As the twilight of the spooky season creeps upon us, the air fills with whispers and rustles - not from wandering spirits but from our mysterious nocturnal neighbors embarking on their nightly flights. Yes, we’re talking about the bats, those silent acrobats of the night sky, dancing their eerie ballet as darkness falls. While they have often been associated with tales of the supernatural, bats are truly fascinating creatures that hold secrets and wonders in their wings. Let’s unveil the mystique that surrounds these creatures and discover how we can protect and appreciate them right here in our community. BUSTING BAT MYTHS Before we fly further, it’s time to bust some common myths that have haunted the reputation of bats for ages. Contrary to the sinister roles they often play in spooky tales, bats are not rodents or creatures to fear. They belong to the unique order Chiroptera, which translates to “hand-wing.” This not only grants them the gift of true flight but also allows them to perform gravity-defying acts of hanging upside-down effortlessly. The three most common bat myths that people ask me about: Vampire Bats are out to get me! Not to worry. Vampire bats are 100% real, and do feast on mammal blood. The good news, is they are not found in Florida, or even the US Southeast. Vampire bats live primarily in Central America and the American Southwest and feed, gently, on livestock or mammals in the wild. Humans are very rarely considered a part of their diet, and generally only if they are sleeping outside, cowboy style, under the stars. Bats are a health hazard and should be feared! Bats can carry a few viruses and other nasties that can affect humans, yes. But, it’s very rare and avoiding that problem is so simple that there is no reason to fear bats in Florida. Most people are concerned about Rabies and Histoplasmosis, or Hantavirus. Rabies is the one to be most concerned about in Florida as bats are often one of the species with the most “positive” rabies tests, year after year. However, that’s likely because they are so easy to catch when they are sick! Unlike raccoons, coyotes, cats, or fox with rabies - bats do not become aggressive with rabies. They get sleepy and wander about on the ground, during the day. This is why we always say - NEVER pick up a bat! If they’re out during the day or found wandering on the ground, they may be sick. Call animal control, instead. The best way to reduce the rabies threat in the community is to ensure dogs and cats are appropriately vaccinated. Bats are voracious mosquito hunters! While it’s a common tale whispered in the chill of the fall evening that bats are voracious mosquito-eaters, the reality is a tad less thrilling.  Most bat species in the U.S., including those fluttering through Florida’s night sky, prefer a diet rich in moths, beetles, and other flying insects, with mosquitoes making up only a small fraction of their feast. In Florida, the southeastern bat (Myotis austroriparius) has been known to consume more mosquitoes than other species, potentially resorting to this menu option more frequently on cooler nights when other insects are scarce. However, counting on bats as a formidable line of defense against larger mosquito populations might be a bit of a Halloween myth. WHY BATS MATTER Amidst the shadowy tales, the vital role bats play in our ecosystem often gets overlooked. All 13 of Florida’s resident bat species are insectivorous! This means that all of the bats that call Florida home year-round (aka “resident”) feed primarily on insects. It’s estimated that 25% of the mammals on earth are bats and that 75% of bats feed on insects. Can you even imagine how many more insects we would have to contend with if we didn’t have this natural flying pest control service?! These services are also very important to agriculture producers. Robust and diverse local bat populations are thought to be so effective at aerial pest control that agricultural producers may be using less insecticides in growing their crops. More research is needed before we can say for certain that this is true for Florida, but it has been documented to reduce the burden of pesticide purchases in South Texas and in the Mid-west. Bats eat a lot of agricultural pest insects including spotted cucumber beetles, green stinkbugs, and the moth form of fall army worms. Bats contribution extends to scientific research, as well. Studying their behavior and instinctual skills is shedding light on diverse topics from mammalian hibernation to sonar technology. TAKING STEPS TOWARDS BAT CONSERVATION Despite their crucial role, bats face threats that have led to alarming declines in their populations. Here is where we step in. By joining forces, we can ensure the protection and conservation of these night-time allies. Here’s how we can help bats in Florida: Promoting Safe Habitats: Encourage the spirit of hospitality by setting up bat houses, offering safe havens for these night flyers. Avoid Disturbances: Maintain the sanctity of their roosting sites, especially during the nursery seasons, to protect the young ones from disturbances. Responsible Pesticide Use: Cast away harmful pesticides from your gardens, embracing bat-friendly alternatives that safeguard their food sources. Spot-treat pest problems when absolutely necessary, after trying non-chemical practices. Community Awareness: Brew a potion of knowledge and awareness to share within the community, stirring more people to join the conservation cauldron. Bats are super cool, let’s chat about them more! To learn more about bats, consider listening to the Naturally Florida podcast episode: “Spooky Season, let’s chat about bats!” or contact your local Extension office. Our Polk County office has a myriad of bat resources for the spooky at heart to indulge in. You can also look at resources from the Florida Bat Conservancy, on their website: www.floridabats.org. SPOOKY CONCLUSIONS As we celebrate this season of mystery and magic, let’s extend our festivities to include our eerie yet essential nocturnal neighbors. By fostering a community where we live in harmony with bats, we not only protect them but also enrich our surroundings. This Halloween, I invite you to create a bat-friendly corner in your yard, adding a touch of nature’s magic to our neighborhood. You can learn more about building a bat house or purchasing a good bat house by reading, “Effective Bat Houses for Florida” by some of our experts at UF/IFAS Wildlife! You can read that document, here: https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/UW290. Until our paths cross again in the moonlight, happy bat-watching and have a spooktacular Halloween! Have you seen some bats in Polk? Share those videos with me by tagging me on social media! You can find me @PolkNR on Instagram and X/Twitter You can contact YOUR local extension office, UF/IFAS Extension Polk County, at 863-519-1041 or online at http://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/P

Bartow brothers and founders of the Luster African American Heritage Museum, Charles Luster and Dr. Harvey Lester say their commitment to community enrichment was a seed planted by their father. He taught them the importance of giving back, and the pair have spent a lifetime doing so and planting seeds of their own. “Sometimes when you plant a seed, it doesn’t grow immediately – some things take years to grow,” Luster said. Dr. Harvey Lester graduated from Union Academy High School in 1966. Three days later, he joined the military, where he spent 30 years and three months. Lester worked in logistics, infantry, and as a lay pastor in the service and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, a Master’s degree in Family Counseling, and a Ph.D. in Theology. The Vietnam veteran was honored with a Purple Heart and retired as a Sergeant Major. He returned to Polk County in 1996. Dr. Lester served as a chaplain at Winter Haven Hospital and Lakeland Regional Medical Center and pastored a church in Plant City. He was later inducted into the Bartow and Union High School Halls of Fame. Lester’s oldest brother, Charles Luster, was born in 1941. Luster, also a Union Academy graduate, worked for Polk General Hospital as the first African American Environmental Manager and retired after 34 years. Luster also retired from the school system after 30 years. “I did that working 16 hours a day for 30 years,” he said. He rejoined the school system and has worked for the last 25 years as a part-time custodian. “This way, I have extra money to buy things for the museum,” Luster said. Many of the artifacts throughout the Luster African American Heritage Museum were purchased with money Luster has made working for the school. LUSTER-ALL PASTORAL CARE AND CULTURAL CENTER “It actually started with our father, who said we’ve got to give something back,” Luster said. “He was very faithful and believed in God and believed in serving and said we always had to care for others as well as ourselves,” Lester said. “Even though we were poor, we were saying, what can we do [to help others]?” This seed was planted in the brothers who sowed knowledge into the community. “We believe that knowledge is power,” Luster said. “We have a purpose here. It has allowed us to do anything we want to do, but there’s a certain thing that God wants us to do. To me, this is my blessing to give out this knowledge. It’s no good if I don’t give it away.” When Dr. Harvey Lester returned home, he told his brother they were going to start a nonprofit providing education and a cultural museum. Lester oversaw the school and Luster the museum curation, and the two came together to run them both. The brothers established Luster-All Pastoral Care and Cultural Center in 1996 as a nonprofit program that would “provide for the underserved and under-educated residents of Polk County so they may have an opportunity to experience educational success and achieve economic independence through vocational training and job placement, construction technology, culinary arts, health education, family counseling, community development, and cultural enrichment programs.” The program trained students for over twenty years with a 95% services and vocational training completion rate and a 90% job placement rate. “We have done well even with a shoestring budget for twenty-something years. We’ve trained well over a thousand people,” Lester said. Luster-All students have gone on to contribute to the community as nurse practitioners and registered nurses, earn advanced degrees in radiology and catering, provide military service, and start their own businesses. “We are grateful for that,” Lester said. “Every now and then, some come back and say we are a Luster-All girl or a Luster-All boy.” Luster-All Training Center of Hope received various awards and recognitions over the years, including two Polk County proclamations in 2004 and 2017, a Spirit of Bartow Award, and recognition from the Florida Department of Health Board of Nursing for a 100% graduation rate in 2014 compared to the State of Florida graduation rate of 63.5%. Luster-All was honored with the Florida Association of Postsecondary School and College (FAPSC) School of the Year Award in 2006-2007, an honorable mention letter from Governor Jeb Bush, and a congratulatory letter from Governor Charlie Crist. Though the school closed in 2020 due to a lack of funding, its impact over more than two decades is measurable in more than lives changed. According to the Luster-All Training Center of Hope and Cultural Center, “Student