Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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After several years of operations as a purely city-run facility, the Lake Wales History Museum may soon be under the control of a not-for-profit group once again. The Wednesday City Commission workshop agenda cites a discussion of the transfer, which would include $150,000 in annual funding to aid in running the museum. The group would in turn pay the City $1 a year to lease the facility. "It's going to be a wonderful partnership," said Museum Director Jennifer D'hollander....
The Lake Wales History Museum will celebrate the community's history and heritage through the 45th Annual Pioneer Days Festival on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 23 & 24. The free community festival held along the shores at Lake Wailes Park features a heritage village that includes dozens of historical demonstrations of pioneer camps and early American trades. Activities are planned from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. The public is welcome to experience, learn, share and buy...
The City of Lake Wales Recreation Team is inviting families to a free Lake Night Cinema on Saturday, Sept. 4. Weather permitting, the movie "The Goonies" will be shown beginning at dusk at Lake Wailes park. Food trucks and other activities are planned starting at 6 p.m. The date was changed to avoid conflict with Lake Wales Highlander Football. Attendees are encouraged to bring chairs or blankets. Updates will be posted on the Lake Wales Recreation Facebook page. For more...
Lake Wales Police are investigating a rash of 48 vehicle burglaries between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, June 14. The bold burglars in some cases broke windows to gain access to steal valuables from the vehicles. The reported burglaries were in a concentrated area between Johnson Avenue and Greenbough Drive fairly close to Lake Wailes Lake. Police said a vehicle was stolen during the burglaries and recovered by officers. The largest concentration of burglaries was 11 p...
Fireworks will be back as the feature attraction for the city's Fourth of July celebration, and in a big way. The city is set to contract with a new vendor – Exposhows Inc.. – to provide the display culminating activities around Lake Wailes which will include food, vendors and entertainment leading up to the 9 p.m. aerial spectacular on July 4. This year, Lake Wales officials are agreeing to spend an additional $5,500 on top of the previously budgeted amount to provide the...
Due to the overwhelming positive response to their "Drive-Thru Christmas" and since there remains concern about the spread of COVID-19, a local church in Lake Wales is presenting a "Drive-Thru Easter" during Easter weekend in 2021. This dramatic event will be presented by the membership of First Baptist Church of Lake Wales on their church grounds for two evenings, Friday April 2 and Saturday April 3 from 7-9 p.m. nightly. The event will feature four scenes from the biblical...
More than 50 artists will exhibit in the 2021 Lake Wales Arts Festival on the shores of Lake Wailes lake Feb. 20-21. The event is even more special this year as the festival celebrates its 50th anniversary. "We're one of the first art shows back in the whole country, especially in the state of Florida," said Andrew Allen, executive director of the Lake Wales Arts Council. "The quality of art will also go up dramatically since we're not taking as many artists." The free...
Fifty years of fine arts excellence will be celebrated Feb. 19-21 at the 2021 Citizens Bank & Trust Lake Wales Arts Festival. With over 50 exhibiting artists, live music, and some of the best food from across Central Florida, the Lake Wales Arts Council is aiming to provide VIP guests with the best fine arts experience in Florida. The arts council is working hard to develop a strategy to follow CDC, local, state and federal health guidelines to keep everyone safe. Those suppor...
The Lake Wales City Commission Dec. 1 approved its first permit for a large-scale event in 2021 – the 50th annual arts festival the weekend of Feb. 19-21. Lake Wales Arts Council Executive Director Andrew Allen described safety modifications being made in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Allen said the artists' booths will be configured differently to allow a one-way flow and more green space between them. Marketing materials will stress the importance of wearing masks and f...
Rather than allow the COVID-19 pandemic to eliminate its annual Christmas celebration, the First Baptist Church of Lake Wales is offering "Drive-Thru" Christmas Dec. 12 and 13. Each evening from 6-8 p.m. vehicles will be directed to pass from one scene to the next along a marked route. The event will feature musical elements and visual depictions of the biblical Christmas story. The final stop will include carolers, a snow fall and distribution of child-focused gift bags from...
The city's consultants in an online open house Aug. 20 unveiled a design plan for a Crystal Lake Connector Trail that links downtown to the trail around Lake Wailes. City staff will be showing off designs and answering questions from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, Aug. 21 in a storefront at 220 E. Park Ave. About 30 citizens participated in the online open house with city staff and consultants from urban planners Dover-Kohl and design architects S & ME. The consultants are working...
The City of Lake Wales is hosting a virtual open house Thursday, Aug. 20 to show off the preliminary site plan for the Crystal Lake Park Connector Trail. The focus of the trail is to connect Lake Wailes Park to Historic Downtown Lake Wales, while capturing the natural beauty of Crystal Lake. The open house from 5:30-6:30 p.m. will include consultants from city planners Dover-Kohl and Associates and SM &E, both of which are working on the city's downtown redevelopment...
This is the tenth installment in the Lake Wales Renaissance series. Lake Wales City Commissioner Robin Gibson serves as Deputy Mayor and Chairman of the city's Community Redevelopment Agency. Best Bang for the Buck Trees are the best. Their mere presence improves individual property values. Collectively they improve the town's tax base as a whole. The improved value comes from the purchaser's desire to buy the advantages of appearance and aesthetics. Not only do trees...
