Arbor Day Celebration Set for April 30 in City's Linear Park

Music, food, vendors, a ceremonial tree planting, informational booths and a mayor's proclamation will all be part of a special family event planned for Friday, April 30, when Lake Wales will become one of hundreds of cities nationwide marking Arbor Day 2021. The event will run from 5-7 that evening.

Lake Wales Heritage will join with the Lake Wales Woman's Club, The Family Literacy Academy, and Rotary on the Ridge to sponsor the free Friday evening festival along the city's downtown trail segment adjacent to the Lake Wales Public Library. It's one of a series of kickoff events planned before the start of the tree planting efforts that will beautify city streets beginning this year.

The popular sounds of Bittersweet, a five-piece soft rock band, will provide the ambiance for visitors as they explore a wide variety of vendor and informational booths, register for prizes, and enjoy great food selections from the Lake Wales Women's Club., including quesadillas, chili, hot dogs, nachos, brownies and cookies, which will be offered at a food court and beer garden on the adjacent grounds of the Woman's Club. Rotary on the Ridge will offer beer, wine and seltzers; any donations collected will support the club's community projects, including a water safety initiative for young children.

Mayor Gene Fultz will participate in the planting of a new community tree near Crystal Lake that will be decorated for future holidays.

The Arbor Day observance and a Proclamation adopted by the City Commission April 20 are steps toward a "Tree City USA" designation for the City of Lake Wales.

Lake Wales Heritage will be adding muscle to the effort with plans to plant hundreds of trees to beautify city streets in accordance with the designs created by famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. more than 90 years ago.