taxable income earned over the past 21 years has amounted to $18M in the county.” While launching the school, the brothers began developing the Luster African American Heritage Museum with the goal “to educate the public about the importance of the African American historical legacy in Polk County and the Central Florida region by empowering and enriching visitors with knowledge of the extensive and valuable contributions African Americans have made to Polk County, the State of Florida, and our nation.” The Luster African American Heritage Museum opened at the old Polk General Hospital, where it stayed for almost six years. It has moved several times over the years, but has settled into a more permanent home on Summerlin Street in Bartow. TURNING A PAGE History has no value if you don’t learn from it,” Dr. Lester said. That’s why the brothers have worked to provide the community with this cultural resource. The museum’s layout flows like a book, chapter by chapter of African American history, atrocity, contribution, art, and excellence. Charles Luster was deliberate with its layout. “It’s like turning a page. First, we’re going to go into Africa itself,” he said. “Most museums start with slavery and go on, but we started with Africa for the African American people to know their DNA. Once you know where you come from, then you know who you are,” he said. Exhibits flow from the great kings of Africa to African trades and cultures. Beyond a beaded partition, relics including intricately adorned instruments, tools, ebony wood, statues, photographs, and detailed information about people, events, traditions, and customs line the room. “It’s a reading museum,” Luster explained. “You have to come many times.” Just outside that exhibit room is a sizable replica slave ship. Luster crafted figures to represent enslaved Africans, illustrating revoltingly inhumane conditions. “They were packed in the ship like sardines,” he said. “Any space they had a space, they put them in.” Another exhibit details slavery and plantation life. “People say slaves were taken from Africa. This is not true. People were taken from Africa and made into slaves,” Luster said. Luster moved on, past Nat Turner and Harriet Tubman to a section of ‘Bartow Notables.’ He pointed to photographs of African American doctors, city commissioners, judges, veterans, principals, mayors, builders, trailblazers, and city founders. He pointed out Bartow’s Palm Theatre and dance hall, built by successful businessman Tom Burnett which drew crowds from surrounding communities, as far as Tampa, every Friday to see musicians like Sam Cooke, Muddy Waters, BB King, and James Brown. An exhibit on segregation includes anti-Black imagery and racist stereotypes like Jim Crow dolls, “mammy” caricatures, and dehumanizing advertisements. Luster and Lester attended Union Academy, a then-segregated school, and had many personal accounts of racial oppression to share. “Know your history but don’t let it be a burden to you,” Luster said. “It’s not only my history. We say, ‘African American history,’ but it’s American history.” He motioned to a copy of “The Green Book,” a guide for African American travelers. “I remember when we were kids, my dad would say, ‘Get up, it’s time to go,’ and I’d say, ‘It’s 5 o’clock in the morning.’” Young Luster wondered why they had to leave so early. “He didn’t tell us that we had to be at a certain place at a certain time. If you weren’t at this place at this time, you can’t eat today because the Black restaurant would close.” Then there were the cruelties of Jim Crow “etiquette.” “I couldn’t walk down the sidewalk holding my wife’s hand, and that’s my wife. But that was a law,” Luster said. “You learn all this stuff, and then you have to go through life. PTSD, I think we had that before the war. It was little things.” Studying the exhibit on civil rights lined with photos of great leaders and speakers like Martin Luther King Jr., Luster shared a story. “My sister got baptized in a lake because churches didn’t have a pool at that time,” he said. “The whites would get baptized on one side of the lake, and the Blacks would get baptized on the other side of the lake. Same water, but we couldn’t get baptized in the same spot.” Another sprawling exhibit dedicated to the military acknowledges the contributions of Black service members and military heroes throughout history, including the Buffalo Soldiers, Tuskegee Airmen, and Triple Nickles. “Do you know who that is?” Charles asked, nodding to a photo of two uniformed military men. It was Harvey Lester and Charles’s son. The pair were in the military simultaneously. The Luster African American Heritage Museum’s media center has some 500 books available for check-out and a computer for students to do research. The next room is dedicated to education, including the brothers’ alma mater, Union Academy, a Rosenwald school built in 1928. Luster remembered being taught by the first white teachers at his school in the late sixties. The room displays school desks, a typewriter, and abounding yearbook photos of accomplished graduates and athletes. “We had a powerhouse football team,” Luster said. The Union Academy running back hoped for a tough nickname like ‘Tiger,’ ‘Killer,’ or ‘Big Red.’ “I wanted a name like that, but they called me ‘Sweet Thang’ because I weighed about 145 lbs,’” he said, prompting a laugh from his brother. In addition to its many exhibitions, the museum has a lecture room where they hold talks and show movies. Lester, Luster, and museum volunteers also give back through community events. Before New Year’s, they gave out collard greens sourced from a Black farmer and black-eyed peas and cornbread donated by the Mulberry Walmart. On Sunday, February 5, 2023, from 1-4 pm, the museum, in partnership with Main Street Bartow, will host a “Drum Circle” celebration honoring Olushola Camaro. The free community event will feature food and retail vendors, dancing in the street, and Kuumba Dancers and Drummers. Bring your lawn chairs. Admission to the museum is free, but donations are appreciated. The only funding the Luster African American Heritage Museum receives is a small stipend from a Statewide Network of African American education organizations, contributions from Black Voters Matter, and patron donations used for curation, development of the exhibits, and planned educational programs. Poignant words posted towards the museum exit read, “History is not for you to like or not like. It is there for you to learn from it, and if it offends you, even better because you are less likely to repeat it. It’s not yours to erase. It belongs to us all.” Photographs by Amy Sexson Luster African American Heritage Museum 585 E Summerlin St, Bartow (863) 800-6872 FB: African American Heritage Museum laahm.org

Pace Center for Girls’ mission is to provide girls and young women an opportunity for a better future through education, counseling, training, and advocacy. The organization is guided by nine values and principles: Honor the female spirit; Focus on strengths; Act with integrity and positive intent; Embrace growth and change; Value the wisdom of time; Exhibit courage; Seek excellence; Create partnerships; and Invest in the future. This mission statement and guiding values drew Pace Center for Girls of Polk Executive Director Ellen Katzman, ACSW, to the organization in 2016. “I learn from them every day,” Katzman said of her Pace girls. “I learn from them that it’s not easy to walk a mile in somebody else’s shoes.” Katzman, also the executive director for Pace’s Pasco Center, earned a B.S. in criminal justice from Indiana University College of Arts and Sciences, a master’s degree in social work from Indiana University School of Social Work, and is a member of the Academy of Certified Social Workers (ACSW). Katzman’s career focus has been community organization, planning, and management, and she’s been in the non-profit sector for over 40 years. “I have loved, and still love, every minute of it,” she said. Perhaps Katzman’s fire to change lives was lit by the women who inspired her. She named former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir – the first woman to hold that post – as an influential figure growing up. “She made a difference, and she made a difference being female,” reflected Katzman, who is arguably doing the same. “I also come from a line of strong women in my family, and I think I’ve had really good role models.” HISTORY OF PACE Founder Vicki Burke launched Pace with ten girls in Jacksonville, Florida. “Vicki had an idea, rooted in facts, that girls were entering the juvenile justice system as a response to delinquent behavior often caused by trauma.” Between 1989 and 1998, Pace opened 13 new locations in Florida. The organization has since expanded into 23 communities across the Sunshine State, Georgia, and South Carolina. Since serving those first ten girls in 1985, the program has cared for over 40,000 girls and young women – over 3,000 each year. Pace Center for Girls of Polk County opened its doors in 2001 and has served more than 1,500 girls through its academic Day Program and Pace Reach therapy program. The Day Program provides year-round education, counseling, and life skills training for middle and high-school-aged girls. Pace Polk served 126 girls through their day program in 2022, with enrollees seeing marked improvement academically and socially and re-engaging in their communities. In 2009, Pace piloted its Reach Counseling Program, providing services to girls outside their Centers. In partnership with local schools, community organizations, and court systems, the Reach Program offers social, emotional, and behavioral health and support services for girls ages 11-17 and their families. Seventeen Reach locations have been established across Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. Last year 55 girls were served through Pace Center for Girls of Polk County’s Reach Program. A MEASURABLE IMPACT “We’re an evidence-based organization,” Katzman said. The organization offers small in-person classes; individual academic planning and support; personal guidance, counseling, and goal planning; and career and college preparation. “You’ll see how kids improve academically, [...] how they’re engaged in their own home life and school.” These results are observable through statistics collected by the non-profit. For instance, 9 in 10 girls were failing school six months before attending the Pace Day Program in Polk County. Nine in 10 girls improved academically, measured by Florida STAR testing, after attending Pace. A measurable testament to their Reach Program, 7 in 10 girls were feeling sad or hopeless, including thoughts of self-harm before attending Pace Polk, with 8 in 10 exhibiting improved healthy social relationships with peers and family members after time spent in the program. The proof is in the pudding at Pace – or on their Board of Directors, rather. Pace Polk alumnus Jasmine Decelle, owner of Jasmine Decelle Branding & Design, serves as the board’s secretary. Last year the impact of Pace rippled far beyond the southeast United States. Pace President and CEO Mary Marx wrote in a letter published in the organization’s 2022 Impact Report, “This year marked the first global application of our approach, partnering with IREX through a Community Collaboration Impact Grant sponsored by the U.S. Department of State to share our model with girls in Bhutan.” EMPOWERING YOUNG WOMEN Pace approaches its mission to support and equip girls