, Mediabase Country Radio, and SiriusXM’s “The Highway” Top 30 charts. It has also surpassed 280 million on-demand audio & video streams in the US, with over 300 million worldwide. For more information, go to LeeBrice.com.
With an inimitable voice, The New York Times describes as “wholly different, thicker and more throbbing, a caldron bubbling over,” Randy Houser racked up three consecutive No. 1 hits and more than four million in singles sales to date with his Stoney Creek Records album How Country Feels. He topped the charts with the title track, “Runnin’ Outta Moonlight” and “Goodnight Kiss” (also his first No. 1 as a songwriter) and earned critical acclaim for his powerful delivery of the Top 5 smash and CMA Song of the Year-nominated “Like A Cowboy.” Houser added a fourth No. 1 to his catalog with “We Went” from his 2016 album, Fired Up. Houser’s sixth studio album, Note To Self, is available now via Magnolia Music Group and features ten tracks, all co-written by the Mississippi native. Currently in the top 30 and climbing at Country radio, lead single and title track “Note To Self” marked his “powerful return” following 2019’s critically-acclaimed album Magnolia, with MusicRow boasting the Mississippi-native, remains one of country music’s very finest vocalists.” With multiple sold-out shows in 2022, including an at-capacity stop at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, Houser wrapped his coheadlining tour with longtime friend Jamey Johnson and is currently on the road with Cody Johnson. Along with preparing new music and a relentless touring schedule, Houser landed onscreen roles in Martin Scorsese’s upcoming film Killers of the Flower Moon starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and more, as well as the inspiring The Hill starring Dennis Quaid. For more information, go to RandyHouser.com.
As the twilight of the spooky season creeps upon us, the air fills with whispers and rustles - not from wandering spirits but from our mysterious nocturnal neighbors embarking on their nightly flights.
Yes, we’re talking about the bats, those silent acrobats of the night sky, dancing their eerie ballet as darkness falls. While they have often been associated with tales of the supernatural, bats are truly fascinating creatures that hold secrets and wonders in their wings. Let’s unveil the mystique that surrounds these creatures and discover how we can protect and appreciate them right here in our community.
Before we fly further, it’s time to bust some common myths that have haunted the reputation of bats for ages. Contrary to the sinister roles they often play in spooky tales, bats are not rodents or creatures to fear. They belong to the unique order Chiroptera, which translates to “hand-wing.” This not only grants them the gift of true flight but also allows them to perform gravitydefying acts of hanging upside-down effortlessly.
The three most common bat myths that people ask me about:
1. Vampire Bats are out to get me! Not to worry. Vampire bats are 100% real, and do feast on mammal blood. The good news, is they are not found in Florida, or even the US Southeast. Vampire bats live primarily in Central America and the American Southwest and feed, gently, on livestock or mammals in the wild. Humans are very rarely considered a part of their diet, and generally only if they are sleeping outside, cowboy style, under the stars.
2. Bats are a health hazard and should be feared! Bats can carry a few viruses and other nasties that can affect humans, yes. But, it’s very rare and avoiding that problem is so simple that there is no reason to fear bats in Florida. Most people are concerned about Rabies and Histoplasmosis, or Hantavirus. Rabies is the one to be most concerned about in Florida as bats are often one of the species with the most “positive” rabies tests, year after year. However, that’s likely because they are so easy to catch when they are sick! Unlike raccoons, coyotes, cats, or fox with rabiesbats do not become aggressive with rabies. They get sleepy and wander
about on the ground, during the day. This is why we always say - NEVER pick up a bat! If they’re out during the day or found wandering on the ground, they may be sick. Call animal control, instead. The best way to reduce the rabies threat in the community is to ensure dogs and cats are appropriately vaccinated.
3. Bats are voracious mosquito hunters! While it’s a common tale whispered in the chill of the fall evening that bats are voracious mosquito-eaters, the reality is a tad less thrilling. Most bat species in the U.S., including those fluttering through Florida’s night sky, prefer a diet rich in moths, beetles, and other flying insects, with mosquitoes making up only a small fraction of their feast. In Florida, the southeastern bat (Myotis austroriparius) has been known to consume more mosquitoes than other species, potentially resorting to this menu option more frequently on cooler nights when other insects are scarce. However, counting on bats as a formidable line of defense against larger mosquito populations might be a bit of a Halloween myth.
Amidst the shadowy tales, the vital role bats play in our ecosystem often gets overlooked. All 13 of Florida’s resident bat species are insectivorous! This means that all of the bats that call Florida home year-round (aka “resident”) feed primarily on insects. It’s estimated that 25% of the mammals on earth are bats and that 75% of bats feed on insects. Can you even imagine how many more insects we would have to contend with if we didn’t have this natural flying pest control service?!
These services are also very important to agriculture producers. Robust and diverse local bat populations are thought to be so effective at aerial pest control that agricultural producers may be using less insecticides in growing their crops. More research is needed before we can say for certain that this is true for Florida, but it has been documented to reduce the burden of pesticide purchases in South Texas and in the Mid-west. Bats eat a lot of agricultural pest insects including spotted cucumber beetles, green stinkbugs, and the moth form of fall army worms.
Bats contribution extends to scientific research, as well. Studying their behavior and instinctual skills is shedding light on diverse topics from mammalian hibernation to sonar technology.
Despite their crucial role, bats face threats that have led to alarming declines in their populations. Here is where we step in. By joining forces, we can ensure the protection and conservation of these night-time allies. Here’s how we can help bats in Florida:
1. Promoting Safe Habitats: Encourage the spirit of hospitality by setting up bat houses, offering safe havens for these night flyers.
2. Avoid Disturbances: Maintain the sanctity of their roosting sites, especially during the nursery seasons, to protect the young ones from disturbances.
3. Responsible Pesticide Use: Cast away harmful pesticides from your gardens, embracing bat-friendly alternatives that safeguard their food sources. Spot-treat pest problems when absolutely necessary, after trying non-chemical practices.
4. Community Awareness: Brew a potion of knowledge and awareness to share within the community, stirring more people to join the conservation cauldron. Bats are super cool, let’s chat about them more!
5. To learn more about bats, consider listening to the Naturally Florida podcast episode: “Spooky Season, let’s chat about bats!” or contact your local Extension office. Our Polk County office has a myriad of bat resources for the spooky at heart to indulge in. You can also look at resources from the Florida Bat Conservancy, on their website: www.floridabats.org.
As we celebrate this season of mystery and magic, let’s extend our festivities to include our eerie yet essential nocturnal neighbors. By fostering a community where we live in harmony with bats, we not only protect them but also enrich our surroundings. This Halloween, I invite you to create a bat-friendly corner in your yard, adding a touch of nature’s magic to our neighborhood. You can learn more about building a bat house or purchasing a good bat house by reading, “Effective Bat Houses for Florida” by some of our experts at UF/ IFAS Wildlife! You can read that document, here: https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ publication/UW290.
Until our paths cross again in the moonlight, happy bat-watching and have a spooktacular Halloween!
Have you seen some bats in Polk? Share those videos with me by tagging me on social media! You can find me @PolkNR on Instagram and X/Twitter
You can contact YOUR local extension office, UF/IFAS Extension Polk County, at 863-519-1041 or online at http://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/Polk
WALKABLE, BIKEABLE, EATABLE, DRINKABLE
Six/Ten has plans to build additional townhomes and apartments in vibrant downtown Winter Haven.
