The 4^th of July is just around the corner, and in anticipation of this annual event, the City of Winter Park is getting ready to present their yearly Olde Fashioned 4th of July Celebration this Saturday, July 3. The celebrations begin at exactly 9 in the morning, running until 1 in the afternoon here in Central Park. Those who want to join the fun are encouraged to come in red, white, and blue.

People are also asked to bring a blanket or beach chair so they have something to relax on while watching the show, which is expected to draw in hundreds of families and people from all over the city.

Taking up the assignment of entertaining the audience with music are the Bach Festival Brass Band and the Bach Festival Choir, who will both be belting out classic patriotic music. Meanwhile, kids, and the whole family for that matter, can check out and ogle at the horse wagons, the Rockin’ Roadster Road Show, the Orlando Cloggers and a whole lot more.

You might also want to take your children early to the celebrations and let them enjoy the annual bike parade at 9 in the morning, which kicks off at City Hall all the way to Central Park.

Mark your calendars and don’t forget to bring the gang along with you!

Business owners in the City of Winter Park, Florida, have a real reason to smile as the city’s Purchasing Division presents its monthly Vendor Orientation Program on the 8^th of July, Thursday, at 10 in the morning. The presentation takes place at the City Hall Commission Chambers, located along 401 Park Avenue South.

The program is open to business owners in Winter Park, as well as those interested in making investments here in the city. The program also presents interested parties a golden opportunity to sit down and talk with Winter Park’s Purchasing Division staff and have their queries answered and discussed in detail.

Happening every first Thursday of the month, these sessions will feature a presentation on PowerPoint helping both existing and prospective business owners get a clear picture of how the city’s purchasing system works. In addition, a question and answer opportunity takes place at the end of each meeting.

If you’re interested, all you have to do is sign up for the Vendor Orientation Program. Start now by sending an e-mail to purchasing@cityofwinterpark.org or by calling the Purchasing Division at 407-599-3315. Interested parties are asked to leave their contact details and company affiliations.

Coffee lovers listen up! If you have some beans to grind, some coffee thoughts to share, or if you simply want to enjoy a hot, brewed cup of Joe, then CoffeeTalk just might be the perfect cup for you. Hosted once more by the picturesque City of Winter Park, the popular CoffeeTalk series invites coffee lovers and the rest of the community to join in on good conversations over a cup of coffee.

City residents have always felt that speaking in large public meetings with city officials in attendance to be intimidating and quite frankly, stressful. CoffeeTalk aims to provide residents with a calm setting to share their concerns with the City Manager, City Commissioners, and of course, Winter Park’s Mayor. The goal is to encourage folks to relax and to calm their nerves in a discussion that’s more intimate and comfortable. Tasked with providing that atmosphere is Palmano’s Coffee Roastery and Espresso Bar, who’ll be providing free coffee to guests and officials.

The Winter Park Welcome Center located along West Lyman Avenue will be playing host to the 1-hour CoffeeTalk sessions, which is spread out from the 10^th of June until the 18^th of November.

Mark your calendars and don’t miss out on great discussions for the betterment of the city.

One of Central Florida’s grandest and most beautiful golf courses is hosting a few events to kick off the summer season.

The Winter Park Country Club (WPCC), located in Winter Park, Florida, will be playing host to a number of events as a way of welcoming the warmer months. For many golfing aficionados, the WPCC still offers an excellent golfing experience despite its age, with tight fairways and domed greens that will challenge even the most experienced pros out there. As the years passed, the WPCC has become a course rich in history, playing host to some of the world’s best golfers such as Walter Hagen, Sam Snead, and Ben Hogan.

And with summer finally upon us, the WPCC is giving you another reason to pay them a visit. Be ready to hit the links and check out some of these summer events. First off is the Ladies Only Scramble, taking place on the 6^th of June, from 8 to 11 in the morning. Those aspiring to be pro women’s golfers can then try out the game themselves thanks to a Women’s Golf Clinic taking place the next day at 1 in the afternoon.

And as a way of celebrating Father’s Day, the WPCC will be holding the 3^rd Annual Father & Son Scramble on the 20^th of June, at exactly 8 in the morning.

These and more events are taking place this month, so be sure to mark your calendars and don’t miss out!