through three pillars: gender-responsive, strength-based, and trauma-informed. According to Katzman, potential enrollees meet with an intake counselor for an interview. To be accepted into the program, a girl must have at least three risk factors. These could include truancy, incarcerated parents, physical or mental abuse, or sex trafficking. “Most of our kids are at six or seven [risk factors] – that’s overwhelming,” she said. “Needless to say, they’re unsettled, and a lot of them don’t want to be in an all-girls school.” But, that all-girl environment, especially one that is trauma-informed, is to their benefit, says Katzman. She evoked founder Vicki Burke. “She saw boys and girls going through the system and realized they needed to be treated separately. They learn differently. Girls that have been traumatized learn much differently than boys and much differently than girls who haven’t gone through trauma,” Katzman said. Pace Center for Girls “creates an environment that responds to the needs of the girls,” according to their website, “so they can feel safe to develop meaningful and trusting relationships and embrace their capability, strength, and autonomy.” The Pace Day Program, driven by its three pillars, operates year-round. Katzman says the job isn’t always easy, but it is rewarding. “There’s not a day that goes by that you don’t realize you’re changing the trajectory of these young women’s lives,” she said. “Today’s young women in our program are tomorrow’s moms, so this trajectory goes on and on and on.” Girls are provided breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday and take regular academic classes in smaller class sizes (14 students per teacher) following the Polk County School System curriculum at Pace. Where the organization differs from public school is unfettered access to social services – an imperative for girls who have endured trauma. This department is headed up by Social Services Manager Michelle Brown, who oversees a team of counselors and therapists. The girls can speak with a counselor as often as they need. The Center offers a “May I see you” form that girls can fill out to meet with someone promptly. Katzman noted how access to these resources affects students as they progress at Pace. “They start to open up, to articulate, to self-advocate. They start to have social skills, peer skills – getting along with others,” she said. Students presenting risk factors who don’t require extra academic help can be referred by guidance counselors, teachers, and school staff to join the Reach Program at participating Polk County schools. Pace provides a licensed mental health therapist in these schools to further support local girls. When Katzman first took charge seven years ago, she wanted to get to know each of the girls. She decided to sit in on weekly Care Reviews, in which staff, teachers, and counselors meet to discuss a student’s progress. Not ten minutes into her first Care Review, it struck the 40-year non-profit veteran, “The staff that have chosen this, to work here, it’s got to be in their DNA. It’s hard, it’s challenging, it’s difficult – but it’s so rewarding. They get to see the fruits of their labor.” Those fruits manifest in higher grades, happier days, and brighter futures. Support for Pace girls is comprehensive. Beyond grades and therapy – it’s life-changing. Organization leaders and staff work diligently for holistic growth in their girls. President and CEO Mary Marx wrote in that same 2022 Impact Report letter, “Our work and the future of our girls remains grounded in celebrating not only empowerment, but real, lived power. Our girls must not only benefit from policies but also use their voices and lived experiences to design those policies. In 2022, our advocacy work gave young people the ability to have their record expunged, removing a substantial barrier to college admission and employment for some 26,000 Florida youth.” SANDRA’S STORY One thriving Pace girl is 16-year-old Sandra. The high school junior has been attending Pace Center for Girls of Polk County for nearly a year and has found refuge at the Center. “Pace has helped me a lot, just learning how to self-advocate and finding my voice,” she said. “I struggled a lot with my self-worth before I came here, and I can honestly say it’s improved and helped me achieve a lot of my goals.” The women Sandra most admires and who have supported her are her mother and her Pace Spirited Girls teacher, Michelle Taylor. “She looks after me a lot and notices when I’m having a bad day,” said Sandra. Asked what she liked about attending Pace, she noted, “I love the environment, the people, it’s open, everyone’s warm. No one’s shut off. You don’t feel out of place. You feel like you belong here.” Once a year, Pace Polk sends two girls to Tallahassee for Pace Day at the Capitol. Sandra earned the coveted spot, an incentive for excelling socially and academically, and will be attending this year, where she’ll have the opportunity to meet legislators and other Pace girls from across the state. Executive Director Ellen Katzman described Sandra as sweet, articulate, compassionate, and a model student. “Every girl that comes here comes with challenges. We call them ‘at-risk factors.’ They are obstacles in the young women’s lives, and they have to overcome them. [Sandra] is strong – she’s resilient, and in overcoming those, she’s learned to have her own voice, to advocate for herself,” Katzman raved. “When she leaves here, I have all the confidence in the world that this child is going to be an incredible young woman. She’s going to make her own path, her own future.” The executive director noted that she most admired Sandra's inner strength and adoption of self-advocacy, something Pace empowers all girls to do. “When there’s someone like Sandra who grasps it so easily and well – it was there all time, we just helped bring it out.” Sandra, who spoke with the poise and self-assuredness of a young woman destined for success, beamed from within. In the future, she hopes to shine that light on others as a substance abuse counselor, helping people with addictions better their lives. SUPPORT PACE GIRLS Those interested in supporting Pace Center for Girls can volunteer or make monetary, supply, and clothing donations. Consider involvement in committees, board membership, and events, like their upcoming Ten Story Challenge on May 5, 2023. The annual peer-to-peer fundraising event takes place at the Lakeland Electric building, where community members raise a minimum of $500 to rappel from the towering structure. Pace Center for Girls transcends the current day and the current girls they serve. The program blazes paths for generations of girls to grow into women of integrity and self-worth, ascending their circumstances to claim the inherent, inalienable power they each possess. As Pace Center for Girls, Polk Board of Directors Co-Chair, Lakeland Electric’s Interim General Manager Mike Beckham wrote, “Pace Polk provides a safe space where girls feel like they matter. […] The staff focuses on positive affirmation and advocacy to build empowered women with strong voices ready to face the future. Our community is fortunate to have an organization of this caliber to support our youth.” Photographs by Amy Sexson Pace Center for Girls of Polk County 213 Tyler Ave, Lakeland, FL (863) 688-5596 FB: Pace Center for Girls IG @pacecenterforgirls pacecenter.org/locations/florida/polk

Eight years ago, Jason DeShazo sat in the crowd of a Dixie Longate drag show. “I don’t think I laughed and cried so much in one sitting outside of church ever,” he said. In her affected southern drawl, Dixie, America’s own Tupperware queen, told a simple story about “bumping a duck.” It goes something like this. There’s a duck in the middle of a calm lake. If you throw a stone into the lake, it ripples and bumps the duck. “If you can just be one stone to bump a duck, to cause a reaction, what kind of difference could you make in the world,” DeShazo said. “It immediately changed my life.” That’s when DeShazo, who performs as Momma Ashley Rose, moved forward with starting the charitable organization, Rose Dynasty Foundation. Born in Plant City and raised in Okeechobee, “I grew up in a very conservative home,” DeShazo said. The family attended church several days a week. “I’ve always known I was gay.” Coming out in the early 80s amid the AIDS epidemic was a dangerous time for anyone, he said. “There was a lot of fear instilled already.” In his teens, DeShazo endured conversion therapy. “It just wasn’t going to work,” he said. “I did everything I knew I could do to try to change what I thought, and what I was being told, was not right.” In true Momma Ashley Rose fashion, DeShazo found humor in the midst of pain, joking, “It gave me three things: It gave me my therapist, it made me gayer, and it made me a drag queen.” DeShazo was involved in both mainstream and LGBTQ+ churches for many years. After serving in the ministry, he found something to be missing. “There was more to what I believed in my life that needed to be done,” he said. Loved, Accepted, and Wanted For the duration of this story, I will refer to DeShazo as she and her because, really, my interview wasn’t with DeShazo – it was with Momma. A dynasty, by definition, is a family, and the Rose Dynasty Foundation is no different. Momma started the organization with her husband, Scott DeShazo. Rose Dynasty Vice President Scott DeShazo, who performs as Amanduh Rose, said, “Every great person needs a good backbone.” Together for 15 years, Scott also makes all of Momma’s costumes, including the patchwork dress she wore that day, made with her great-grandmother’s hand-stitched material. She completed the look with a pair of rhinestone sneakers. Momma Ashley Rose started experimenting with drag in 2000 when a local drag queen painted her for a Halloween Party. “I loved it. I absolutely loved it,” she said. This persona was someone she wanted to bring to the world. “I never wanted to be the stereotypical queen.” When she first started performing as Momma, she was a bit “churchy” and even did a few gospel shows. Her drag changed and sometimes stopped entirely for a year or two before finding her way back to it. “Every time I evolved and really made a change of growing into what ‘Momma’ and this organization is now.” “I believed that what I needed to do was establish a safe space for all people,” Momma said. More important than the flashy costumes, elaborate makeup, and side-splitting one-liners is her message, “You are loved, accepted, and wanted,” something she intones at every event. “We’ve all felt that, whether you’re Queer or not. We’ve all felt unloved, unwanted, or unaccepted at some point in our life. Any human being has felt that way. I knew it was a message that people needed to hear, including myself.” The organization has been a safe space for folks like 19-year-old Florida Southern College student Adam Reuther. Reuther, who performs as Mistah Aphrodite, started doing drag two years ago. Their first performance was at a charity event with Rose Dynasty. The versatility and art – horror, camp, glamour, across the gender spectrum – drew them to performing. “There’s so much to explore,” they said. “Doing good while performing, raising money, is a very satisfying feeling because I’m doing something I love, and I’m making the world better.” Working with the organization has given the music education major a new understanding of how the world works “in both good ways and bad.” They said, “It’s disheartening to see that there are people out there trying to crush someone’s individual spirit for just existing.” Locally, Mistah Aphrodite says they’ve been surrounded by support for their art from family, friends, and fellow students. “What’s most shocking about Polk County is the love is so much more outspoken than the hate.” Rose Dynasty Foundation provides a safe space and entertainment for all ages while raising money for charities across Polk County, Central Florida, and beyond. They host events to raise funds for organizations like CampOUT, Florida’s first LGBTQ+ summer camp, and the FitzLane Project, which provides funding to underprivileged transgender youth for LGBTQIA+ specialized therapeutic services at the mental health provider of their choice. “We focus on the small charities that don’t get the government funding that are still making a difference,” Momma said. The Polk County Bully Project, Red Tent Initiative, It Takes a Village feeding families during Covid, Art Crawl, domestic violence shelters, autism, children’s hospitals, and cancer research are just some of the 70 charitable efforts for which they’ve raised hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years. The organization’s primary fundraiser is Miss Rose Dynasty, the world’s only family-friendly charity-based drag pageant. This year they raised $28K for five charities. Their goal is to one day have a community center in town. Momma envisions a space that offers food, life skills classes, therapy, a venue for events, and a safe space for the Queer community. Some oppose their family-friendly philanthropic events, calling them ‘adult’ and ‘inappropriate.’ “I encourage people to come to our events and see what’s happening. If you don’t leave with your mind changed, that’s something that you need to deal with,” Momma said. She cited classic movies and television shows like “Mrs. Doubtfire” and “I Love Lucy,” in which drag was predominantly featured as comedic relief for the whole family. While there are undoubtedly adult drag performers, that is not what Rose Dynasty promotes. “This has been around for a long time, and if it’s being sexualized, it’s not by the drag queens. It’s by the people that are closed-minded looking in,” Momma said. “A child, when they walk up to me, they see the same thing as when they see Cinderella. They see any other princess, any other character. They just see someone that they feel safe with that has a positive message that’s sparkly, and glittery, and shiny.” Hate Won’t Win On December 3rd last year, at a family-friendly drag and art show, a hate group protested the event. Some dozen Neo-Nazis, covering their faces, turned up at ART/ifact Studio in Lakeland to disrupt the fundraising efforts. Momma Ashley Rose noted they’d held events for six years at the venue and never once had a protestor make a scene. “I knew one day it was coming,” she said. “But I had no clue it was going to be Nazis.” About an hour before the event, as Queer artists from around the county geared up to sell their artwork to raise money for CampOUT, Momma got a phone call. A concerned parent contacted her from a parking lot down the road to say they were scared because they’d seen protestors with Nazi signs outside the gallery. They immediately locked down the venue to make sure everyone was safe, and the Lakeland Police Department arrived on the scene. “Lakeland Police Department did really well. I believe they did the best of their ability,” Momma said. “They made sure we were protected, that the doors were sealed, that no one came in unless we let them. They stayed until we were done.” Mistah Aphrodite was there that day too. “I was angry. I was pissed off because I’m here dedicating my time and energy to raise money for people in need. We have children here who want to showcase their art, who want to do something they love, and there are people outside screaming curse words, screaming slurs,” they said. The protesters blocked the window with a 20-foot sign and projected offensive things onto the side of the building. They held antisemitic signs and yelled “things that no child should have to hear” at kids as they walked with their parents into the event. “Rose Dynasty has helped me manage my own reactions,” Mistah Aphrodite said. “It’s taught me to be composed on the outside, so I didn’t do anything rash. I stayed inside and made sure everyone else was doing okay, everyone else was safe.” Despite the disruption, the event went on. “We’re not going to let hate win,” Momma said. The incident did shake the organization, though. They now have to spend hundreds of dollars for security at every event. It’s another weight on the philanthropist’s shoulders. “We’re working on active shooter training, on how to handle protestors. We’re trying to get as prepared as we can for the ‘what ifs,’” Momma said. She lost several friends in the Pulse nightclub shooting. This hits close to home. “It’s scary,” she said. “Drag queens are supposedly causing harm to children when our children are having to do active shooter drills in school,” Momma added. “And here we are raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity, helping the community, and we’re having to think about active shooter training. […] We shouldn’t have to think about that, and it all stems from the hate that we have allowed to come into our country in the last several years.” Speaking Out Momma Ashley Rose spoke both in and out of drag against SB 1438. The Florida chapter of the ACLU described SB 1438 as “a bill that grants state agencies the power to target LGBTQ+ friendly businesses by giving the Department of Business and Professional Regulation discretionary authority to fine, revoke liquor licenses, and even shut down establishments. Additionally, it makes it a crime to admit young people to any performance, exhibit, play, or show that the state deems inappropriate, even if the child’s parents think it is appropriate for their family.” The bill, introduced by Florida Republican Senators Clay Yarborough and Keith Perry, passed 82 to 32 on April 19. “At face value, it shouldn’t affect us,” Momma said. But it has given them pause to consider how they run the organization. “Do we rename it? Do I stop doing drag? I don’t want to, and I’m not planning on it. It’s going to cost legal services. It’s going to risk going to jail. It’s going to risk losing venues – which we have already.” “It’s a blatant attack on the Queer community,” she went on. “It’s a blatant attack on the drag community. It’s a distraction from something else, from something bigger. […] When you look at the people making these accusations, they’re deflecting something, and it’s sad. […] Our suicide rate in our LGBTQ+ community is skyrocketing again, and it’s because of this fear-mongering that’s happening.” Out of the emotions Mistah Aphrodite feels about the bill, fear is not one of them. “I think the bill is just a thinly veiled attack on the Queer community as a whole because people have been entertained by drag for centuries, if not eons,” they said. “Dating back to ancient Greece, you would have men playing female roles on stage. You have all these classic TV shows and cartoons of characters in drag, and it was never a problem then. There are photos of past political leaders doing drag, and I’ve heard the excuse, ‘It was just in good fun.’ Well, what are we doing? Are we not having fun?” Rose Dynasty may now have to find more creative ways to raise funds for charity. They’ve already lost thousands of dollars a month in donations from businesses having to choose between continuing to host their drag events or risk losing their business. “It puts fear and more stress on entertainers. Not just myself but my brothers and sisters who are drag performers. What are they going to do? The restaurants are already canceling. The brunches are already closing. It not only puts a damper on the entertainment industry, it puts a damper on people’s income and for the charities we raise money for.” “The people backing these laws will never set foot in one of our events, and I’ve invited them,” Momma said. “They want to believe the hate they believe.” To counter the hate and anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and legislation, “Be an action ally,” Momma urges. “People claim to be allies, but if you’re sitting and not doing anything and you’re not helping, you’re not being an ally. If you’re being quiet and not having conversations, not donating, you’re not an action ally. We really need action allies.” “Use your voice to amplify ours,” said Mistah Aphrodite. A Ripple Momma is a fighter. Sitting for dozens of interviews, speaking in front of the Florida senate, and continuing to be outspoken on Queer issues have garnered her hateful messages and death threats. Asked why she carries on, her husband spoke up, “Who else is going to do it?” Momma’s eyes welled up with tears as she said, “Who else? I wish I had somebody like me when I was young. We all wish we had somebody like ourselves. Who else is going to fight? Who else is going to stand up for these people? Who else is going to stand up for the community?” She hopes, if not a multitude, at least one person will be changed by her words. “If nothing else, it’s shown us that people are watching, and people are listening, and it’s giving people hope. That’s why I do what I do. That’s why I spread this message of love and acceptance,” she said. “If it stops somebody from ending their life. If it stops somebody from feeling hurt, distraught – it would be worth it.” Scott DeShazo added in a hopeful tone, “It just takes a ripple.” Photographs by Amy Sexson Rose Dynasty Foundation FB @rosedynastyfoundation IG @rosedynastyfoundation www.rosedynastyfoundationinc.org

Marco Fazzini’s office is littered with stories and posters of his boxers’ successes. “I like to fix the cars to race them. I don’t just like to fix them,” he said. He looked around and added, “A lot of hard work.” Winter Haven Boxing has a winning tradition. With a coach like Marco Fazzini, and fighters like Brandon Moore and Tristan Gallichan, that tradition looks to continue. Coach Fazzini will indeed have more to add to his office wall. Fazzini, who owns the gym, has been immersed in the sport his whole life. The Frostproof native comes from a boxing family. “My grandfather was a prizefighter. We always had a gym in our house,” he said. In 1992, Fazzini’s dad brought him to Jack Leonard, who started the Winter Haven gym in 1984. “This is actually the original ring that a lot of people learned in,” Fazzini said. Leonard first boxed as an amateur at age 14 and turned professional as a welterweight. His legacy is honored with his cornerman’s jacket and photo on the wall. “He had a lot of world champions and a lot of quality fighters.” From there, Fazzini worked with Tony Morgan, who notoriously trained Andre Berto. Fazzini described Morgan as a mentor when he took over the gym in 2012. “They were big shoes to fill – I’m not going to lie. We do have a winning tradition here.” Fazzini has worked tirelessly, keeping up that tradition with a competitive roster of 12 amateurs and seven professional boxers. “It’s a serious place. If someone wants their kid to compete, this is usually where they’ll take them. People will shy away from this gym because they know they’re going to have to work a lot.” Two local Boxing pros who have put in the work, Brandon Moore and Tristan Gallichan, came to Fazzini with zero experience. “They are both products of Polk County. I