Interested? Intrigued? Register your interest at ideas@sixtenllc.com
3V3 U9-ADULT COED SOCCER TOURNAMENTS
Oct 1, 2023, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Polk State College
999 Avenue H NE, Winter Haven
Seamlessly divided into divisions encompassing ages ranging from U9 to adult. Beyond the realm of rivalry, this event nurtures a shared ardor for the beautiful game, while concurrently providing adults a chance to embrace an active and healthoriented lifestyle through soccer. Register online. whunitedacademy.com
OKTOBERFEST AT GROVE ROOTS BREWING
Oct 1, 2023, 12:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Grove Roots Brewing Company
302 3rd Street Southwest, Winter Haven
The brewery will transform into a German beer hall complete with live polka, schnitzels, brats, pretzels, hair braiding, a Stein hoisting competition, and LOTS of beer!
ACOUSTIC OPEN MIC NIGHT
Oct 2, 2023, 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Gram Parsons Derry Down
297 5th Street Northwest, Winter Haven
Musicians of all ages are invited to play in this historic venue, just come in and sign your name to perform up to 3 songs. For those of you who enjoy listening, please join us as well. There is no cost to attend. All Acoustic Open Mic Night happens the first Monday night each month at Gram Parsons Derry Down, hosted by Jay Hill. More info on FB @gramparsonsderrydown
DRAW WHAT YOU SEE: LEARNING HOW TO DRAW REALISTICALLY FOR BEGINNERS
Oct 3, 2023, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Bok Tower Gardens
1151 Tower Boulevard, Lake Wales
In this 4-week workshop series, you will use the foundational Betty Edwards’ Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain process to learn and practice the five perception components necessary for realistic drawing. Art supplies included. Register in advance. boktowergardens.org
CAMEO WRITERS
Oct 3, 2023, 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Winter Haven Public Library
325 Avenue A Northwest, Winter Haven
First Tuesday of the month. Cameo Writers welcome writers of all abilities, genres, and experience. The group offers knowledgeable and appreciative support and encouragement. For inquiries please email Beverly Lerner at bevlerner@ aol.com.
TRIVIA TUESDAYS
Oct 3, 2023, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Grove Roots Brewing Company
302 3rd Street Southwest, Winter Haven
Trivia every Tuesday. All trivia will be General Knowledge. Prizes are awarded to the Top 3 Teams and the first-place team each week gets to claim the Trophy of Awesome!
Teams may range between 1-8 players. All minors must be accompanied and actively supervised by a parent or guardian at all times.
B-I-N-G-O
Oct 3, 2023, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
The Joinery
640 East Main Street, Lakeland
First Tuesday of the month. No buy-in, loads of prizes & drink specials. thejoinerylkld.com
CHAIR YOGA
Oct 4, 2023, 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Bok Tower Gardens
1151 Tower Boulevard, Lake Wales
This class is appropriate for beginners, anyone with limited mobility, those recovering from injury, and anyone who has wanted to try yoga but felt intimidated. You can use a provided chair or your own chair, and wheelchairs are always welcome. Registration required. 863-734-1222 boktowergardens.org
FALL GARDENING: EDIBLE GARDEN TOUR
Oct 4, 2023, 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Bok Tower Gardens
1151 Tower Boulevard, Lake Wales
Join Horticulture Manager Taylor Walker for a tour of the edible gardens to learn about the techniques, materials, and varieties that grow in our Fall gardens. Registration required. boktowergardens.org
4 SQUARED MAKERS EXHIBITION OPENING
NIGHT
Oct 5, 2023, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Mulberry Cultural Center
103 East Canal Street, Mulberry
“Celebrating Global Diversity” This is a small works art show recognizing our shared humanity. Exhibition is on view from Oct. 5 through Nov. 22. More info on FB @4squaredmakers.
OVER THE GARDEN WALL VIEWING PARTY
Oct 5, 2023, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Bartow Public Library
2150 South Broadway Avenue
Viewing party of the mini-series “Over the Garden Wall” for teens and young adults. Bring a comfy cushion. Enjoy this 10-episode marathon with snacks and beverages provided. For teens & young adults
TRIVIA NIGHT
Oct 5, 2023, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Barrel 239
239 3rd Street Southwest, Winter Haven
Every Thursday hosted by Triviosity. Signups begin at 6:30, questions start at 7. 10% off drinks while playing. Prizes for the top teams.
FLORIDA LECTURE SERIES: CLAY HENDERSON
Oct 5, 2023, 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Branscomb Memorial Auditorium
1100 Johnson Avenue, Lakeland
A New Smyrna Beach native and sixth-generation Floridian, Clay Henderson has had a long career as an environmental lawyer, educator, historian, and writer. His book Forces of Nature: A History of Florida Land Conservation tells the tale of Florida’s place at the beginning of the American conservation movement.All programs are free and open to the public.
MATILDA THE MUSICAL
Oct 5, 2023, 7:30 PM - 9:30 PM
Theatre Winter Haven
210 Cypress Gardens Blvd, Winter Haven
Various days from October 5 - 29th.
The story of an extraordinary girl who dares to take a stand and change her own destiny. Packed with high-energy dance numbers and catchy songs. theatrewinterhaven.com
EL RETIRO’S LANDSCAPE: A TOUR THROUGH TIME
Oct 6, 2023, 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Bok Tower Gardens
1151 Tower Boulevard, Lake Wales
Join Brendan Huggins, the Director of Horticulture, on a walking tour of the gardens at El Retiro. During this tour, participants can expect to learn about William Lyman Phillips’ original design intentions and how the property has grown and matured. Register online. boktowergardens.org
FIRST FRIDAY: COOKIE CARNIVAL
Oct 6, 2023, 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Downtown, Lakeland
At First Friday’s Cookie Carnival, Cookie Creators will be peddling their delicious wares in Munn Park. Stop by and pick up 1 or 2 or more cookies, as well as other delicious baked goods! Want to sample some cookies for free? Text FFCOOKIE to 855-298-5275 for a chance to be one of 50 lucky cookie judges. The first 50 walk-ups on the night of the event can also snag a Cookie Judge badge. Don’t miss the Makers Market, Food Trucks, and the Classy Car Show. lakelandgov.net
16TH ANNUAL OKTOBERFESTDOWNTOWN WINTER HAVEN
Oct 6, 2023, 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Downtown Winter Haven
400 W Central Ave, Winter Haven
Main Street Winter Haven’s 16th Annual Oktoberfest presented by Victor Smith Law Group will have over 40 Florida Craft, local and German beers! Buy a tasting ticket and sample as many of the beers as you’d like! Brass Heart Band will be performing polka and favorites. Tasting Ticket: $30 presale $40 at the event. centralfloridatix.com
HONK! JR.
Oct 6, 2023, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Lakeland Community Theatre
121 S Lake Avenue, Lakeland
For young audiences. Ugly looks quite a bit different from his darling duckling brothers and sisters. The other animals on the farm are quick to notice and point this out, despite his mother’s protective flapping. lakelandcommunitytheatre.com
CONCERT UNDER THE STARS: RUNA
Oct 6, 2023, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Bok Tower Gardens
1151 Tower Boulevard, Lake Wales
Celebrating 14 years together as a band, CelticAmerican Roots music “supergroup,” RUNA continues to push the boundaries of Irish folk music into the Americana and roots music formats. Purchase tickets in advance. boktowergardens.org
IMPROV COMEDY SHOW
Oct 6, 2023, 7:30 PM - 10:30 PM
Rec Room
ROD STEWART TRIBUTE
Oct 5, 2023, 6:30 PM - 9:30 PM
Balmoral Event Center
116 Kenny Boulevard, Haines City
Steve Bobbitt has performed throughout the US and on cruise ships throughout the world.