In a move to preserve the memory of the late tennis player Nancy Corse Reed, the City of Winter Park’s Parks & Recreation Department will be dedicating the Azalea Lane Tennis Pavilion in her name on the 17^th of May. The pavilion is located at the Azalea LaneTennis Center, along Azalea Lane in Winter Park. The ceremony begins at exactly 12 noon, followed by a luncheon where donations worth $12.50 will be collected from each of the guests.

The City however, doesn’t want this day to be sad. In fact, they’re hosting a round-robin tennis tournament in honor of Reed on Monday, which kicks off on the same day at 9 to 11:30 in the morning. Call time for the players is set 30 minutes before the tournament. Since slots for the games are limited, interested players are asked to RSVP before the 7^th of May. You can make a reservation by calling 570-249-0088 or sending  pat.handwerk@gmail.com an e-mail.

Born in Minnesota, Nancy Corse Reed grew up in Maryland, where she found a love for tennis at a tender age. She became a star at Rollins College, where she took the spotlight as a member of one of the best teams in the United States.

In the years that would follow, Reed would become an international tennis sensation, taking the number one seed in the 35 to 65 year age division.

With the summer fast approaching, the City of Winter Park formally announced the kick-off date of the 2010 Florida Collegiate Summer League, a sporting event that not only gives the public a chance to watch first-rate baseball, but also provides them with clean community-oriented fun.

The season’s first pitch will be thrown by Winter Park City Manager Randy Knight, in a game against the Sanford River Rats which is set to take place on the 4^th of June, at 7 in the evening. The Rollins College Alfond Stadium, located along the corner of Orange and Aragon Avenues in Winter Park, will be playing host to this summer’s season opener. The home team, the Diamond Dawgs, are in for an exciting season, and are slated to host 23 games here in the city.

Tickets are priced at only $5.00 each, and kids under the age of 6 can get it for free. Running on its 7^th straight season, the Florida Collegiate Summer League is a wood-bat collegiate baseball league that highlights some of the best college baseball players in all of the United States.

Needless to say, if you’re a true-blue baseball fan, then this is one tournament you shouldn’t miss.

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Got a green thumb? Then you’re sure to love one upcoming event here in the City of Winter Park.

The Winter Park Neighborhood  Council is set to once again host the lecture series ‘Green Gardening,’ in picturesque Winter Park. This year’s series features classes and lectures with the presence of renowned landscape artists and architects as well as talks from celebrated gardening specialists and masters of the hobby. Green Gardening takes place throughout the months of May, July, and October.

The city’s Environmental Review Board is working together with the Neighborhood Council to encourage the community to participate in the series of lectures so they can know more about the ins and outs of gardening and landscaping. This is done in an effort to have the most number of certified Florida-Friendly Yards in the state.

The Florida Yards & Neighborhoods program is a campaign that showcases homes that boast of eco-friendly gardening and landscaping techniques. These yards are thus called Florida-Friendly Yards, and are recognized for their minimized use of potable water for irrigation, which reduces the risk of harming the environment through the use of excess pesticides and fertilizers.

A yard doesn’t need to follow a template to be recognized. It’s how a homeowner keeps his garden looking good and environmentally friendly that counts the most.

Come Mother’s Day, the Winter Park Memorial Hospital will be unveiling its gift to the city’s moms: a new maternity wing that’s equipped with spa features that give off a relaxing vibe – something which most hospital fail to do these days.

The expanded wing of Dr. P. Phillips Baby Place boasts of free massages for mom, soothing afternoon tea, and a snazzy lounge where delicious smoothies are served. All the rooms in the wing come with a large HDTV, DVD player, and relaxing flameless candles and high-end beauty soaps in the bathroom. Each room also has an iPod dock so pregnant ladies can listen to music while they’re in labor. Whether its nature sounds, rock music, or rhythm and blues, your choice of music is totally up to you.

And if that’s not enough, dads also get to enjoy free massages, or they could just choose to calm their nerves at the lounge. Pregnancies can be tough on dads too you know.

Expecting mothers first get a tour of the facility when they’re 28 weeks pregnant. They get to see the amenities, check out the services, and get a feel for the place that’ll be they’re home for a few days come the Big Day.

With hospitals all over the country competing for maternity patients, it’s good to know that the City of Winter Park, Florida, isn’t about to be left behind.