started them from scratch,” Fazzini said. The pair have done their part to bring in big wins for the boxing gym, nabbing national titles on the amateur level and sweeping up gold medals at the Eastern Qualifiers and multiple Sugar Bert tournaments. “I feel really proud,” Coach Fazzini said of his fighters. “I try not to get too excited because with the highs come the lows, and in boxing, those two feelings come a lot.” TRISTAN GALLICHAN Tristan Gallichan, competing in the junior welterweight division, stands 5’8” and weighs in at 140 lbs. The 27-year-old got into boxing at age 18 and turned pro in June. He thought back to his first amateur fight at 20 years old. “Twenty fights later, I’m fighting one of the best guys in the state. Thirty fights later, I’m fighting the top tenth guy in the world. It’s been a long, crazy journey,” he said. Gallichan, who works as a sushi chef when he isn’t in the ring, says he endeavors to grow daily. He’s won numerous state, national, and Sugar Bert titles and was a semifinalist in the Golden Gloves two years ago. “I wouldn’t be anywhere without my coach,” Gallichan said. “I started out as a nobody, and now I’m a somebody.” When he first came to Winter Haven Boxing, he lacked motivation and discipline. Coach Fazzini changed all that. “He is a hard ass, but it’s with love. It’s tough love. […] If we listen to him, we know we’re going to go far in life. He’s taught me more than just boxing. He’s taught me how to be a man, how to carry myself, how to take care of other people. […] Thank God I have a coach that takes me seriously, takes the sport seriously, and takes the gym seriously. As long as I’m with him, I can’t go wrong.” The Winter Haven Boxing champ has advice for anyone looking to get into the sport. “Stay focused, stay in the gym, stay dedicated. Find yourself a good coach, find yourself good friends that are part of the gym, and keep grinding,” he said. “Because at the end of the day, you never know how far you can take yourself with this sport.” Gallichan’s goals are to see how far he can take his career and to be a positive influence in the community, especially to the kids in the gym. “The kids motivate me and make me want to stay in the gym,” he said. “As long as the kids look at me as the best in their eyes – I’m good, I’m chillin’.” Reflecting on his boxing journey, Gallichan said his biggest accomplishment has been making his parents proud. BRANDON MOORE “Brandon is on his way to probably be one of the best heavyweights in the world,” Fazzini said of Moore. The professional heavyweight from Lakeland towers at 6’6” and weighs in at 238 lbs. He played basketball at Southeastern University, where he was named Freshman of the Year, made All-Conference, and got into the Final Four. After graduating with his accounting and finance degree, Moore traveled the world as a flight attendant. Putting his accounting background to good use, Moore crunched the numbers on what sports one could play and make it to the top the fastest. Six years ago, after getting off work, he made his way to Winter Haven Boxing. “Coach told me he didn’t believe I wanted to really box,” Moore remembers. “I came to the gym, and I never left.” Growing up in Polk County, Moore said, “Sometimes I didn’t have the right guidance. […] When I came to the gym, I really was a little boy.” He was 24, just getting out of college, and trying to figure out what he wanted to do with his life. “The gym really honed it in for me.” Coach Fazzini encouraged Moore to buy his first home and even helped him build his backyard fence. That led to Moore finishing the fence and starting his own fencing and lawn companies. “Me starting those businesses made me realize how to treat boxing – as a business. You have to take all those little things seriously,” he said. The journey to pro has been arduous, but having played college basketball, Moore was used to training hard. “I knew what I was getting into when I started,” he said. He committed himself to training 300 out of the 365 days a year. “Hard work pays off,” he said. “Playing basketball, those values and that hard work, it shows you that if you apply that work to other things, it’ll be the same. If I would have put my mind to something else with the same amount of tenacity, I think I would have been as good at that as well.” Moore has gone on to the Olympic qualifiers and won a national championship, with some of his title belts on display at the gym. He’s also won several Florida Golden Gloves titles and placed in the final eight at the Golden Gloves National Championship. In 2021, Moore won the WBC Silver Title in Mexico. “This is what really broke him into the rankings,” Fazzini said. Moore’s biggest fan? His six-year-old daughter, Marley. “I really take pride in my daughter,” he said. Marley has been going to the gym with him since she was a baby. “I want her to know what hard work looks like.” Moore showed off a video of his daughter erupting in cheers from the crowd for her dad. “I only want her to see me in the capacity of winning.” While his daughter and kids at the gym look up to Moore, the professional boxer admires his coach. “He saved me when I had nothing. […] He showed me how to be a man, how to be serious. He saved my life,” Moore said of Fazzini. “When I first started boxing, I wanted to put myself into a position where I could speak to people,” Moore said. “I’m good at it, and I know I can motivate. I want to show the community that you can be from here and still be a positive influence.” Moore’s long-term goals don’t end with boxing. “Boxing is a step to put me in the right direction. I’m a big Polk County product,” he said. “You never know, I could become the mayor.” Photographs by Amy Sexson Winter Haven Boxing Gym 2510 Avenue G NW, Winter Haven (863) 207-7460 Facebook @Winter Haven Boxing Instagram @winterhavenboxing1

Edward and Ednamay Wales bought a 120-acre property in Lake Alfred during the 1950s. They moved their family from Winter Haven to live among the massive pines and sprawling pastures of the country. Around 1960, Ednamay, described by her great-granddaughter, Ansley Wales, as “a force of nature,” decided the local children needed something fun to do during the summertime. Edward, a citrus broker by day, built a lodge and locker rooms to start a day camp called the Lazy W Ranch. At its height, the camp hosted 450 elementary-aged kids each summer, busing them in from all over the county for activities like horseback riding, swimming, arts and crafts, archery, fishing, and riflery. One camper turned counselor was Winter Haven Mayor Brad Dantzler. He attended the Lazy W as a camper in the mid-70s and returned after high school for a summer job. Asked about fond and funny memories, Dantzler remembered, “Me and another girl were the horseback leaders, we would teach horseback riding.” They would put eight kids on horses in each ring to ride. “On Fridays, we had trail rides. Susanne Lindsey would be in the front, and I’d be in the back, and we’d have 16 children on horses between us.” They would ride all over the swamp and through the woods. “One particular bog we went down had a stream through it. We had this one horse, his name was Shortstop, and every time we went in that bog, he would roll over and try to roll in the water.” He laughed, “We had a running thing all week about what kid we were going to put on Shortstop.” “I will tell you, the counselors enjoyed nap time more than the kids did because we all wanted to take a nap, and the kids never did,” he recalled. At the end of each day, they had a fishing session at the pond, and Dantzler was the fishing guide. “I think they must have stocked it because everybody always caught a fish. All the kids wanted to keep their fish and take them home. We would catch these little fish […] and wrap them up in newspapers, and they would take them home to their parents. I just know they got home and had these little smelly fish wrapped up in newspaper they didn’t know what to do with.” You likely know someone who went to camp at the Lazy W. They’ll tell you all about crafts, camp songs, and competitions along with Backwards Day, Dessert Feast, and Watermelon Day. “Kids would eat watermelon as fast as they could and see how many pieces they could eat. It became a big competition to eat 42 pieces of watermelon in five minutes,” said Drew Wales, grandson of Ed and Ednamay. A high honor at the Lazy W was earning your sheepskin branded with the camp insignia and camper’s name. “If you came all seven years, you earned your sheepskin,” said Drew. After about a decade of running the camp (which ran for 35 years), Ednamay passed it down to her son and daughter-in-law, Tom and Jan Wales. “It was like the end of an era when that thing closed,” said Mayor Dantzler of the Lazy W. “It was such a moment in time that they could never recapture again.” Then Ednamay set her sights on the subsequent ranch venture – an antiques shop. THE BARN ANTIQUES “I can remember when my grandfather built the antique shop. I have memories of the beams going up,” said Drew. Just as he’d done with the camp, Edward built The Barn with his bare hands for Ednamay. “It was basically one room of antiques in the middle of orange groves and cow pastures with nothing else around.” The Barn Antiques opened for business in 1969. “She always wanted to do antiques – that was her passion after she retired,” said Ansley Wales, who runs The Barn with her parents, Dick and Susan Wales. Ansley is a procurer of all things beautiful and a generational antique dealer. She’s been in the family biz since she was two. “She was as driven as could be,” said Ansley. She took a moment to think of how best to describe Ednamay. “She had high expectations for herself and other people and was generous and fair with everything she did. […] She set the precedent for our business to be ‘what you see is what you get.’” Church, family, and running her business the right way were all of the utmost importance to Ednamay. Well, that, and fishing from her dock in the pond every day after work. When she was 88, she broke her arm, reeling in a big catch. “That does direct how we do things. I want it to remain the way she would have run it because we all respect how well she did things,” Ansley said of her great-grandmother. Ansley remembers traveling to England with her father and Ednamay each summer to collect antiques to ship back to Lake Alfred. “She would give my brother and me a pound each, and she’d say, ‘Go look for something you can buy, and when you bring it back, we’ll talk about what it is and if I think you could sell it.’” After attending school in South Carolina, Ansley returned to work in the antiques shop with her family. “I go to England about every six weeks and buy from people whose grandparents my grandmother bought from,” she said. Pieces in the store hail from England and some continental European antiques, including French, Dutch, Belgian, and Italian. Most items at The Barn date back to the early 1800s through the 1940s. Ansley has a knack for curation. She gets it from her great-grandmother. When considering a piece for procurement, Ansley thinks of her taste and that of her customers. “I’ve been working here for 10-15 years now, so you see what people like and what they gravitate towards,” she said. Ansley has recently branched into Mid-Century Modern furniture, a new style to the shop. When the hand-picked pieces arrive from across the pond, they’re inspected, cleaned, polished, and restored as needed to ensure the quality