Doors open: 6:30pm, Show starts: 7:30. Be sure to come early to grab a drink and a bite before the show! centralfloridatix.com
202 N Massachusetts Ave, Lakeland Lakeland’s Best Improv Comedy Show.Two show times 7:30 PM is the Family Friendly Show and 9:30 PM is the 21+ Show. It is $10 per show or $15 for both. They are a 6-year-old team with the best improvisers in all of Polk County. Laugh with us! We know you want to! swancityimprov.com
LAKELAND DOWNTOWN FARMERS CURB MARKET
Oct 7, 2023, 8:00 AM - 2:00 PM
North Kentucky Avenue, Lakeland
Every Saturday in downtown Lakeland. Shop local, handmade, homegrown, plants, artisan gifts, pastries, breads, specialty foods, and more! Enjoy live entertainment most Saturdays. downtownfarmerscurbmarket.org -
WINTER
FALL FEST
Oct 7, 2023, 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
250 Magnolia Avenue, Winter Haven, 33880, United States
This is the regular market you love PLUS added fun for the Fall! Shop artisan food vendors, plants, food trucks, and more while supporting a healthy & connected community. We are across from Grove Roots on the NE corner of 3rd St. & Ave C SW in the old BB&T parking lot in downtown Winter Haven every Saturday. winterhavenfarmersmarket.com
TRAVELERS FLOWER PRESS BOOK
Oct 7, 2023, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Bok Tower Gardens
1151 Tower Boulevard, Lake Wales
Make a compact-size flower press that will fit in your backpack or purse, and is perfect for pressing small flowers. There is no stitching in this basic bookmaking class, and all materials are provided. Register in advance. boktowergardens.org
YOGA IN THE GARDENS
Oct 7, 2023, 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Bok Tower Gardens
1151 Tower Boulevard, Lake Wales
Join us for a morning of bending, breathing, and relaxing in the great outdoors. This inclusive class includes gentle yoga movements that move our spine in all directions, breathing techniques, and extended relaxation infused with a sprinkling of yoga philosophy. All levels are welcome. Beginners are encouraged to attend. Price $12 members / $17 non-members, registration required. boktowergardens.org
Oct 7, 2023, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Bonnet Springs Park
400 Bonnet Springs Blvd, Lakeland
First Saturday of the month. BSP Staff and Volunteers will have binoculars and birding guides for guests to use while visitors explore the plants and animals that call Bonnet Springs Park their home! Join us at the Ann & Ward Edwards Boathouse for this fun opportunity. bonnetspringspark.com
BRICK-OR-TREAT (EVERY SATURDAY)
Oct 7, 2023, 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM
LEGOLAND® Florida Resort
1 Legoland Way, Winter Haven
Every Saturday in October. The party kicks off as Monsters take over LEGOLAND® and host the Halloween party of the year featuring: Live Entertainment & Shows; Limited-Time Attractions; Character Meet & Greets; ALL-NEW Fireworks Show; And of course, Trick-or-Treating! Purchase tickets online. legoland.com/florida
CURIOUS CREATURES: OWLS
Oct 7, 2023, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Bartow Public Library
2150 S Broadway Ave, Bartow
Presentation about owls by the Raptor Center of Tampa Bay, Inc. Learn about these nocturnal raptors and meet a feathered ambassador from the Raptor Center of Tampa Bay! All ages welcome!
HISPANIC HERITAGE CELEBRATION!
Oct 7, 2023, 12:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Bonnet Springs Park
400 Bonnet Springs Blvd, Lakeland
Get ready to embrace Hispanic and Latino cultures’ vibrant colors, flavors, and rhythms!
This FREE family-friendly event is one you won’t want to miss. From an artisan market to dancing and a live DJ, special offers from The Depot and Rooftop Bar, food trucks, and so much more. Admission is free and the event is open to all ages!
Bidi Bidi Banda, a Selena tribute band from Austin, TX, will be taking the stage. bonnetspringspark.com
5TH ANNUAL CHARITY GALA BENEFITING THE BREAST CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION
Oct 7, 2023, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Lakeland Country Club
929 Lake Hollingsworth Drive, Lakeland
This will be an elegant evening filled with fine dining, beverage service, music, dancing, and a silent auction. Guests can look forward to live music, an extravagant silent auction, gourmet dining, and an inspirational keynote address. This year’s event will feature special guest Hollie Kedro, a Flight Attendant who travels the world spreading the Aloha spirit. A native of Oahu, Hawaii, and a mother of two, Hollie was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018. For more information, tickets, or to become a sponsor, please visit https://venuesalon. com/event/ or call 863.644.0102.
Oct 7, 2023, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Historic Ritz Theatre
263 W Central Avenue, Winter Haven
Join us for a string quartet performance by members of the Lakeland Symphony Orchestra; featuring haunting pieces by Chopin, SaintSaens, Grieg & Mussorgsky just to name a few. Doors open at 6PM, show will begin at 7PM. Themed cocktails, wine selection, and craft beer available for purchase. We offer non-alcoholic beverage selections as well. “Listen to them, the children of the night. What music they make!” centralfloridatix.com
Oct 8, 2023, 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM
LEGOLAND® Florida Resort
1 Legoland Way, Winter Haven
Every Sunday in October. The party kicks off as Monsters take over LEGOLAND® and host the Halloween party of the year featuring: Live Entertainment & Shows; Limited-Time Attractions; Character Meet & Greets; ALL-NEW Fireworks Show; And of course, Trick-or-Treating! Purchase tickets online. legoland.com/florida
MONTHLY SACRED STILLNESS: MEDITATION + PRAYER
Oct 8, 2023, 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Ignite the Fire Inside Wellness Studio
140 SE Plaza Road, Winter Haven
Join us for a special afternoon meditation, prayer & sound bath to wrap up the year in community. This monthly Sacred Stillness experience is held the 2nd Sunday of each month to provide a safe space to reflect, meditate, pray + encourage one another. Feel free to invite a friend but do RSVP as space is limited. Email Lupita@ignitethefireinside.com for more information. centralfloridatix.com
TRIVIA TUESDAYS
Oct 10, 2023, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Grove Roots Brewing Company
302 3rd Street SW, Winter Haven
Trivia every Tuesday. All trivia will be General Knowledge. Prizes are awarded to the Top 3 Teams and the first-place team each week gets to claim the Trophy of Awesome!
Teams may range between 1-8 players. All minors must be accompanied and actively supervised by a parent or guardian at all times.
TRIVIA NIGHT
Oct 10, 2023, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
The Joinery
640 East Main Street, Lakeland
Second Tuesday of the month. No buy-in, loads of prizes & drink specials. thejoinerylkld.com
MORNING BOOK CLUB
Oct 11, 2023, 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Winter Haven Public Library
325 Avenue A NW, Winter Haven
Meets on the 2nd Wednesday of the month.
