Bobby Allison will be the 2008 Honorary Chairman of the Lake Mirror Classic Auto Festival according to the festival organizers (pdf).
First it was "We ran out of bullets," then "Nude Male Alligator Baiting." A breather before it was the "All Teen Beating All the Time with the Mulberry 8." Now the net is afire with word of the Word. Get the details at Lakeland Local
The YLakeland blog is the place to go to learn about weekend events, but every now and then one lands on my desk. This weekend a fish and a Frisbee landed there.
Are you a Jimmy Buffett fan? Need a last minute ticket to the Saturday night concert in Tampa? Take a chance and go to the concert. I heard that at Thursday’s concert there were more than a few tickets for sale outside the venue. If you go, look for this truck. The parrotheads that own [...]
If the kiddos are bored walking the same block for Halloween, you might want to check out Scream Acres. Sponsored by Lakeland Parks and Recreation, the “friendly neighborhood” pops up at Tigertown tonight from 5:30 to 8:00. The cost is $2 per child and is open for everyone one to 12 and their escorts. • If you [...]
This 1937 Packard "barn find" wasn’t cleaned up for today’s Lake Mirror Classic Auto Festival. The car was found July 2004 in downtown Lakeland and is owned by Jerry Herring of Lakeland. I’ll have some photos of the “cleaned-up” cars later today. Photo CC by Chuck Welch
Sir Stirling Moss signs a fans’ shirt this morning at the Lake Mirror Classic Auto Festival in Lakeland, Florida Photo CC by Chuck Welch
The work around Lake Mirror has finished in time for the 8th annual Lake Mirror Classic Auto Festival. On Saturday, officials expect 500 show vehicles and 35,000 people throughout downtown and around the beautiful Frances Langford Promenade. The event is free to the public and includes 16 blocks of show cars, antique motorcycles, classic wooden boats, [...]
According to Tom Palmer today’s DRI pre-application meeting regarding the CSX rail hub project isn’t typical: Also, this meeting will offer the public a chance to comment, which is not usual because these meetings are usually technical meetings in some agency office or out at the development site where the public isn’t likely to wander in. The [...]
Last month the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) released the revised Florida manatee management plan (pdf!). Next week they’re holding a public workshop to solicit comments. The Florida manatee public workshop is 6-9 p.m. (EDT) May 21 at the William M. Hollis Seminar Room in the Thad Buckner Building, Florida Southern College, 111 [...]
The Community Foundation of Greater Lakeland is holding the Second Annual Legacy Event tonight and the public is invited. The event honors George W. Harris, Jr. and includes a program on his life and legacy. The reception starts tonight at 6 pm and the program follows at 7. Harris was one of the founding board [...]
I didn’t take the opportunity to stop and take a photo. However, I can explain why there were four police cruisers slowing traffic on the Polk Parkway at Lakeland Highlands Road this morning just before 8 a.m. Cattle. More specifically a single domesticated member of the genus Bos. The soon to be hamburger had wandered through [...]
Snow comes to Lakeland, Florida each winter at the Snowfest. This little one is remembering how much she loves snow. A few minutes after this photo she’ll remember how much she hates cold, wet mittens. This year Snowfest was held at the USF/PCC campus. The event was moved from Lake Mirror primarily due to the [...]
If you drove or ran around Lake Hollingsworth this morning you noticed small signs had sprouted up all around the lake. They’re part of a program in recognition of World Aids Day. A local group, Friends-Together, placed the signs to increase awareness of the world-wide HIV/AIDS problem and how we can help in Lakeland. The organization [...]
The Veterans Day Parade from Veterans Park to Lake Mirror is Saturday, the 11th starting at Noon. There is a replica of the Vietnam Memorial set up by Lake Mirror. I haven’t seen the replica, but the memorial in Washington, D.C. is one of the most powerful images I’ve ever seen. You’ll find out much more [...]
It seems the very first Miss Teen USA pageant was held in Lakeland in 1983. The video above was a “tour” of Lakeland by the reigning Miss USA, Julie Hayek. From the video you’d think all Lakeland had to offer was phosphate, oranges, and lakes. For those who like to play “Where are they now,” Julie [...]
Happiness is like a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you. — Nathaniel Hawthorne A new art exhibit has taken flight in Lakeland. Kaleidoscope, Butterflies in Flight is 88 decorated butterflies installed around downtown Lakeland. The goal of the butterflies is to “enrich [...]
Bio: The short line? Father, husband, writer. My online presence is primarily through as the editor, writer, and occasional photographer for the news sites, Lakeland Local, a sampling of the news, concerns, and events for Lakeland, Florida, and Metro i4 News, which covers the Interstate 4 corridor in Central Florida. Both sites feature the work of myself and other contributors. As a hobby, I manage a forum and some web sites that feature a pulp fiction series written by Lester Dent -- Doc Savage Organized, Doc Savage Info, and Flearun.