of their original condition. “We aren’t going to sell anything that isn’t ready for your home,” Ansley said. “We try not to do too much stripping and full refinishing, but if we need to, to make it usable, we will.” Walking through the four showrooms spanning 7,500 square feet is a curated labyrinth of handsome pieces from centuries past. Beyond writing desks and couches, wardrobes, and chests is a navy door. Through this door is a sun-drenched room sparkling with rows of hundreds of stained glass windows, also hand-picked by Ansley. Outside this stained glass sanctuary, dogs Henry and Ruth keep The Barn’s craftsmen company as they sand, polish, and tighten. The Barn closes every year for the summer and reopens at the beginning of October. October 7 marked the opening of their 54th season. “Our opening day is always really big,” Ansley said. Folks travel from across the country to visit The Barn both for its vast and stunning selection and its prices. “Our prices are such that we have dealers who are able to buy from us, and they pay the same price as everyone else.” Because of Ansley’s regular travels to the English countryside, “Each week you come in, you’ll see a lot of different pieces and different styles.” Over the pandemic, Ansley worked to introduce an online shop for those uncomfortable shopping in person. “It’s been the best form of growing while staying true to the initial concept,” she said. “Our customers are amazing, so it’s fun,” said Ansley. Some even say, “I was there the first day Ednamay opened.” “I think to the people who come here, it’s important too,” she said. “It’s a neat feeling that there’s a lot of years behind this and that the family has kept it the same.” The Barn Antiques 167 Co Rd 557A, Lake Alfred (863) 956-1362 FB: The Barn Antiques IG @thebarnantiques barnantiques.biz THE STABLE, SEASONS, & THE BACK YARD GARDEN SHOP Over the decades, The Barn became much more than an antiques haven. It’s grown to include several boutique gift shops and an on-site restaurant. When Ednamay opened The Barn, Tom and Jan started making Christmas ornaments and handcrafts to sell there. “That grew into all the gift shops,” Drew said. That includes The Stable Home Décor, the Seasons Gift Shop, and the Back Yard Garden Shop. Drew’s brother, Justin Wales, and husband, Matthew Rudman, run The Stable and Seasons. Drew and his wife, Adrianna, orchestrate the Back Yard Garden Shop and the Back Porch Restaurant. The Garden Shop, draped in flowers at every turn, offers yard flags, statement pieces for the yard, concrete urns and benches, as well as seasonal plants like mums in the fall and poinsettias during the holidays. Justin Wales described The Stable as a seasonal decoration shop with home accents and a home accents store with seasonal decorations. Table linens and floral arrangements are big sellers. “We have an in-house floral design staff that makes grape vine wreaths, table arrangements, all from scratch,” Justin said. Aside from being surrounded by beautiful things all day, Justin’s favorite aspect of the whole operation is the people. “We enjoy coming to work every day,” he said. “To count those people as friends, as well as hard-working wonderful decorators, is great. Then you throw that in with the customers that have been coming by for sometimes 40 years, makes the day go by so much better.” Retail may be challenging work, but Justin says the folks on both sides of the counter make it enjoyable. Many of the family, including Tom and Jan, Drew and Adrianna, Ansley, and her parents, still live on the ranch. “Mom and Dad are still involved. Dad is more involved in cheering for the Florida Gators, but Mom is still coming in whenever she can and decorating. That is her passion,” said Drew. Aside from the Wales family, the establishment is staffed with folks who are happy to be there, some of whom have worked there for 25-30 years. “We’ve got a lot of creative, talented people that work for us, and we consider them part of our family,” Drew said. Photographs by Amy Sexson The Stable Home Decor 101 Co Rd 557A, Lake Alfred (863) 956-1363 FB: The Stable Home Decor IG @thestablehomedecor stablehomedecor.com

In 1972, two women interested in helping stray animals were introduced to each other by a veterinarian. This kismet meeting would mean better lives for thousands of animals in Polk County for decades to come. Francis Gerrard and Peggy Harwick joined forces to establish what is now the Humane Society of Polk County. The nonprofit is dedicated to the prevention of cruelty to animals, the relief of suffering among animals, and the extension of humane education. Typically, with 30 dogs and 75 cats in residence at any given time, the Humane Society of Polk County took in more than 1700 animals in their last fiscal year. According to the shelter, “All accepted animals are spayed or neutered, provided with shots, tested for heartworms or feline leukemia/aids, de-wormed, micro-chipped, provided a physical exam by a local veterinarian and given comfortable shelter, food, and water.” In 1980, they built the original shelter on Sage Road. “It was just a little concrete building with cats in the front and kennels in the back,” said Humane Society Executive Director Lisa Baker. Originally from Cincinnati, Baker moved to Florida in 1987 to be closer to family. Her mother was a former water skier for Cypress Gardens. It wasn’t just family that beckoned Baker to the Sunshine State. “It’s a lot better weather,” she said. “I wouldn’t trade one foot of Florida for the whole state of Ohio.” She started bookkeeping for the Humane Society and eventually came on part-time – though there was nothing ‘part-time’ about it. She often pulled 40-hour weeks. “You just get so involved. It’s a passion,” she said. Many tail wags and puppy kisses later, in 1991, Lisa Baker became the executive director. “In 2004, Hurricanes Charley, Frances, and Jeanne all swept through and plowed right over that shelter. We had to evacuate, and we worked out of a little 8x10 room out of a vet’s office on Avenue F,” she said. They worked there for six months while renovating the storm-battered shelter. In the same year, the Humane Society of Polk County decided to become the county’s first no-kill shelter, meaning they do not euthanize animals to make space. “If a veterinarian determines it is in the best interest of the animal, we do follow their advice to euthanize,” according to their website. “The other circumstance when we would euthanize an animal is if it is deemed by our veterinarian and our animal behavioral specialist that the animal would be a danger to the public to adopt.” In June 2015, their staff of thirteen employees moved to the current shelter on Dundee Road, the former Winter Haven Furniture Warehouse. The building is 12,000 square feet on five acres of land. “The board was very forward-thinking at that time, and they allowed me to go and look at other shelters,” said the executive director. Baker visited 40 kennels in locations as far away as Georgia to investigate what equipment and methods others were using. She brought back a trove of good information that they incorporated into the design of their new space. (During our interview, two senior cats got into a small tiff. She stopped and smiled. “We’re having a bit of cattitude today.” We laughed, and the interview resumed.) When entering the shelter, one will notice separate cat rooms – one for seniors, adults, adolescents, and kittens. They have a plethora of playthings and plenty of pals to pad around with. The senior and adult rooms have cat doors accessing an outdoor screened-in room called the “catio.” “That’s why we designed these like this,” Baker said. “It’s a home environment, so you can see how they might react in your home. You can sit and spend some time with them.” On the other side of the lobby are individual cat rooms for felines who think they single-handedly rule the world. “We try to do as much green technology as we can,” Baker said, pointing out their LED lighting throughout the building and solar panels on the parking lot side of the roof. Water for cleaning the kennels and floors comes from a well, while their kitchen is on City water. The well-thought-out shelter features sound absorption and a high-tech wet/dry vacuum cleaning system in place of trenches. Everything is cleaned using accelerated hydrogen peroxide for sterilization. Each area has its own air system to avoid cross-contamination. The Humane Society didn’t sound or smell like a typical space housing that many animals. Along with adoption services, the Humane Society of Polk County provides low-cost spaying and neutering in their on-site surgery suite through SNIP, their Spay Neuter Inoculation Program. The program started for cats only, as they are the most euthanized animals in the county. Slowly, they incorporated smaller dogs and will now take dogs up to 100 pounds. “We weren’t designed to be a big spay/neuter clinic.[...] We decided we would try to build our system up to give people on the east side of Polk County a way to get their animals spayed and neutered at an affordable price without having to go all the way over to Lakeland,” said Baker. Through their adoption services, spay/neuter program, and by providing 35,000 pounds of pet food to low-income pet owners annually, the Humane Society of Polk County prevents more than 4,000 animals from being surrendered to Polk County Animal Control each year. This saves taxpayers an estimated $650,000 yearly through their public and private partnership with the Polk County Government. Another initiative of the Humane Society is their WAG University, led by Animal Behaviorist Diann Andress CPDT-KA, DN-DTC, CTDI, DN-WTWI. The pup school has classes ranging from basic manners and tricks to a Canine Good Citizen certification. The shelter also works with the dogs currently in their care. The first thing they learn is a game called Ready, Ready. Staff use 100% chicken hotdog pieces to train the dogs. “That gets them conditioned to people coming into the kennel because then they’re not as afraid of new people,” Baker said. They also work with them on staying at doors. Any dog owner knows the struggle of an escape artist every time the door opens. They teach them to wait at the door before exiting to mitigate that. “All this is instrumental to helping you when you get your pet adopted so that it’s going to be a better pet for you. That is our goal.” If you’d like to help out the four-legged friends at the Humane Society, consider a cash donation. This helps keep the shelter running and affords them resources, including new equipment like anesthesia machines and renovations. Animal food, kitty litter, old towels or bedclothes, paper towels, and cleaning supplies are also a big help. “We can always use volunteers,” Baker said. “That’s another way to give, is to give of yourself.” Show your support on December 5 at Jensen’s Corner Bar for the Humane Society of Polk County’s 9th annual Santa Paws event. The event runs from 6-9:30 pm and will feature live music by KeySoundSoul, appetizers by Arabellas, a hot chocolate station, and a specialty holiday cocktail featuring Tito’s Handmade Vodka. Each guest also receives one entry to their premium prize package raffles as a thank you. Enjoy a silent auction, and a cash bar while supporting a wag-worthy cause. Photographs by Amy Sexson The Humane Society of Polk County 3195 Dundee Rd, Winter Haven (863) 324-5227 humanesocietyofpolkcounty.org FB: The Humane Society of Polk County, Inc.

