Local Event Guide

LOCAL EVENTS GUIDE POLK COUNTY

NOVEMBER OCT 26-JAN 26 | Spirits Ritual Ceremonial African and Oceanic Art Over the course of four decades, Dr. Alan and Linda Rich have displayed a passion for helping others, traveling the world and bringing medical care to those in need. While working in clinics in Papua New Guinea and throughout Africa, the Riches also immersed themselves in the diverse artistic cultures of the countries they visited. In this Polk Museum original exhibition, these artifacts, most of which speak to the close spiritual communion between humans and animals, will be displayed publicly for the first time. http://bit.ly/polk-oct26

NOV 21 Wine Chocolate and Cheese Main Street Winter Haven hosts our annual Wine, Chocolate and Cheese event in Downtown Winter Haven! �� ���� Main Street Winter Haven invites you to enjoy our annual Wine, Chocolate & Cheese event Thursday, November 21, 2019. Over 35 downtown businesses will host a wine & chocolate or a wine & cheese pairing. Your Tasting Passport allows you to choose which 25 curated pairings you would like to try. For more info visit: http://bit.ly/polk-nov21

DECEMBER DEC 5 | Lakeland Christmas Parade The Junior League of Greater Lakeland and the City of Lakeland are proud to host the 39th annual Lakeland Christmas Parade. The theme of this year’s parade is “The Joy of Giving.” This theme was inspired by the continuous generosity and love displayed within our community as touted by the nickname, “the Giving City.” The parade will take place in downtown Lakeland on Thursday, December 5th, 2019. A fireworks display over Lake Mirror at 7 pm will start the festivities! For more info visit: http://bit.ly/polk-dec5

DEC 7 | Carols In The Park Main Street Winter Haven is thrilled to announce our 31st Annual Carols in the Park presented by Citizens Bank and Trust! For thirty-one years, artisans, specialty food vendors, and local choral groups have gathered in Downtown Winter Haven’s Central Park to kick off the holiday season. For more information visit: http://bit.ly/polk-dec7

DEC 20 | Dulcimers in the Park Bring your chairs or blankets and enjoy an evening with this unique Hammered Dulcimer band as well as demonstrations from the Wildwood Dulcimers, mountain dulcimer trio. You will be entertained

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with music styles of Waltzes, Patriotic tunes, Irish Reels & Jigs, Hymns, and American standards. Enjoy this free concert every month on the Third Friday night in Winter Haven. For more information please visit: http://bit.ly/polk-dec20

JANUARY JAN 18 | La Boheme The opera that inspired the Broadway hit “Rent!” Giacomo Puccini’s timeless story of love and loss, La Boheme presents young, near-destitute artists in 1830’s Paris. Marcello, Rodolfo, Colline, Schaunard and of course the lovely Mimi, transport the audience into their Latin Quarter garret where they share the joys of love, the loneliness of life and the tragedy of death. For more info visit: http://bit.ly/polk-jan18

JAN 24 | Gala of the Royal Horses Following in the family footsteps of seven generations, Rene Gasser has recreated a show for this tour, only previously seen at the famous riding schools in Vienna and Spain. The Royal Horses of Europe are some of the most celebrated in history, favored for centuries by royalty, equestrian riders and this performance celebrates the tradition, athleticism and grace of these revered creatures. For more info visit: http://bit.ly/polk-jan24

JAN 18 | MLK Jr. Parade The parade will consist of: vehicles, floats, horses, walkers, and marching bands. The starting line-up being at Ave D/3rd Street (Winter Haven City Hall area) to First St, down MLK, Jr Blvd and ending at the Lake Maude Sports Complex located at Ave O and 7th St. We’re anticipating 100+ plus units to participate in the Winter Haven Annual Dr. MLK Jr.’s Parade this year. We’are anticipating 5,000+ plus spectators throughout the parade route. For more info visit: http://bit.ly/polk-jan18-mlk

