"Olmsted Day" Offers a Fun Lake-side Festival April 30

A celebration of parks, trees, and all things "Olmsted" will draw families to Lake Wailes Park on Saturday, April 30. The all-day event will include food vendors, bands, games for the kids (and the family), lots of vendors, a beer garden, and plenty of prizes.

Part of the nationwide celebration dubbed "Olmsted 200," the festival will include kite-building class and flying contest, a "family feud" styled game with a grand prize of a quad-copter drone, plus races and education games for everyone.

The event will start at 9:00 am. Some activities have limited participation, so guests are encouraged to sign up early at the information booth. Kids wishing to build and decorate their own kite to fly in the contest should arrive early while supplies last.

"This will be a great opportunity for parents to relax in the shade while the kids get some exercise and learn some new things about Lake Wales," said Nikki Sealey, vice president of education for Lake Wales Heritage. "We've got some fun games for them, and prizes for all."

The Olmsted tie-in is based on the city-wide landscape plan created by Frederick Law Olmsted at the encouragement of Edward Bok. The Heritage organization is engaged in replanting the missing trees from that 1930 effort.

"We're raising the stewards as we raise the trees," Sealey said, in describing the educational work of the group.

The day's musical lineup will include the Highlander orchestra and band, Bittersweet, Sandy's Music Girls, and the Plank Spankers. Food trucks and booths will offer a wide variety of beverages, lunches and dinners to accompany the various beer and wine selections.

Volunteers are still needed, and those who wish to help with one or more parts of the day's events are invited to sign up for one or more activities at TrackitForward.

SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES: - SIGN UP AT REGISTRATION BOOTH

9:00 am

• Kite building class

• Geo-caching challenge (take an item, leave an item!)

• On stage: Sandy's Music Girls

9:30 am

• Family Olmsted Feud games begin (open until 3:00)

10:00 am

• Foot races, 50-yd. dash, sack race, etc.

• Parachute play

10:30 am

• On stage: Lake Wales High School Orchestra

11:00 am

• Magic show

• On stage: Highlander Band

12:00 noon

• Kite Flying Contest

12:30 pm

• On Stage: The Plank Spankers

1:00 pm

• Scavenger hunt (Robert)

• Rotary Beer Garden Opens

2:00 pm

• Parachute play

2:30 pm

• Three-legged races?

3:00 pm

• Teacup water relay race

• On stage: Bittersweet

4:00 pm

• Pine-cone crafts and bird feeders class

5:00 pm

• Family Olmsted Feud Finals Begin

Food vendors, music, and beer garden will remain open until 7:00 pm.

"We will be launching a special free program for middle school students this summer, with Saturday classes and interpretive walks that will include lunch for participants," Sealey said of the group's educational effort to share the story of the city's Olmsted connections. Olmsted also designed Mountain Lake and Bok Tower Gardens. The Olmsted firm's 105-year history includes hundreds of famous parks, including Biltmore Estate, the US Capitol, Central Park NY, and Niagara Falls, among others.

The day's activities are being sponsored by Lake Wales Heritage in cooperation with the City of Lake Wales. Other sponsors include the Family Literacy Academy, Rotary on the Ridge, and Labor Solutions.