Last night was the Downtown Lakeland Partnership’s monthly First Friday event. The theme was Bicycle Night, and although DLP Executive Director Julie Townsend and her board of directors have no control over the weather, they couldn’t possibly have planned the event on a better night. The weather was gorgeous- cool, breezy, pleasant.
My husband, Mike, and I rode our bikes the mile and a half from our home to Downtown and met up with our neighbor and his 8-year-old daughter. They had ridden their bikes there earlier, in hope of getting in on the free headlights and tail lights. They were successful.
We saw the Bent’s Schwinn shop crowd up there. Several employees, friends and customers rode a variety of the Bent’s inventory to the event. I loved the way they backed all the bicycles in at an angle in front of The Gym. It resembles area bike nights and the way Harley Davidson riders park their motorcycles.
Now that Vintage is Downtown, I take advantage of the First Friday events to pop in and see what’s new in there. I plan to write a feature on this shop when I have the time. Mike and I got a huge laugh out of the giant photo next door in the window of Fast Frame. It is of Fast Frame owner Ellen Simms and her son. I’m not going to describe it for you, because I wouldn’t do it justice. You just need to make a point of going by there and seeing it for yourself.
When the four of us headed home at the end of the night, we just couldn’t get over how beautiful it was outside. So we took a spin around the Lake Mirror Promenade before calling it a night.
Last night was one of those nights that really confirmed for me how much I love Lakeland. We live in a beautiful city with amazing scenery and some awfully entertaining events in the downtown area.
If you haven’t attended a First Friday event, I highly recommend making it a point to go next month- May 1. There truly is something for everyone.
Bio: This is a creative outlet and soapbox for Lorrie Delk Walker where, at times, she has stuck her foot so far into her mouth, surely she has quashed any hopes of ever being elected to public office. Lorrie is a writer, avid recycler, small-time chicken farmer, SPCA foster parent and fan of all things Downtown Lakeland. Posts from Delk Walker's popular blog, Takes From the Delk Side, were added to the Lakeland Local archives and can be found here.
Ellen
1 year ago
Lorrie – Check out next month’s First Friday. Not only will the City’s Public Works departments be features – big bucket trucks and other fun stuff, but on South Kentucky we’ll be hosting a wonderful Retro fashion show. Rae Bartley has her retro fashions in J Rowan Galleries and will be reprising her great fashion show during the evening. You might have seen it at the last Platform performance and at the Woman’s Show at the Lakeland Center a few months back. Hope to see you and your friends there.
Aaron Marsh
1 year ago
As a follow-up to Ellen’s comment… I missed Rae’s Retro Fashion show at Platform, but caught it at First Friday this past weekend. WOW. It was surreal! Congrats to Rae and everyone else involved, and a BIG THANK YOU to the DLP for green-lighting that show. I’ve never seen anything like that in Lakeland before; especially at such a public event. I know there are many people in town who have been nurturing the Arts for years. Keep it up! It’s working! That show was strange and beautiful and had a huge enthusiastic audience in the street. Lakeland’s creative minds are enriching our lives.