FEBRUARY FEB 15 | Heritage Day Festival We are excited to host this grand event at the beautiful, spacious, renovated Lake Maude Park. The festival will feature a fashion show, singing, dancing, and scores of vendors promoting food and other items. We expect attendance and participation from citizens throughout the State of Florida! The theme for this year’s event is: One Vision, One Charge, One Community. http://bit.ly/polk-feb15

FEB 11 | Shen Yun Through the universal language of music and dance SHEN YUN weaves a wondrous tapestry of heavenly realms, ancient legends and modern heroic tales that invites

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you to experience 5000 years of Chinese culture with two incredible performances at the RP Funding Center on February 11th (7:30 PM) and February 12th (2 PM). SHEN YUN invites you to travel back to the magical world of ancient China. Experience a lost culture through the incredible art of classical Chinese dance, and see legends come to life. http://bit.ly/polk-feb11

JAN 17 - FEB 21 | Janet Siegel Rogers - The Mystery of Color In her encaustic paintings, Janet Siegel Rogers translates the aura of time and place into layers of oil paint suspended in beeswax. Through her subtle use of pulsating shifts between different color hues, Rogers explores the nuances of color, creating the illusion of movement as light shines through her works. Ethereal and contemplative, Rogers’ animated environments evoke her family’s experiences along the shimmering shores of Hong Kong, the Philippines, Singapore, and more recently, South Florida. For more info visit: http://bit.ly/polk-jan17

MARCH FEB 29 - MAR 16 Polk County Senior Games Two-week series of Olympic-style competition for men and women 50 and over as of December 31 of the

competition year. Most events are grouped by gender in five-year age increments. Gold, silver, and bronze medals are presented in each event and age division. Polk County residency is not required. For more info visit: http://polkseniorgames.org

MAR 1, 6-8 | Matilda the Musical Lakeland Community Theatre presents Matilda: The Musical. Inspired by the twisted genius of Roald Dahl, the Tony Award-winning Roald Dahl’s Matilda: The Musical is about the power of imagination and the inspiring story of a girl who dreams of a better life. Winner of 47 international awards and continues to thrill sold-out audiences of all ages around the world. For more info visit: http://bit.ly/polk-mar1

MAR 7-8 | Bloomin’ Art Festival Art will be Bloomin’ in Bartow March 7-8, as Bartow’s Bloomin’ Arts Festival returns for its annual spring arts celebration in Bartow’s historic Downtown. From antique cars to paintings and restored violins, arts of all kinds will be celebrated, appreciated, purchased and even raffled at this two-day festiva. For more info visit: http://bit.ly/polk-mar7

APRIL MAR 31 - APR 5 | Sun ‘n Fun - Aerospace Expo The Fly-In is SUN ‘n FUN’s largest

LOCAL EVENTS GUIDE POLK COUNTY

fundraiser for the Aerospace Center for Excellence (ACE), a 25-acre, 11 building campus dedicated to aerospace and STEM education. Proceeds from the event support numerous community activities in addition to ACE. For more info visit: http://bit.ly/polk-mar31

APR 17 | Imperial Symphony Orchestra - The Mark of Zorro Zorro, the masked hero with a flashing sword, first appeared on screen in the 1920 silent film The Mark of Zorro with Douglas Fairbanks. At the time, music was provided by a theatre organ or small ensemble in the pit, and very little was written down! In 1985, Rick Benjamin discovered more than 20,000 antique theatre and dance orchestra scores which inspired him to organize the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra to recreate “America’s Original Music.” http://bit.ly/polk-apr17

MAY MAY 7 | Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn in Concert “The king and queen of the banjo” (Paste Magazine), have a musical partnership like no other. Fleck is a Grammy Award winner who has taken the instrument across multiple genres, and Washburn a singer-songwriter and clawhammer banjo player who re-radicalized it by combining it with Far East culture and sounds. http://bit.ly/polk-may7