October Book: “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald. More info at mywinterhaven.com
LAKELAND FOOD TRUCK RALLY
Oct 12, 2023, 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Munn Park
210 East Main Street, Lakeland
Second Thursday of every month. Family-friendly food truck rally. More info on FB @LakelandFoodTruckRally.
KENNY ROGERS TRIBUTE & DINNER SHOW
Oct 12, 2023, 6:00 PM - 9:30 PM
Balmoral Event Center
116 Kenny Boulevard, Haines City
Come and enjoy a night of delicious food and fantastic entertainment. Tim Sells as Kenny Rogers, voted #1 in the country by fans all over the country. Doors Open at 6pm. Purchase tickets at centralfloridatix.com
TRIVIA NIGHT
Oct 12, 2023, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Barrel 239
239 3rd Street SW, Winter Haven
Every Thursday. Hosted by Triviosity. Signups begin at 6:30pm, questions at 7pm.
Club, but feel free to bring your own if you have it. We’ll provide instruction and get you started if you haven’t played before. It’s a very simple game to get the hang of, no athletic skills needed! Shuffleboard is a great sport for people of all abilities (suggested age 10 and up). Closedtoe shoes required. Snacks will be available for purchase on-site. centralfloridatix.com
FRIDAY THE FUR-TEENTH PET PARADE
Oct 13, 2023, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Bonnet Springs Park
400 Bonnet Springs Blvd, Lakeland
Bring your furry friends for a pet parade, costume contests, spooky drink specials, and pet-centric vendors! The parade will kick off at 7:30PM, and costume contest entries will be accepted from 6:45 - 7:30PM. Both activities are free of charge! *Please remember that for the safety of all attendees, pets must remain on a leash throughout the event. bonnetspringspark.com
SPOOKY SEASON IN FLORIDA: BATS! (WEBINAR)
Oct 13, 2023, 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
TRIBUTE TO THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW
Oct 13, 2023, 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Lions Club Park
175 N Nekoma Ave, Lake Alfred
POLK STATE FALL FEST
Oct 14, 2023, 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Polk State College
999 Avenue H NE, Winter Haven
Family-friendly event with art, activities, a car show, food, music, crafts, and so much fun! polk. edu/fallfest
THE MONSTER SQUAD : MONSTER MASH COSTUME SCREENING
Oct 12, 2023, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Historic Ritz Theatre
263 W Central Ave, Winter Haven
We invite you to dress like the monster you love or perhaps the one you always wanted to be? For this screening of Monster Squad! Enjoy themed mocktails, cocktails, wax fangs and popcorn with us. Monster Mash starts at 6 & the film begins at 7pm. When you get to our door tell them Boris sent you. “Monster Squad” is a cult classic horrorcomedy film released in 1987. centralfloridatix.com
MUSICAL HAMMERS
Oct 13, 2023, 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM
Winter Haven Public Library
325 Avenue A NW, Winter Haven
Musical Hammers’ free concerts are at the Winter Haven Public Library Multi-Purpose Room. The concerts are both educational and entertaining and open to the public.
Musical Hammers is a Polk County Hammered Dulcimer Band.
Join UF IFAS Extension Faculty, Shannon Carnevale, to learn all about co-existing with our only flying mammal - bats! Participants will learn: Common myths about bats, Basic bat biology and behavior, and Conservation of Florida bats. Register: eventbrite.com/ e/691685378587/?aff=facebook
This musical tribute will include music and impressions from the likes of Fats Domino, The Big Bopper, Buddy Holly, The Blues Brothers, and Ed Sullivan! Food, snacks, and non-alcoholic beverages are available for purchase. 50/50 drawing by the Lake Alfred Lions Club.
CAFFEINE & GASOLINE
Oct 14, 2023, 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Bonnet Springs Park
400 Bonnet Springs Blvd, Lakeland
Calling all car fanatics! Roll into Bonnet Springs Park on the second Saturday of every month. All exotic, classic, luxury, hot rod, and import cars are welcome! Coffee and breakfast items will be available for purchase. If you would like to show off your ride, no registration is required.
Oct 14, 2023, 8:00 AM - 2:00 PM
N Kentucky Ave, Lakeland
Every Saturday in downtown Lakeland. Shop local, handmade, homegrown, plants, artisan gifts, pastries, breads, specialty foods, and more! Enjoy live entertainment most Saturdays. downtownfarmerscurbmarket.org
WINGS ‘N WAFFLES
Oct 14, 2023, 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Florida Air Museum
4175 Medulla Road, Lakeland
SUPERSTITION: EXHIBITION, ART PARTY, DARK MARKET/ODDITIES
Oct 13, 2023, 7:00 PM - 11:11 PM
ART/ifact
820 N Massachusetts Ave, Lakeland
$13 Admission (includes 2 drink tickets). All Ages. Are you afraid of Friday the 13th? Does it instill a fear, curiosity, or challenge? Do you knock on wood for luck or avoid anything with the number 13? Would you cross the path of a black cat or walk under a ladder?
Join seven lucky artists on one unlucky night for an in-depth exploration of superstitions, their origins, and curiosities! Purchase tickets at centralfloridatix.com
On the second Saturday of each month. Enjoy breakfast (chicken and waffles, thus the event name) and hear from aviation professionals, veterans, pilots and more. Members of the Florida Air Museum receive FREE admission to this event. Non-member cost is $10.00 per person at the door, which includes a day pass to tour the Museum when the event is over. aceedu.org
WINTER HAVEN FARMERS MARKET
Oct 14, 2023, 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
250 Magnolia Ave, Winter Haven
COUNTRY WESTERN MUSIC & CAR SHOW
Oct 14, 2023, 10:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Balmoral Bar & Grill
124 Kenny Blvd, Haines City
Rev up your engines and dust off your boots because the Country Western Music & Car Show is rolling into town! Get ready to experience a toe-tappin’, gear-shiftin’, and heart-revvin’ night of country music and classic cars that’ll make you Blow the Whistle! Free Entry. Musical Acts: Joey Foley & Chasin Jason.
FALL WINE WALK
Oct 14, 2023, 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Bok Tower Gardens
1151 Tower Blvd, Lake Wales
Sip, sample, and stroll through the Gardens while sampling 12 wines from the best wine regions in the world. Your ticket includes wine samples, nibbles at each stop, and a souvenir-tasting cup. Stay for the After Party on The Terrace with live music from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The Blue Palmetto Cafe will be open for dinner with the full menu. Purchase tickets in advance. boktowergardens.org
FALL FEST AT GRB
Oct 14, 2023, 5:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Grove Roots Brewing Company
302 3rd Street SW, Winter Haven
Family-friendly Fall Fest! Complete with a Pumpkin Patch, sweets, fall beer releases, a cider station, live music & delicious food!
Fall Fest kicks off the Food Drive. Bring in any (nonexpired) non-perishable food item.