“The fudge, there is so much touch and feel that goes into that,” said RJ Webb. “If you put it into the trough just a little too soon or a little too late, that batch is a throwaway.” Fudge and employees-turned-family keep this Davenport candy shop running strong. Paul Webb courted Nadine Henderson since the first grade. They married in 1942. That’s when they purchased their first business, the Fountainette, in Mayville, New York. One month later, Paul was drafted into the Army and served under General Patton with the 3rd Army anti-aircraft artillery unit in France and Germany. “When my grandpa got drafted into the war, he and my grandma opened a fountain shop that my grandma ran while my grandpa was off at the war,” said grandson RJ Webb. Beginning in 1946, the Fountainette started selling large lollipops known as “all-day suckers,” sometimes making 5,000 lollipops a day. As sales from all-day suckers slowed, Webb looked for other appetizing avenues to sell candy. He started making goat’s milk fudge, a richer and creamier alternative to its cow milk cousin. In 1968, he built Webb’s Resort—the family-owned restaurant, marina, and bowling alley. Meanwhile, in 1932, Sun Dial Tropical Sweets was founded in Davenport, FL. In 1935, local realtor C.S. Taylor purchased the company, renaming it C.S. Taylor Tropical Sweets. When the family relocated to Florida in the 1970s, Webb purchased C.S. Tropical Sweets and dubbed it Webb’s Citrus Candies. “My grandpa was not a golfer or a fisher, he liked to work. Business excited him,” said RJ. He also started Webb’s Coppertop Restaurant in Lake Wales in 1976. In 1985, youngest son and RJ’s father, John Webb took over the Coppertop Restaurant and now owns and operates Webb’s Citrus Candies. In 1978, Webb decided to move his candy store from downtown Davenport to S.R. 27. “At the time, 27 was dead,” RJ said. “He thought that eventually this place would explode.” And he was right. Though Paul and Nadine Webb have passed away, Webb’s Candy Store continues as a family-owned and operated venture. RJ and his sisters grew up working in the family business. “From the time I was old enough to play with stickers, I was pricing new inventory,” he said. He grew up doing maintenance for the most part and always knew he wanted to go into the family business. “After my freshman year in college, I realized that no one was ever going to pay me any money to play baseball, so I got my real estate license and have been doing that since I was 20 years old,” RJ said. He assists his dad in real estate and running the family candy store. In New York, Webb was doing goat’s milk fudge, peanut brittle, and hand-dipped chocolate. Meanwhile, Mr. Taylor was producing citrus candies down south. “When grandpa bought C.S. Taylor Tropical Sweets, he combined his recipes with Mr. Taylor’s recipes, and that’s how we have what we have today,” RJ said. Webb’s Candy is also known for their vast selection of sugar-free sweets. “My grandpa had a huge sweet tooth. Once he got diagnosed with diabetes, he wanted to have the biggest selection of sugar-free chocolate anywhere,” said RJ. With copper kettles dating back to 1891 and candy tables original to Sun Dial Tropical Sweets, Webb’s continues making candy magic with most of their chocolates and centers made in-house. Even their ice cream is homemade. “Our coconut ice cream has almost a cult following,” said RJ. But what makes Webb’s Candy special? The people. “We’ve been extremely fortunate over the years with us being a small, mom-and-pop business, with the employees that we have, they absolutely became family,” said RJ. “They take good care of us.” Many have spent a lifetime churning fudge and dipping chocolate at Webb’s. Webb’s Candy Shop 38217 US Hwy 27, Davenport (863) 422-1051 webbscandyshop.com FB: Webb’s Candy Shop IG @webbscandystore

As a child, Mike & Mike’s Desserts Co-owner and CGO Mike Mitchell spent his time measuring and mixing with his mother in the kitchen – making her signature red velvet cupcakes. “He saw the love that his mom was passing along in every bite,” according to his story online. From helping his mother early on, “I understood this from a deep level,” Mitchell said. He launched Mike & Mike’s Desserts in Miami while attending school for his Bachelor of Arts degree. He initially used his mom’s recipes but transitioned to dairy-, nut-, and egg-free cupcakes. He looked at the market and saw a need for ‘free-from’ desserts that tasted just as good – if not better – than traditional baked goods. “I flipped her recipes to make it inclusive for everybody to taste,” he said. These school-friendly cupcakes are the perfect choice for those with food allergies or dietary restrictions. They’re made with intentional ingredients like oats and plant-based derivatives. Mike & Mike’s initially started with 12 flavors but dialed it into the classics, their current flavors – Strawberry 2-Step, Vanilla Beanie, and Chocolate Delight. In the future, they plan to add limited-release and seasonal flavors. The branding stems from Mike’s alter ego, “Mike-Moji.” “As a Black founder, I find profound liberation and self-expression through my art,” he noted. “His life began with my pencil sketch, and my alter ego came to life. Through him I can explore emotions and narratives that deeply resonate with me.” Baking out of a smaller kitchen, the launch was so successful that Mike & Mike’s Desserts made it into South Florida’s Milam’s Market. Demand grew, and Mitchell moved the operation to a commissary kitchen. Mitchell couldn’t keep up with the demand and took a year to put suitable infrastructure in place. That’s when he reached out to his childhood pal, Nate Kendrick. Kendrick, now the co-owner and CEO of Mike & Mike’s Desserts, went to Lakeland High School with Mitchell. The pair met in the lunchroom and became fast friends. Kendrick has been a serial entrepreneur since he was a kid selling cookies. He went on to attend school at the University of Central Florida and started several businesses, including a social media marketing company, and launched a product on Amazon before joining forces with Mitchell. “When Mike called me about a product, I thought I could take the skillset of social media and selling something from a product component and combine both of those resources,” said Kendrick. “The pitch Mike made to me was if we can make it taste just as good if not better than the artificial cupcakes, there’s something we have here.” Baking thousands of cupcakes in a commissary kitchen became cost-prohibitive for the start-up. That’s when Mitchell stumbled upon the concept of co-manufacturing, in which a business signs over their recipe through a non-disclosure agreement to a small- or large-scale manufacturer whose purpose is to manufacture that recipe to scale. According to Kendrick, it took almost a year and some change to work out the kinks. “It’s hard to scale cupcakes. Almost impossible,” he said. Mitchell and Kendrick started working to secure a co-manufacturer daily at Catapult, Lakeland’s business development co-working space. A Catapult associate knew of a potential co-manufacturer, which became their first, helping them launch into Chamberlin’s Natural Foods. From there, Mike & Mike’s Desserts got into Publix GreenWise. In 2021, the friends pitched their sweet treats to Publix (where they had both worked at one time) and got into all their grocery stores. “It was a massive accomplishment,” said Kendrick. Mitchell added, “It was a full circle moment.” “No one in the market currently is making a product like that at scale with super high-quality ingredients, very intentional from top to bottom,” said Kendrick. “Traditionally, vegan or free-from doesn’t taste good. People feel like they’re compromising.” They’ve crafted a product everyone craves, not just ‘free-from’ consumers. Mike & Mike’s is currently the only company in the market using their own cupcake blend. “We were really intentional with making a blend that was unique to where it almost tastes like it was baked at home even though it’s at scale,” Kendrick said. “There’s nothing crazy in this. They’re just normal ingredients that are better for you.” Looking towards the future of their very tasty venture, Mitchell hopes to “push the boundaries of what people think of vegan or ‘free-from,’ what they can taste like, and make people feel like they’re not sacrificing for something that’s an alternative. Trying to push that to the limit.” Kendrick called it an education process – changing the perspective on free-from foods. The pair hopes to disrupt the baking industry and inspire other minorities to follow their dreams. Find Mike & Mike’s Desserts in the Bakery freezer at all Publix locations. Photography by Amy Sexson Mike & Mike’s Desserts Mikeandmikesdesserts.com FB: Mike & Mikes Desserts IG @mikeandmikesdesserts

“I think between December and January, that’s when the berries taste the best,” according to Fancy Farms Market co-owner Kristi Grooms-Barnes. Hailing from the Winter Strawberry Capital of the nation, growing from Thanksgiving through Easter, Fancy Farms is approaching the height of its season – Valentine’s Day. What’s better than gifting your Valentine fresh chocolate covered strawberries? Each season, thousands of people travel to their acres and acres of green dotted with bright red Sweet Sensations, Medallions, Brilliance, and White Pineberries for a taste of Fancy Farms’ fresh, homemade strawberry treats. It’s the 50th crop year for Fancy Farms founders Carl and Dee Dee Grooms. The pair started their strawberry farm in 1974 with just 18 acres in Plant City. “My dad farmed with his dad. It was in his blood,” said daughter Kristi Grooms-Barnes. Over the years, the family acquired more property and reached around 250 acres at their crest. Today, they operate a commercial strawberry farm and roadside market offering seasonal desserts, local produce, and fresh flowers on 135 acres across Hillsborough and Polk Counties. Joining Carl and Dee Dee are their son, Dustin Grooms, and daughter, Kristi Grooms-Barnes. Dustin went into the military for eight years before returning to the family farm. “I like the challenge of it. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it. I like the challenge of coming out here every day being an entrepreneur, doing the best I can,” Dustin Grooms said. After graduating from college, Kristi went into marketing and advertising. She worked in Tampa for 18 years for a company specializing in real estate marketing. About four years ago, she decided to come back to what she knew – strawberries. “I wanted to come back to my family roots and help my brother and continue the legacy that my parents have built here,” she said. “I missed being here. I missed being around my family.” Aunts and uncles help at the farm and market. “It really is a farming family,” Grooms-Barnes said. “My dad has a motto, ‘Since 1974 and still learning.’” About ten years ago, the Grooms looked to retire and sold off property, ready to close shop. Dustin was the first one to raise his hand that he wanted to continue their legacy. Four years ago, “He and I came up with this idea to start this little roadside market,” said Grooms-Barnes. The idea behind the market was another avenue to sell their strawberries beyond commercially at grocery store chains. Fancy Farms has been a grower partner with the century-old Wish Farms for over 35 years. “My grandfather brought vegetables to the Wishnatzki’s when they used to do produce in the early days when they came to Florida. […] It’s a family affair. We’re all connected here in the agricultural industry,” said Grooms-Barnes. “My mom has always baked and cooked everything strawberry. We have all these family recipes that we constantly share with our friends and family,” she added. The decision to launch Fancy Farms Market was made in 2019, though they didn’t open the doors until December 2020. “It was unbelievably successful,” Grooms-Barnes said. “It was almost a movement. People want to know where their food comes from. They want to come out to the farms; they want to see where it’s grown.” Alongside their farm-fresh strawberries, the market offers strawberry shortcakes, cobbler, cookies, bread, and hand-spun milkshakes. “All the recipes are homemade right here at the market,” Grooms-Barnes said. They started baking out of a modest 14x24 foot shed they’d converted into a commercial kitchen. After the first year, they expanded their bakery