EDITOR'S NOTE: The second "rallying point" gathering is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. July 16, weather permitting at Howell Family Park on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The Lake Wales Police Department kicked off its new "rallying point" program Thursday, July 9 – setting up a canopy tent and chairs by the lake and inviting people to stop by for a chat. "We've got no agenda We want to talk about what the community wants to talk about," said Deputy Police Chief Troy Schulze. "...
This is the seventh installment in the Lake Wales Renaissance series. Lake Wales City Commissioner Robin Gibson serves as Deputy Mayor and Chairman of the city's Community Redevelopment Agency. The Dover-Kohl plan is much more than an update of the well-worn 1973 improvements to Downtown. The plan covers the town's historic core. It is thorough, comprehensive, and doable. The entire plan can be viewed at: https://www.doverkohl.com/lakewales. Appropriately named "Lake Wales...
This is the sixth installment in the Lake Wales Renaissance series. Lake Wales City Commissioner Robin Gibson serves as Deputy Mayor and Chairman of the city's Community Redevelopment Agency. First, let's talk about where we are headed, and next, about one of the trouble spots we may confront in getting there. Where We're Headed. The Dover-Kohl plan, entitled "Lake Wales Connected," is a comprehensive plan for the revitalization of the Lake Wales historic core. It connects...
A Peaceful Gathering where prayer was the central focus was spearheaded just after sunrise June 9 by the Lake Wales Business Civic and Ministry Coalition of Lake Wales - a pastor's prayer group which meets each Friday morning at 7 a.m. Pastor Herb Schlenker, the coalition's prayer leader, started the gathering right on time as the sun was shining bright across the sparkling waters of Lake Wailes. This strong group of pastors from many denominations and churches from across...
Pastors, church leaders and other concerned people plan to assemble near the gazebo at Lake Wailes Lake at 7 a.m. Tuesday, June 9 to pray for the city, state and nation. Lake Wales City Commissioner Curtis Gibson presented the idea to Pastor Walter Nelson of IMPACT Church, who immediately started spreading the word. Rather than choose specific people to offer prayers, Nelson sent out an email, providing a corporate prayer for all assembled to use. He suggested bringing the...
The City of Lake Wales has reopened tennis courts, but playgrounds and many other recreation facilities remain closed. City staff will get input about reopening at the next city commission meeting June 2. The June 2 meeting begins at 6 p.m. at the city administration building on Central Avenue. It's being called a "hybrid" meeting since some commissioners and staff will be physically present and others will join online. The public will have three participation options – a...
Trying to make sense of her 10-year-old daughter's drowning death, Parys Miller concluded in a TV interview: "Maybe it was just her time." The loss of Spook Hill Elementary student Irys Wright, who was caught in a riptide current Sunday at Siesta Key Beach, set off an outpouring of sympathy and support for the family she left behind. Her former 4th grade teacher, Amy Rietschel, shared on social media and in a TV interview her memories of the amazing "precious angel" who...
This is the fifth installment in the Lake Wales Renaissance series. Lake Wales City Commissioner Robin Gibson serves as Deputy Mayor and Chairman of the city's Community Redevelopment Agency. Dover, Kohl & Partners is an internationally known town planning firm working out of South Miami. Among their many achievements are nationally recognized revitalizations of traditional communities much like Lake Wales. Victor Dover is co-author of the definitive work on the subject...
I would like to thank Lake Wales News.Net for allowing me to become a guest columnist. The City Commission, sitting as the Community Redevelopment Agency, has unanimously adopted what is known as the "Dover Kohl Plan." The Plan, entitled "Lake Wales Connected," will serve to redevelop the historic core of our town – by connecting the Town and Bok Tower, building connections between Downtown and the Northwest Neighborhood, and between Lake Wailes and the Downtown. I will be w...
New features and patron events and more than 50 artists from around the world look to make the 49th Annual Citizens Bank & Trust Lake Wales Arts Festival Feb. 29 and March 1 the best one to date. Hosted by the Lake Wales Arts Council, the Festival will kick off with the 9th Annual Art-B-Que on The Shores of Lake Wailes, 33 N. Lakeshore Blvd., from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday February 28. The free-to-attend Arts Festival will continue on February 29 and March 1. Additions to the festiva...
It's not quite New Orleans, but Lake Wales no doubt throws one of the greatest Mardi Gras parties most people will ever attend. Unbound revelry, crazy costumes, colorful floats, beads and brew will highlight the 36th annual event scheduled for Feb. 21-22. The Lake Wales Mardi Gras attracts an estimated 15,000 people, making it one of the largest events of its kind outside of New Orleans. Mardi Gras starts at 6 p.m. Friday Feb. 21 with the annual 5k GLOW run around the...
Juanita O. Durso (Mrs Carl F. Durso) died Dec. 7, 2019. She was born Sept. 23, 1920. A sixth generation Kansan of Scottish descent, Juanita Orrick an original "Designing Woman" was owner of Nita Durso Interiors with customers in the Alameda Plaza and Kansas City area. Attending Kansas City Business College and Chicago Arts Institute, she was a Mid West Tennis Champion, and musically talented as a pianist and trumpeter performing with the Wyandotte High School Band and on local...
