Runway Fashion Show
Date: Wednesday, April 18; 6:30–8:30pm
Venue: Polk Museum of Art – Lakeland
-Polk Museum of Art proudly presents its annual spring fashion show where Neiman Marcus Tampa Bay will provide the fashions.

Rumors
Dates: Thursday, April 19 – Sunday, April 22
Venue: Theatre Winter Haven
-This is a Comedy by Neil Simon, America’s best known multi-award winning playwright, at Theatre Winter Haven.

Green Celebration
Date: Friday, April 20; 6–9:30pm
Venue: Lake Mirror Promenade – Lakeland
-Celebrate Earth Day with a free Green Celebration featuring a concert and showcase at Lake Mirror Promenade.

Jazz Victoria Ensemble
Date: Friday, April 20; 7:30–9:30pm
Venue: Lake Wales Arts Center
-Victoria is well-known to local audiences and will assemble a few of her talented friends for an evening of jazz.
-Victoria has had a major career as a jazz pianist and vocalist, having performed at Birdland, Lincoln Center and the Ritz-Carlton New York.

The Hallelujah Girls
Dates: Friday, April 20 – Sunday, April 22
Venue: Haines City Theater
-A comedy written by the authors of “The Dixie Swim Club”, Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, and Jamie Wooten.

The Odd Couple
Dates: Friday, April 20 – Sunday, April 22
Venue: Lakeland Community Theatre
-Lakeland Community Theatre presents The Odd Couple, a 1965 Broadway comedy by Neil Simon, followed by a successful film and television series as well as other derivative works and spin offs.

Broadway at the Ritz
Date: Saturday, April 21; 6:30pm–10:30pm
Venue: Ritz on Central – Winter Haven
-This fundraiser for Theatre Winter Haven features music of Andrew Lloyd Webber and other Broadway composers with The Brass Heart Band.

Child of the Sun Urban Triathlon
Date: Saturday, April 21; 7:30am–12:30pm
Venue: Lakeland
-The Child of the Sun Urban Triathlon offers a swim, urban bike loop, and urban run through downtown Lakeland, and is sponsored by the Lakeland Rotary Club.
-The race is 100% for charity and includes many added benefits like free athlete photos, free pre and post-race stretching, free post-race massages, and more.

Child of the Sun Jazz Festival
Date: Saturday, April 21; 4pm–10pm
Venue: Lake Mirror Amphitheatre – Lakeland
-This is Lakeland’s signature jazz music festival benefitting local charities and featuring legendary jazz musicians, music and an array of food.
-The Jazz Festival is sponsored by sponsored by the Lakeland Rotary Club and partnered with Child of the Sun Urban Triathlon.

Children’s Festival & Picnic in the Park with Explorations V
Date: Saturday, April 21; 10–3pm
Venue: Explorations V Children’s Museum – Lakeland
-A spring celebration, held in support of the nationally recognized “Week of the Young Child.”
-The festival draws attention to the importance of enhancing education through playful, interactive learning adventures using the Museum’s exhibits and will include hands-on activities throughout nearby Munn Park.

Creative Studies: Inspired by Nature
Date: Saturday, April 21; 5–7:30pm
Venue: Polk Museum of Art – Lakeland
-This is an art nature presentation at Polk Museum of Art.
-Learn about the wonders of wilderness from two highly regarded Lakeland conservationists, Andy Quinn and Reinier Munguia.

Good Ol’ Days Festival
Date: Saturday, April 21; 10–2pm
Venue: Homeland Heritage Park – Homeland
-Polk County Parks & Recreation presents the Good Ol’ Days Festival which is great for all ages and designed to provide a look at Homeland Heritage Park and Polk County’s past.

Kids’ Day Celebration
Date: Saturday, April 21; 10am-4:30pm
Venue: Mulberry Phosphate Museum
-A day for the kids at Mulberry Phosphate Museum featuring activity stations, story time, games, prizes and more.