LKLD SHUFFLE
Oct 13, 2023, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Lakeland Shuffleboard Club
820 E Robson Street, Lakeland
All equipment will be provided by the Shuffleboard
Shop artisan food vendors, plants, food trucks, and more while supporting a healthy & connected community. We are across from Grove Roots on the NE corner of 3rd St. & Ave C SW in the old BB&T parking lot in downtown Winter Haven every Saturday. winterhavenfarmersmarket.com
TRIBUTE TUESDAY: JIMMY BUFFETT
Oct 17, 2023, 5:00 PM & 8:00 PM
Theatre Winter Haven
210 Cypress Gardens Blvd, Winter Haven
A musical tribute to Jimmy Buffett with Bill Cockrell. theatrewinterhaven.com
honorees. 6pm - Social Hour; 7pm - Dinner; 7:30pm - Ceremony Begins. To find more info about the Polk Arts & Culture Hall of Fame Gala visit polkarts.org. Purchase tickets at centralfloridatix.com
TRIVIA TUESDAYS
Oct 17, 2023, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Grove Roots Brewing Company
302 3rd Street SW, Winter Haven
All trivia will be General Knowledge. Prizes are awarded to the Top 3 Teams and the first-place team each week gets to claim the Trophy of Awesome! Teams may range between 1-8 players. All minors must be accompanied and actively supervised by a parent or guardian at all times.
MONARCH MIGRATION MIRACLE
CHAIR YOGA
Oct 18, 2023, 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Bok Tower Garden
1151 Tower Blvd, Lake Wales
The classes are designed to quiet the mind, move your body, breathe deeply, and practice mindfulness. This class is appropriate for beginners, anyone with limited mobility, those recovering from injury, and anyone who has wanted to try yoga but felt intimidated. You can use a provided chair or your own chair, and wheelchairs are always welcome. Registration required. 863-734-1222 boktowergardens.org
THE HUMANS
Oct 18 & 19, 2023
Lakeland Community Theatre
121 S Lake Avenue, Lakeland
SMOKIN’ THE BOSTON/RENEGADE STYX TRIBUTE - RESCHEDULE
Oct 14, 2023, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Historic Ritz Theatre
263 W Central Ave, Winter Haven
Smokin’ has Boston’s massive soaring vocals, amazing harmonies, layered signature guitar sound, dynamic keyboard effects, and plays all the classic hits to the tee! Then watch as Smokin’ transforms into Renegade, and authentically recreate the music of Styx.
Doors open at 6 PM. Show starts at 7 PM. Enjoy specialty drinks, cocktails, beer, wine, and light snacks for sale at The Ritz Lounge before and during the concert. Purchase tickets at centralfloridatix.com
2023 POLK ARTS & CULTURE HALL OF FAME
GALA
Oct 17, 2023, 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Bonnet Springs Park
400 Bonnet Springs Blvd, Lakeland
The 2023 Polk Arts & Culture Hall of Fame will honor the 2023 Polk County Arts Hall of Fame
Oct 18, 2023, 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Bok Tower Gardens
1151 Tower Boulevard, Lake Wales
Join Elaine Berner as she presents the Monarch Migration Miracle. Fall is when the eastern Monarch population migrates from as far north as Canada to the overwintering sites in Mexico. With over four decades of studying the Monarch and two trips to Mexico to visit the overwintering sites, Elaine will present an up-close view of this awe-filled experience. Registration required. boktowergardens.org
Rated M. The Humans tells the story of the quintessential family reunion: a group of people who love each other but still wrestle with basic human fears: old age, abandonment, poverty, and death. Filled with equal parts humor and hurt, The Humans is a Tony-award winning play from popular playwright Stephen Karam (Speech and Debate). lakelandcommunitytheatre.com
POLK @ NITE - ART AND COCKTAILS
Oct 19, 2023, 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Polk Museum of Art
800 E Palmetto St, Lakeland
A captivating evening of art, food and drinks at the Polk Museum of Art! Receive exclusive access to Remembering Vilna: The Holocaust and the Art of Samuel Bak and Timeless Origins: The Art of Reynier Llanes. Entertainment by DJ Jenks, Complimentary small bites and craft cocktail from Cob & Pen, cash bar available after free drink redemption. centralfloridatix.com
FUNDRAISING BANQUET
Oct 19, 2023, 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
RP Funding Center
701 West Lime Street, Lakeland
The keynote speaker this year is Rev. David McEntire, recently retired senior pastor of First United Methodist Church of Lakeland. Musical entertainment will be provided by singer, songwriter, and musician Geri Blount. Stacy Campbell-Domineck, President and CEO of CareerSource Polk, will serve as emcee. The evening will also include inspirational client testimonials and a silent auction. The auction will be available in advance to the public at https:// secure.qgiv.com/event/itsnotover/. Guests should attend the banquet with an understanding that an invitation will be presented to financially support the mission. Preregistration is required. talbothouse.org
TRIVIA NIGHT
Oct 19, 2023, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Barrel 239
239 3rd Street SW, Winter Haven
Every Thursday, hosted by Triviosity. Signups begin at 6:30pm, questions at 7pm.
Oct 20, 2023, 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Knights of Columbus 1500/4726
3308 Avenue W NW, Winter Haven
FEATURING BESPOKE CRAFT COCKTAILS
Oct 19, 2023, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Historic Ritz Theatre
263 W Central Ave, Winter Haven
“Evil Dead 2” is a horror-comedy film released in 1987, directed by Sam Raimi. “Evil Dead 2” is known for its over-the-top gore, dark humor, and innovative camera techniques, showcasing Raimi’s unique directorial style. Join us for a celebration of the films you love and discover new favorites at The Historic Ritz Theatre on Thursday evenings this fall. Each film is paired with a specialty cocktail in addition to freshly popped popcorn, candy and craft soda. Doors open at 6pm & the show starts at 7. centralfloridatix.com
For our October meeting we will have a representative from the UAW Trust as a guest speaker, who will bring us up to date on our 2024 healthcare benefits. Also in attendance will be vendors from Blue Cross and United Healthcare. If you have any problems with some claims, you can bring the paperwork to the meeting and speak with the healthcare representatives. Our monthly meetings are held on the third Friday of every month. We encourage members to come early for some coffee and donuts and to socialize with fellow members. Anyone wishing to wear a mask for safety reasons may do so. The UAW Mid Florida Retiree Council’s drop-in center in Winter Haven is open every Tuesday and Thursday from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. The office is located in the Hope Plaza strip mall (off Hwy 17 by the WAWA and across the street from Big Lots). Call (863) 293-5556 or drop by with any problems with your benefits. Please pass this info along to any UAW retired members you know who may not get this publication.
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By shopping locally, you are directly contributing to your local community. Your money is going straight into your city – helping it to thrive.