MAY 27 | Moonlight Market Shop, eat, sip local when you attend Moonlight Market at Grove Roots. On the 4th Wednesday of each month, vendors from all over Central Florida set up shop inside the brewery. Follow Grove Roots Brewing Co. on Facebook to see a list of vendors and participating food trucks. http://bit.ly/polk-may27

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JUNE JUN 11 | Food Truck Rally Tampa Bay Food Truck Rally is bringing food trucks to Munn Park on the second Thursday of every month. Come on out to Downtown Lakeland and enjoy a variety of Florida food trucks and their delicious cuisine. For more information visit: http://bit.ly/polk-jun11

JUN 27 | Lake Wales Car Show Stroll and admire the cool antique, custom and classic cars of yesteryear while enjoying music, enchanting shops, and the unique restaurants of charming downtown Lake Wales. For more info visit: http://bit.ly/polk-jun27

JULY JUL 2-4 Red, White, and Boom Legoland Celebrate America’s Independence over three days as the skies above Lake Eloise fill with one of the biggest fireworks shows of the year! Before the sun goes down, help create a giant U.S. flag out of thousands of LEGO bricks. Wear special viewing glasses while watching a gazillion bricks explode from the sky above the beautiful Lake Eloise during our biggest fireworks spectacular of the year! For more info visit: http://bit.ly/polk-jul2

JUL 10 | Mamma Mia Over 60 million people worldwide have fallen in love with the characters, the story and the music that make Mamma Mia! the ultimate feel-good show! It tells the story of a young woman’s search for her birth father. http://bit.ly/polk-jul10

AUGUST AUG 1-SEP 13 | Toulouse-Lautrec and the Belle Époque Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864- 1901) is one of the most familiar names of the Post-Impressionist era, and his depictions of life in fin-de-siècle Paris remain among the most popular and recognizable today. His posters representing the world of bohemian Parisian nightlife in the final decade of the 19th century, the so-called Belle Époque. http://bit.ly/polk-aug1

AUG 22-23 Fine Art at the Magnolia Fine Art at the Magnolia is the rising Invitational Fine Art Show held annually in August in Lakeland, Florida. Showcasing 19 accomplished Fine Artists from across the state in a stunningly beautiful 2-day Fine Art Show held inside the lovely Historic Magnolia Building in downtown Lakeland’s garden & theater district. For more info visit: http://bit.ly/polk-aug22

LOCAL EVENTS GUIDE POLK COUNTY

SEPTEMBER SEP (TBA) | Repticon Firexpo Experience the latest excitement of the The Florida International Reptile Expo (FIRE) at the RP Funding Center. FIRE always sells out early to vendors and has pushed the limits of each facility where it has ran. Join us again for what will promise to be another historic event filled with top-quality reptiles and amphibians, presentations, and more! For more info visit: http://bit.ly/polk-sep-rept

SEP (TBA) Colt Creek Astronomy Night Colt Creek is a wonderful place to see the wonders of nature. Hike the trails and see the birds and small animals and smell the flowers. But there’s more to nature than this. What else is there to be seen? The stars and nebulae of our own Milky Way galaxy and galaxies far, far away. www.friendsofcoltcreek.org

OCTOBER OCT (TBA) | Bartow Chalk Walk Polk County’s only professional Chalk Art event, here in our Capital City, in Ft. Blount Park. Enjoy 30 artists this year from near and far, rolling out our chalk painting sidewalks as the canvas for artistic expressions that will come alive with color, energy, vibrancy and a unique art form that continues in popularity. www.facebook.com/ChalkWalkBartow

OCT (TBA) | Wings ‘n Things - Girls in Aviation This annual event is a “must-do” for families of all ages. Experience the wonders of aerospace through a full day of free hands-on activities that range from a scavenger hunt to solar observations to constructing and launching rockets! Kids may also enjoy taking part in their first aviation flight as well. https://www.flysnf.org/wnt/