Lotela Gold 50’s and 60’s Show Band
Date: Saturday, April 21; 7pm–9pm
Venue: Ramon Theater – Frostproof
-Lotela Gold is a Show Band featuring 50’s & 60’s tunes that you love to remember, such as “Earth Angel”, “Hang on Sloopy”, “This Magic Moment”, “Midnight Hour” and so many more.
-A portion of the proceeds will benefit Frostproof High School Project Graduation.

Original Lakeland Gun Show
Dates: Saturday, April 21 – Sunday, April 22; 9am– 4pm
Venue: The Lakeland Center
-See hundreds of displays of guns, ammo, gun parts, reloading supplies, books, knives, knife sharpening, coins, camouflage and related items at discount prices.
-Over 600 vendors will participate.
-The Original Lakeland Gun Show is presented by the Lakeland Rifle and Pistol Club.

Central Florida Bridal Showcase
Date: Sunday, April 22; 1–5pm
Venue: Lake Eva Banquet Hall – Haines City
-The 2012 Central Florida Bridal Showcase is a bridal fashion show by Robyn Lynne and will include a drawing for a bridal gown, a grand prize drawing and door prizes.

Upcoming Events:

Legends & Legacies- D-Day Invasion of Normandy – May 11-12 (Fantasy of Flight-Polk City)

Ironman 70.3 Florida – May 19-May 20 (Lake Eva Park-Haines City)

Carillon Classic 5k Run/Walk – May 26 (Bok Tower Gardens-Lake Wales)

Legends & Legacies- Reflections of Vietnam – June 8-9 (Fantasy of Flight-Polk City)

Florida’s Sunshine State Games: Polk County Festival – June 15-17 & 23-24

Red, Brick & Boom – July 4 (LEGOLAND® Florida – Winter Haven)

Polk NatureFest – October 4-7 (locations across Polk County)

Brick-or-Treat – October- Saturdays & Sundays (LEGOLAND® Florida – Winter Haven)

Legends & Legacies- Letters Home: Love, Courage & Survival – October 12-13 (Fantasy of Flight-Polk City)

Go LEGOLAND – It’s Your Birthday – October 15 (LEGOLAND® Florida – Winter Haven)

I really didn’t know what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised.  I had called my mother about an hour before and asked if she would like to go.  I also suggested that she could buy dinner for us afterward.  She laughed and obliged.  Thank you Mom.

My mother and I wandered around the exhibit for about 20 minutes before Hughes, a professor of art at The University of Texas at Tyler, spoke briefly about his new works.  The artist has entitled the new body of work Neocryptofunk.  What a cool new word.  All of the new sculptures on exhibit were fabricated from steel during the recent holiday break.  View a few of the detail images from Neocryptofunk on the artists website.

I thoroughly enjoyed the exhibit and recommend making a special visit to Melvin Gallery at Florida Southern College before it closes on February 24.  Gallery hours are Monday-Friday from 9am-4pm when school is in session.

While you are there, stop by the “Child of the Sun” Visitor Center located in the William M. Hollis Exhibition and Seminar Room.  It’s a short walk from Melvin Gallery.  Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida is home to the largest one-site-collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture in the world.  View photos of Frank Lloyd Wright’s “Child of the Sun” architecture on the beautiful campus by clicking here.

I’m a proud 1999 graduate of Florida Southern College. It was a beautiful campus back then and I am amazed to see the beauty expand over the past 12 years.  Drop by to see for yourself why The Princeton Review recently honored Florida Southern College as the #1 Most Beautiful Campus in the nation.  And, don’t forget your camera.  You’ll take home some beautiful memories.

One of famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s most recognizable and famous works, the Guggenheim Museum in New York, is going to feature a display about Wright’s largest one-site work, the “Child of the Sun” campus at Florida Southern College in Lakeland. The exhibition “Frank Lloyd Wright: From Within Outward” will be up May 15-August 23, 2009 at the Guggenheimon Fifth Avenue in New York and will travel to the Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain in October.

Florida Southern College will have a prominent position in the Rotunda, the main gallery, and will be discovered by many thousands of national and international visitors for the first time. As with the Water Dome World Premiere earlier this year, this event will draw national and international media attention for Polk County and Florida Southern College.