BSP BIRTHDAY BASH
Oct 21, 2023, 9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Bonnet Springs Park
400 Bonnet Springs Blvd, Lakeland
Celebrate One Year! This FREE fun-filled day will be full of family-friendly activities like strolling performers, a petting zoo, a car show, live music, Lounge on the Lawn, and so much more. The excitement doesn’t end there, they’re bringing you a movie under the stars, and fireworks to end the day of celebration! bonnetspringspark.com
WINTER HAVEN FARMERS MARKET
Oct 21, 2023, 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
250 Magnolia Ave, Winter Haven
range from building a wing rib to exploring flight through simulation, to constructing and testing your own balsa wood glider! Food trucks on site, too. aceedu.org
HANDS-ON HAVEN: TRUCKS, TECH, & TAILS
Oct 21, 2023, 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Central Park
4th Street NW, Winter Haven
“MORE MOVIE MAGIC”
Oct. 22, 2023, 2 PM
Polk State College
999 Avenue H NE, Winter Haven
Listen to live music presented and performed by the Chain O’ Lakes Big Band. $10. Email: boxoffice@polk.edu. 863-297-1050`
BACKPACKING 101: INTRODUCTION TO THE HOBBY OF BACKPACKING
TEACHER’S EARLY RELEASE DAYS SOUND
BATH
Oct 20, 2023, 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Ignite the Fire Inside Wellness Studio
140 SE Plaza Road, Winter Haven
Teachers, we know Early Release Days are a time to catch up & also prep for the coming weeks. But first, let’s hit the pause button. Our ‘Teacher’s Early Release Days Sound Bath’ is your sanctuary. Immerse yourself in soothing sounds and emerge refreshed, ready to inspire. Choose the dates that are best for you. Do RSVP as space is limited. Email Lupita@ignitethefireinside.com for more information. centralfloridatix.com
HAUNTED JAIL TOUR 2023 “RESURRECTED”
Oct 20, 2023, 6:30 PM - 10:30 PM
455 N Broadway Ave, Bartow
Fri & Sat, Oct. 20 & 21, and Fri & Sat, Oct. 27 & 28. For a $15 donation per adult (or $5 for kids under 10). There will be agency members on hand to watch the little ones whose parents want to tour but maybe don’t want their children tagging along. They will also have a bounce house, a “dunk your deputy” dunk tank, and food trucks - fun for the entire family! Proceeds benefit the United Way of Central Florida. Tickets are sold in person only. Cash and credit will be accepted. https://tinyurl. com/359vsb4y
CONCERT UNDER THE STARS: THE LUBBEN BROTHERS
Oct 20, 2023, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Bok Tower Gardens
1151 Tower Blvd, Lake Wales
Triplets and high-energy acoustic musicians from the farmlands of Iowa, The Lubben Brothers specialize in tight vocal harmonies and an eclectic blend of folk instruments involving banjo, mandolin, tin whistle, accordion, hammered dulcimer, and fiddle. Purchase tickets in advance. boktowergardens.org
LAKELAND DOWNTOWN FARMERS CURB MARKET
Oct 21, 2023, 8:00 AM - 2:00 PM
N Kentucky Avenue, Lakeland
Every Saturday in downtown Lakeland. Shop local, handmade, homegrown, plants, artisan gifts, pastries, breads, specialty foods, and more! Enjoy live entertainment most Saturdays. downtownfarmerscurbmarket.org
Shop artisan food vendors, plants, food trucks, and more while supporting a healthy & connected community. We are across from Grove Roots on the NE corner of 3rd St. & Ave C SW in the old BB&T parking lot in downtown Winter Haven every Saturday. winterhavenfarmersmarket.com
YOGA IN THE GARDENS
Oct 21, 2023, 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Bok Tower Gardens
1151 Tower Blvd, Lake Wales
This inclusive class includes gentle yoga movements that move our spine in all directions, breathing techniques, and extended relaxation infused with a sprinkling of yoga philosophy. All levels are welcome. Beginners are encouraged to attend. Price $12 members / $17 non-members, registration required. boktowergardens.org
COMMUNITY CRAFT AND BAKE SALE
Oct 21, 2023, 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Cypress Creek Village
117 Monterey Cypress Blvd, Winter Haven Community Craft and Bake Sale. We will be having multiple tables displaying various crafts from our talented residents. Crafts will include stained glass, wooden shelves and other projects, misc. sewing and crochet items, wall hangings, quilted items, etc.
The bake sale will feature some of the tastiest treats from pies, cakes, cookies, fudge, etc. Please come out to join us! Look forward to meeting you all.
PLANT AND GARDEN FESTIVAL
Oct 21, 2023, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
275 East Park Avenue, Lake Wales
Hosted by the GFWC Woman’s Club of Lake Wales. We are very excited to have plant vendors from around Polk County and beyond. A program of guest speakers from Bok Tower Gardens, a Master Gardener from Winter Haven, a guest speaker who will introduce organic gardening, and a list of guest presenters who will cover informative subjects each hour. Many vendors with yard/ garden related items will be on the grounds as well.
More info on FB @thegfwcwomanscluboflakewalesinc
WINGS ‘N THINGS
Oct 21, 2023, 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
SUN ‘n FUN Expo Campus
4075 James C. Ray Drive, Lakeland
This annual event is a “must-do” for family members of all ages. Experience the wonders of aerospace through lots of hands-on activities that
An interactive community event hosted by the City of Winter Haven. This family-friendly event will be held at Central Park, Virginia Miller Park, and the Library, offering a unique blend of entertainment, education, and career opportunities. The families will love the Touch-a-Truck area, Technology Petting Zoo, a K9 demonstration, a job fair, and more. mywinterhaven.com
EATING YOUR GREENS
Oct 21, 2023, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Bok Tower Garden
1151 Tower Blvd, Lake Wales
Learn how to grow your own food. This class will take you through the steps of growing, maintaining, harvesting, then preparing and serving greens from your own backyard. Registration required. boktowergardens.org
WE LET THE DOGS OUT
Oct 21, 2023, 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM
The Joinery
640 E Main Street, Lakeland
Fun for you and your pups! Lots of vendors, games, treats + more – even a costume contest for your four-legged furry buddy! The SPCA will have adoptable pups on site who are ready to have a fun time with YOU! thejoinerylkld.com
TWITCH FLORIDA WEEKEND BASH
Oct 21, 2023, 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
The Serendipity Space
545 Orange Blvd, Polk City
Join the DJ Tag Stream from Twitch.tv as we party with our mods and viewers! Join us! Food Truck day party 3p til 10p; Sun BBQ day party 12p til 4p.$60 pre pay via Cash App $gclefproductions or Venmo G-Clef CALL 407375-2733 prior to purchase with any questions.
SLOW ROLL & SKI SHOW
Oct. 21, 2023, 4:30 PM
The Bike Shop of Winter Haven
249 3rd St. SW, Winter Haven
Slow Roll is a free community event. Get your bikes and meet at the Bike Shop where we “slow roll” through town to Lake Silver where we watch the Cypress Gardens Water Ski Show. After the show, we roll back through town and hang out at Grove Roots. Sign up on Facebook @slowrollskishow
FREE CYPRESS GARDENS WATER SKI SHOW
Oct 21, 2023, 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM
Martin Luther King Jr Park
199 Lake Silver Drive, Winter Haven
On the 3rd Saturday of every month. Watch the world-famous Cypress Gardens Water Ski Team perform a free show on Lake Silver. Bring a chair or blanket to sit on, cash for the 50/50 raffle. Concessions available for purchase.
FB @CypressGardensWaterSkiTeam
Oct 24, 2023, 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
1702 S Holland Parkway, Bartow
Join UF/IFAS Extension Natural Resources and Conservation faculty, Shannon Carnevale, for a two-evening workshop on backpacking skills. This two-day classroom workshop (Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 5:30 - 7:30 PM) will teach participants all about the basic skills required to go backpacking in Florida’s backcountry. This workshop takes place on Tuesday, Oct. 24 and Thursday, Oct. 26 . Registration includes BOTH sessions and attendance is expected at both sessions.To register and for info: https:// polkbackpackingclassOCTOBER.eventbrite.com
TRIVIA TUESDAYS
Oct 24, 2023, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Grove Roots Brewing Company
302 3rd Street SW, Winter Haven
Trivia every Tuesday. All trivia will be General Knowledge. Prizes are awarded to the Top 3 Teams and the first-place team each week gets to claim the Trophy of Awesome! Teams may range between 1-8 players. All minors must be accompanied and actively supervised by a parent or guardian at all times.
