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Mark Your Calendar

It is Festival Time in Florida, our weather is perfect and we are surrounded by fun events.

Highlands County Fair at the Fairgrounds, 756 Magnolia Ave, Sebring, FL
The Highlands County Fair brings together the best livestock displays, food vendors, carnival rides, contests, and entertainment for one of the most enjoyed annual events in Highlands County. In addition to carnival rides, The Highlands County Fair features tons of exhibits and contests for cooking, photography, horticulture, fine arts, sewing and more! Some examples of the entertainment are the Chainsaw Carving Show, The Master Hypnotist Show and the Miss, Junior Miss, and Little Miss Highlands County Pageants. This is a local fair that makes for a fun afternoon away. While in Sebring, stop at Highlands Hammock State Park and enjoy a walk on the boardwalk under beautiful, towering trees. If after your walk and festival visit you are thirsty or hungry head to Faded Bistro in Sebring. Faded is a great spot in a park like setting with a nice wine and beer list and a good kitchen serving creative, delicious dishes.

Or Stay Very Close to Home and Visit the St. Sophia’s Greek Festival in Winter Haven being held February 11, 12, and 13, 2022. Opa! Enjoy delicious Greek pastries, Greek food, Live Greek Music and Dancing, and a bit of Greek Culture right in our own backyard. The food is homemade by the parishioners from family recipes that have been handed down, enjoy sweet or savory dishes at the or take them to go. If you choose to visit this festival don’t miss the Baklava. www.stsophia.fl.goarch.org

If you want to see a list of Planned Festivals all over the state please visit: www.floridarambler.com/florida-festivals/florida-festival-calendar/

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Harry’s Seafood Bar and Grill, Lakeland

A great way to end your day-trip to Lakeland is a stop at Harry’s Seafood Bar and Grill at 101 North Kentucky Avenue in Lakeland and if you have strolled through the Hollis Gardens, Harry’s is only a short hop away. Harry’s is always a lively, fun stop with a nice wine list, a decent beer selection, inviting cocktails and a good kitchen. The menu has a great selection of inventive dishes and will remind you of dining in New Orleans, infused with a Florida Southern twist. Harrys is open from 11 to 10 and has plenty on the menu for everyone from fish to meat. If you are a vegetarian, ask the waiter for an assortment of sides and make your own meal with red beans, rice, collards, etc.

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Fun in the Sun

Florida has lots of claims to fame; We are the Theme Park Capital of the World, the Florida Sunshine is boundless, and wherever you are in Florida you are never more than 60 miles from a beach, that last fact is according to a paper menu that I picked up on a recent trip to a Florida Diner. The Sunshine State has many beautiful spots to enjoy and to experience.  We recently made a visit to the Florida Southern College Campus in Lakeland, a short trip from Solivita.  In 2012, the Florida Southern College Historic District was designated a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service of the Interior.  The campus is lovely and is the site of the largest collection of Frank Lloyd Wright Architecture in the World.  Tickets are sold in advance and tours are led by experienced docents who provide an overview of the history and design of all 13 Wright Designed Structures.  Additionally, you will tour the interiors of the Annie Pfeiffer Chapel, the Danforth Chapel, and the new Usonian Faculty House, allowing you to explore the timeless beauty of Wright’s work. 

If you are a true Frank Lloyd Wright Fan you can also take an in-depth tour.  The in-depth tour includes the above three structures plus will take you inside the E.T. Roux Library, the Ordway Arts Building and the Polk County Science Building.  

Wright first visited the campus in 1938, and over the course of 20 years he designed 18 unique buildings harmoniously blending into the natural landscape surrounding them.  Thirteen of Wright’s proposed structures were funded and built, one of them posthumously, the Usonian House. The Usonian House was completed after a 74 year wait and is now open for tours to the public.  Lee and I had the privilege of touring this 1,700 Sq. Foot dwelling with 2,000 interlocking concrete “textile blocs” with colored glass inserts, and handcrafted reproduction furnishings. 

If you are a Wright Fan or know a Wright Fan stop by the gift shop and see the wide variety of stylish and timeless Wright inspired items for sale, and you can pick up a great souvenir for yourself or for someone you love.  

With this great weather a perfect stop after your tour of the campus is Hollis Gardens.  The Gardens are not large but are well kept and makes for a lovely scenic lakeside walk on a beautiful day.