space at the market. “My mom and my aunt have trained all the ladies that work for me on the recipes. They know all of our family recipes backward and forwards, just like my momma and my family do,” she said. “Everything is homemade here, and everything is fresh. The strawberries we use in our milkshakes are picked in the morning and processed to go directly into our milkshakes when we hand blend them — same thing with our strawberry shortcake. Nothing is frozen. It’s all fresh that day. It creates a different taste in your desserts because you get that tartness with the strawberry followed by that burst of sweetness.” Last year, they outgrew their bakery space again and built a third kitchen with the intention of serving lunch. “God has evolved this into something I had no idea. It’s been remarkable, and I’m very blessed,” said Grooms-Barnes. They launched a three-item lunch menu last month with a chicken salad croissant sandwich made with homemade sweet pickle relish, a strawberry BBQ pork sandwich, and Dee Dee’s famous strawberry walnut salad served on a bed of romaine lettuce dressed in homemade strawberry vinaigrette. “In the army, they taught to crawl, walk, run. That’s kind of what we’re doing with this, but the crawl part started as a trot. Each year, we plan on building and building. Who knows where it will evolve, but we definitely want to get into the education side of it to educate our youth on where food comes from and how it’s grown,” said Dustin Grooms. “My parents have been huge advocates over the years for educating youth,” Grooms-Barnes said. Fancy Farms is a regular supporter of the Hillsborough County 4H program. They’ve hosted an annual U-pick fundraiser for the group for several decades. This year, the Hillsborough County 4H Annual U-pick is scheduled for February 17 at their Plant City farm. It’s their biggest fundraiser of the year, with all proceeds going to the 4H program. Eventually the Grooms hope to start a more structured educational program inviting school children to learn how food gets onto their plate from planting a cover crop during the summer which puts nutrients back into the soil to irrigation and laying the plastic. According to Grooms-Barnes, “There’s a lot that goes into farming. I’d love to start a program to bring kids in and teach them that.” They only get off during the harvesting season when it’s raining. “That doesn’t mean that the truck didn’t break down, that you need to work on the tractor, that you’re going to be doing paperwork. You’re going to be working on something. Every day, something needs to be done on the farm. It never stops, it never sleeps, it doesn’t know if you are sick, or if it’s a vacation or a holiday,” Dustin said. “Strawberries are a very perishable crop. It’s all done by hand. It is a very labor-intensive crop.” Each of their three million strawberry bushes are hand-planted, and it takes 21 days for the berries to grow. They pick from the same bush every two to three days. The hard work isn’t done alone, however. Most farmers in Plant City are part of The Florida Strawberry Grower’s Association. Carl Grooms was one of five men to start the organization in the 80s. Its function is to help growers battle diseases, create new varieties, learn agricultural laws, and everything in between. According to FSGA, “Like all farmers, Florida strawberry growers struggle with the same issues and risks associated with food safety, economic stability and government regulations. That’s why FSGA provides access to research, resources and support that help growers proactively make their farms more efficient and competitive in the marketplace.” The organization also works in conjunction with the University of Florida to develop and crossbreed strawberries to produce the firmest berries with the best flavor that can ship across the nation – all traits the consumer looks for. There are about 80 members, with approximately 15,000 acres of strawberries grown in Hillsborough County. When strawberry season ends, the Fancy Farms Market menu changes. “We completely change the menu throughout each season to keep it fresh,” said Grooms-Barnes. Desserts change to blueberry, blackberry, and peach. While enjoying fresh blackberry cobbler, market-goers can enjoy, pick, and take photos in an endless field of sunflowers and zinnias. “It is unbelievably beautiful,” she said. Flower season is mid-May through the end of June, when they close for the summer through November. JUICY STRAWBERRY FACTS: Strawberries are in the rose family Strawberries contain more vitamin C than oranges Americans eat roughly seven pounds of strawberries per year You eat about 200 seeds with every strawberry February 27 is National Strawberry Day Photography by Amy Sexson Fancy Farms Market 5204 Drane Field Rd, Lakeland (813) 478-3486 FB: Fancy Farms Market IG @fancyfarmsmarket Fancyfarmsmarket.com

Polk County is fortunate to have so many wonderful arts festivals. From the Swan City Jazz Festival to the Lake Wales Arts Festival, to Winter Haven’s Central Park Art Festival, there are numerous opportunities to peruse fantastic visual art or hear great music. What’s missing, however, is a literary festival. When I first became Executive Director of the Polk Arts & Cultural Alliance, I wanted PACA to produce arts and cultural events that were missing from our wonderful arts and cultural landscape – think Shakespeare-in-the-Park, or a children’s book festival. This month, we’re taking a small step towards that goal with the first-ever Polk Tales: A Storytelling Festival. Working with Rogue Stage and the Orlando Story Club, we’re excited to announce that nationally recognized storyteller, Paul Strickland will be joining us for three days of interactive storytelling fun. The festival kicks off on February 9 at 8 pm in the Ghostlight Lounge at Theatre Winter Haven with Paul performing a solo set of stories that are sure to ignite your imagination. The next evening, February 10, Strickland returns with some special guests to the Polk Museum of Art in Lakeland for a 5 pm performance. Joining Strickland will be members of the Orlando Story Club and Thom Mesrobian, performing as Sharktooth Sam. Wrapping up the weekend festivities will be a children’s storytelling concert at the Florida Children’s Museum at Bonnet Springs Park in Lakeland. That event begins at 1 pm. Strickland, who originally wanted to be a songwriter, has come to see storytelling as a vital part of our communities. “We live in a time of apart-ness,” Strickland said. “People spend so much time ‘alone’ on our devices.” This “aloneness” Strickland noted often runs counter to our communal nature. “We are social creatures.  And taking in a story in a group setting is a part of an ancient experience. There’s something truly unifying in that collective experience,” he said. Thom Mesrobian, who has performed on numerous local stages in Lakeland, Winter Haven, and Orlando also recognizes the value a storytelling festival brings to Polk County. “I started Rogue Stage because I know just how much people need to hear stories. It’s the core of our human experience, and I can’t wait to see it blossom here in Polk County,” he said. Danielle Ziss and Bobby Wesley, who host Orlando Story Club events, are also excited to be bringing this artform to Polk County. “It’s an honor to participate in building connections via storytelling across central Florida,” Ziss said. “Watching relationships form after an audience engages in a teller’s story is such a rewarding experience. Some of my closest friends were made at OSC shows,” she added. Polk Tales: A Storytelling Festival will be the first time the OSC storytelling team has performed in Polk. Strickland, who will conclude the festival with Sharktooth Sam at the Florida Children’s Museum on Sunday, encourages patrons to attend as many of the festival performances as possible. “Every performance is a little different.  I always adapt the telling of the stories a bit – on the fly – to best communicate the most important things within that story to that specific set of listeners,” he said. “It’s an interactive artform, but you as an audience member don’t have to do anything but be present and listen, and be willing to let me take you on a story.” Find out more about the inaugural Polk Tales: A Storytelling Festival at polkarts.org/story. Photography Provided Ghostlight Lounge at Theatre Winter Haven 210 Cypress Gardens Blvd, Winter Haven Polk Museum of Art at Florida Southern College 800 E Palmetto St, Lakeland Florida Children’s Museum 600 Bonnet Springs Blvd, Lakeland

Everyone’s talking about it! Are you going? First Friday, launching Friday, February 2, will be a monthly family-friendly, can’t-miss event to bring the community downtown for dinner, drinks, live music, shopping, and vibes. First Friday is brought to you by Destroyer Media & Marketing. “The idea is to support local business and promote downtown,” said Destroyer Media & Marketing Partner and Publisher Chris Sexson. “Winter Haven is growing; things are happening. First Friday seems like a no-brainer for a city that’s the hub of activity. Winter Haven is becoming a hub of activity for shopping, dining, and events.” Centered around the downtown corridor, First Friday will become a flagship event for the community. Patrons can enjoy food and drink specials from downtown restaurants while dining al fresco under market lights or at our new sidewalk cafes (coming soon). They can shop with downtown businesses that stay open late for the event, and there will be live musicians and other entertainment at multiple venues. “With all of the improvements and new businesses coming to downtown – the sidewalk cafes, Bowen Yard, and more – we want to have an event for people to experience all of that downtown,” said Lyndsey Venrick, Events Director for Destroyer. “Walk around town, see some live music, grab a bite, have a drink, see a show. There’s a lot to do from a comedy club that wasn’t here a few years ago, the Ritz is active now, live music from Grove Roots, The Social, Union Taproom, soon to be Bowen Yard – there’s just a lot to do,” added Sexson. First Friday won’t be the typical tent and table market where vendors come downtown and take that money back out. This event is a celebration of all things local – a heartbeat in the pulse of downtown. “We want people to enter the retailers, the restaurants, and support the local businesses,” said Sexson. With many local retailers closing at 5, those on the 9-5 grind can’t always make it in time to shop the stores they love. First Friday gives the opportunity to patronize businesses beyond their usual hours so you can shop ‘til you drop from 5-9 pm. “Every participating business is encouraged to offer something unique for First Friday, whether it’s a drink special, a special menu item, a sale, an interactive activity, or a live performer,” noted Venrick. A complete list of participating businesses and their specials can be found at winterhavenfirstfriday.com. Over time, Destroyer looks to grow First Friday. They hope to have a spacious outdoor stage for live music and approval to carry alcoholic beverages around downtown so you can cheers from Avenue C NW to SW. Events like First Friday are the lifeblood of a community, spotlighting local businesses and providing entertainment for the whole family. “Events are an invitation. We’re inviting people to come downtown. We want to give them a reason to do so. It takes a lot to get people out of their routine,” said Sexson. “Creating First Friday generates more excitement. There’s something extra for you to come down. Whether that’s food and drink specials or the retailers open late, it supports local. Supporting local matters, and I think that light is shining brighter than ever. First Friday adds a little stardust on all those topics. Hopefully, you have such a good time you come back the next day, the next week.” In addition to weekly and monthly events like the Winter Haven Farmers Market, Slow Roll & Ski Show, and First Friday, Destroyer Media & Marketing plans to launch more festivals and individual events throughout the year. “We will also be active in the new Bowen Yard development that’s opening – doing some programming and some events there,” said Sexson. Venrick added, “Any future events we schedule will be hyperlocal and a celebration of everything here. That’s always what we try to do with our events.” FB & IG @whfirstfriday winterhavenfirstfriday.com