ASK AN ORNITHOLOGIST
Oct 25, 2023, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Bok Tower Gardens
1151 Tower Blvd, Lake Wales
Sahas Barve is an ornithologist and will be able to answer all your burning questions about birds in an “ask-me-anything” format. You will have the opportunity to send your questions when you register. They will pool the questions to decide which ones would benefit most folks and hence Sahas will prioritize answering. Register in advance. boktowergardens.org
TRIVIA NIGHT
Oct 26, 2023, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Barrel 239
239 3rd Street Southwest, Winter Haven
Every Thursday. Hosted by Triviosity. Signups begin at 6:30pm, questions at 7pm.
WONDERLAND: A SPECIAL HALLOWEEN EVENT
Oct 26 - 29, 2023
Theatre Winter Haven
210 Cypress Gardens Blvd, Winter Haven
Performed in the Norman & Linda Small Second Stage. Experience Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland from a whole new perspective. In this exciting re-imagining of Lewis Carols’ classic work, join Alice as she goes down the rabbit hole on a thrilling journey of self-realization through Wonderland, and answers the age-old question, “Is this real, or are we all mad here?” theatrewinterhaven.com
GHOSTLY GALA
Oct 27, 2023, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Eloise Resource Center
710 Snively Avenue, Eloise
Find your favorite (not too spooky) friend and join Polk County Parks & Recreation’s Ghostly Gala! Fun Halloween games, creation stations, and lots of prizes and giveaways for families. Kids will have the chance to show off their favorite Halloween costume at our 7p.m. costume contest. Admission is free! More info on FB @PolkCoFLParksAndRec.
PINEAPPLE CARVING + COCKTAILS
Oct 27, 2023, 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM
The Joinery
640 E Main Street, Lakeland
Happy Hula-ween! Try a tropical twist on this season’s traditional pumpkin carving: pineapple carving with your boo! $45 per person. Price includes a pineapple + 2 drinks + all the tools you’ll need for the job! thejoinerylkld.com
TRUNK OR TREAT
Oct 28, 2023, 8:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Lake Eva Community Park
555 Ledwith Avenue, Haines City
Wear your Halloween costume & trick or treat! In addition to trick or treating, kids can check out all kinds of vehicles, including construction equipment, emergency vehicles, public transportation vehicles, tow trucks, & much more. Event by the Haines City Parks & Recreation.
WINTER HAVEN FARMERS MARKET
Oct 28, 2023, 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
250 Magnolia Avenue, Winter Haven
Shop artisan food vendors, plants, food trucks, and more while supporting a healthy & connected community. We are across from Grove Roots on the NE corner of 3rd St. & Ave C SW in the old BB&T parking lot in downtown Winter Haven every Saturday. winterhavenfarmersmarket.com
AFTER MIDNIGHT : SPOTLIGHT ON LOCAL FILM
Oct 26, 2023, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Historic Ritz Theatre
263 W Central Avenue, Winter Haven
Shot in Florida, with scenes filmed in our very own Winter Haven…..After Midnight is a local theatre’s dream come true ( not to mention your friendly horror loving film programmers dream.)
Writer/co- director/star Jeremy Gardner lives and works in Winter Haven and will join us for a Q&A with his directing partner & Christian Stella afterwards. “Perhaps, ourfilm program hasn’t been up and running for very long, but I maintain that you should trust us on this one. We know a special horror film when we see one. Not only will you enjoy the movie, you will be ensuring its future in our community as this is a fundraiser for The Historic Ritz Theatre.” - Ritz Theatre. “Part creature feature, part romance, After Midnight somehow manages to combine its disparate ingredients and come up with something special.”Critics Consensus, Rotten Tomatoes….90% Fresh. Specialty cocktails, freshly popped popcorn, candy and craft soda available for purchase. Doors open at 6pm & the show starts at 7. centralfloridatix. com
HALLOWEEN BASH: GALACTIC INVASION
Oct 27, 2023, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Lakeside Village
1479 Town Center Drive, Lakeland
Trick or Treat Trail: Explore stores and restaurants with friendly extraterrestrial creatures giving out tasty surprises. Dress up in cosmic costumes to join the fun! Dance under the stars to DJ Clef’s out-of-this-world beats from distant galaxies and participate fun games. Plus Stilt Walkers, Hula Artist Performance, and Cosmic Photo Op. Free admission.
6TH ANNUAL PINK RIBBON GALA
Oct 27, 2023, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Bonnet Springs Park
400 Bonnet Springs Blvd, Lakeland
The Breast Cancer Foundation of Central Florida Pink Ribbon Gala presented by Watson Clinic will offer a night of cocktails, dinner, dancing, silent and live auctions, and more. Together we can help breast cancer patients and their families as they face situational poverty, stemming from a breast cancer diagnosis. bcfcf.org/pink-ribbon-gala
FRANKIE VALLI TRIBUTE & DINNER SHOW
Oct 27, 2023, 6:00 PM - 9:30 PM
Balmoral Event Center
116 Kenny Blvd, Haines City
Come enjoy a night of your favorite music and delicious food.Doors Open at 6pm. centralfloridatix.com
THE MISSING PIECE THEATRE PRESENTS
- BASKERVILLE: A SHERLOCK HOLMES MYSTERY
Oct 27, 2023, 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Gem Theater
110 NW 1st Avenue, Mulberry
Get your detective cap on — the play’s afoot! Comedic genius Ken Ludwig transforms Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic The Hound of the Baskervilles into a murderously funny adventure. Sherlock Holmes is on the case. The male heirs of the Baskerville line are being dispatched one by one. To find their ingenious killer, Holmes and Watson must brave the desolate moors before a family curse dooms its newest heir. centralfloridatix.com
2023 RED RIBBON RUN
Oct 28, 2023, 7:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Lake Mirror Auditorium, Lakeland
47TH ANNUAL PIONEER DAYS FESTIVAL
Oct 28 & 29, 2023, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Lake Wailes Park
499 E Park Ave, Lake Wales
This free community festival features a heritage village that includes dozens of historical demonstrations of pioneer camps and early American trades. The public is welcome to experience, learn, share and buy hand-crafted goods from these vendors along with more than 60 craft market vendors. lakewaleshistory.org
POOCH-O-WEEN: PET PARADE AND COSTUME CONTEST
Oct 28, 2023, 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Lakeside Village
1479 Town Center Drive, Lakeland
Parade and Costume Contest Entry Fee is $10 per pet ($7 each if you have two or more pets). Cash only! General admission is FREE. Groove to the beats from Graingertainment, enjoy the company of fellow pet lovers, and explore exciting vendors throughout the event. And guess what?
SPCA Florida will be here to share their wonderful initiatives, and Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming will have delicious treats for purchase, so your furry companions can indulge their taste buds.
FALL NIGHT MARKET
U.S. BEE GEE’S TRIBUTE CONCERT
Oct 27, 2023, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Historic Ritz Theatre
263 W Central Avenue, Winter Haven
THE U.S. BEE GEES are the ultimate salute to the Bee Gees in their prime! They recreate the look, feel and sound of the Bee Gees capturing the unique falsettos that make them one of the world’s greatest bands. Performing a full history of the BEE GEES including early hits. centralfloridatix.com
Kids Fun Run for K-8 students, along with the Family Fun Run in which parents/adults may run with their children. New this year will be a World Tour area with healthy snacks and activities highlighting different cultures around the globe. Registration is free for students in grades K-8 who pre-register before October 28. There will be a $5 fee to register on race day. Parents may pay a $5 fee to run with their child in the Family Fun Run. To register, please visit InnerActAlliance.org and click on the Red Ribbon Run tab.
SUN ‘N FUN PUMPKIN DASH 5K
Oct 28, 2023, 7:00 AM - 11:00 AM
SUN ‘n FUN Expo Campus
4075 James C. Ray Drive, Lakeland
A family-friendly Halloween-themed 5K across the SUN ‘n FUN Expo Campus. Costumes encouraged. Post-Race Dance Party with food & drink available from food trucks after the race at the finish line. Prizes are given to the top 3 finishers in each age group division. T-Shirt and swag for each runner. Register at flysnf.org.
Oct 28, 2023, 5:00 PM - 9:00 PM
N Kentucky Ave, Downtown, Lakeland
Join the City of Lakeland for an evening under the full moon for shopping, dining and live music in Downtown Lakeland. Retail shops will be open late, and Kentucky Ave will be filled with food, artisan vendors, crafters, live music and more! Feel free to bring the whole family and come dressed in your Halloween gear, but this is NOT a trick-ortreat or carnival type of event.
TROT OR TREAT
Oct 28, 2023, 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Hope Equine Rescue
3805 High Street NE, Winter Haven
Celebrate Halloween with the horses! The stalls, and even some of the horses, will be decorated. You can vote on your favorite by making a donation. The volunteer who raises the most money wins a belt buckle, and you help feed the horses. There will be TONS of candy and a photo booth, too! Must purchase tickets in advance. aplos.com/aws/events/trot_or_treat_2023
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HALLOWEEN PARTY: THE HAVEN WITCHES!
Oct 28, 2023, 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Obscure Wine Company
276 W Central Avenue, Winter Haven
Step into the realm of magic and enchantment as we beckon the spirits of the night for an extraordinary Halloween Celebration. Unleash your imagination and participate in our costume contest. Join us for a night of mystic revelations as our esteemed tarot reader guides you through the ancient art of tarot reading. More info on FB @ obscurewine
GRB’S 7TH ANNUAL SPOOKTACULAR HALLOWEEN PARTY
Oct 28, 2023, 6:00 PM - 11:00 PM
Grove Roots Brewing Company
302 3rd Street SW, Winter Haven
The biggest, most wicked Halloween party, complete with spooky graveyards and a Halloween Ball! The night will be TOXIC and full of ghosts, goblins, ghouls, and witches haunting the brewery! The Packing House will be turning into a Spooktacular Ballroom complete with the coolest funk, jazz, and soul tunes!! Break out your costumes & dancing shoes! We will have multiple food trucks, beer releases (think candy beer), fun vendors, and more!
FREE CYPRESS GARDENS WATER SKI SHOW HALLOWEEN SPOOKTACULAR
Oct 28, 2023, 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Martin Luther King Jr Park
199 Lake Silver Drive, Winter Haven
Watch the world-famous Cypress Gardens Water Ski Team perform a free Halloween Spooktacular show on Lake Silver. Bring a chair or blanket to sit on, Concessions available for purchase. More info on FB @CypressGardensWaterSkiTeam
BALMORAL HALLOWEEN SPOOKTACULAR
Oct 28, 2023, 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM
Balmoral Bar & Grill
124 Kenny Blvd, Haines City
Get ready for a bewitching evening of fun and frights as we celebrate Halloween like never before. This event is perfect for families of all ages, so grab your costumes and join us for a ghoulishly good time. Free entry. centralfloridatix.com
PAL-OWEEN
Oct 29, 2023, 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM 325 W 2nd Street, Lakeland
Hosted by Lakeland PAL, the Police Athletic/ Activities League. Join the PAL for a SPOOKY
good time at a PAL-oween Party! They will have Trunk-or-Treat Stations, a photo area, a Haunted House, and more. Food and fun for the whole family! lakelandpal.com
HALLOWEEN DRAG & DINNER SHOW
Oct 31, 2023, 6:00 PM - 9:30 PM
Balmoral Event Center
116 Kenny Boulevard, Haines City
This is a 21+ event only. By popular demand, Balmoral brings a frightfully entertaining dinner combining sketch comedy, dance, performance art, improv, and drag. Hosted by Trishelle Michaels, this highly anticipated dinner show is only $49.95 and will sell out quickly! centralfloridatix.com
of people living, shopping, spending time in an area
DOWNTOWN WINTER HAVEN
WALK SCORE 76 WALK 76
Walk Score points are awarded based on the distance to amenities walkscore.com
March 21 - April 19
Hey, fiery Aries! October sets the stage for your ambitions to soar. Embrace your passion and take the lead in your cosmic journey. Your determination is a cosmic compass; follow it to your dreams and watch as the universe aligns in your favor.
April 20 - May 20
Cosmic earthlings, October brings a grounding energy. Connect with the beauty of simplicity and nurture your inner garden. Let your creative roots run deep and watch your life bloom with newfound harmony.
May 21 - June 20
Cosmic twins, embrace your duality! October invites you to explore both sides of your personality. Dive into deep conversations with your inner self and communicate your truth. With your words as wands, weave your cosmic magic.
June 21 - July 22
Love and compassion overflow in October, Cancer. Dive into the sea of emotions and let your intuition guide you. Nurture your connections and create a cozy cosmic cocoon where your heart can heal and thrive.
July 23 - August 22
Cosmic royalty, October spotlights your charisma. Let your inner star shine brightly and share your creative brilliance with the world. Embrace the stage, whether metaphorical or literal, and watch the cosmic applause roll in.
August 23 - September 22
Hey there, cosmic healers! October whispers self-care and self-love. Embrace your inner goddess and pamper your mind, body, and soul. Tune into your intuition and let the universe’s wisdom guide you.
September 23 - October 22
Cosmic balancers, unite! October is all about harmony and connections. Embrace your diplomatic charm and create cosmic collaborations. Spread love like confetti and let your relationships bloom.
October 23 - November 21
Deep and mysterious Scorpio, October brings transformation. Embrace your inner phoenix and rise from the ashes. Let go of the old to welcome the new. Your cosmic energy is magnetic – embrace the magic within.
November 22 - December 21
Hey, adventurous archer! October calls for exploration. Embrace your wanderlust and seek wisdom from distant horizons. Expand your mind, ignite your spirit, and let the universe guide your cosmic journey.
December 22 - January 19
October shines a cosmic spotlight on your ambitions, Capricorn. Channel your practical magic and climb those cosmic mountains. Embrace your earthly wisdom and trust the universe to manifest your dreams.
January 20 - February 18
Hey, cosmic innovator! October sparks your revolutionary spirit. Embrace your unique perspective and be the change you wish to see. Dance to your own cosmic rhythm and let your ideas illuminate the world.
February 19 - March 20
In October, dive into your dreamy depths, Pisces. Embrace your intuition and artistic flow. Let your cosmic imagination run wild and create masterpieces that speak to the soul. Your dreams are galaxies waiting to be explored.
OCTOBER 13TH
FRIDAY 6-8 PM
Let’s Play Shuffleboard!
NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY
Lakeland Shuffleboard Club located in Lake Parker Park
SNACKS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE
*CLOSED TOE SHOES REQUIRED
