The quaint city of Winter Park FL is no doubt a great destination to spend the holidays in. With the fast green scenery mixed with modern innovations, it has that small town feel, without the lack of big city features. For the yuletide season, it played host to the first leg of the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra’s annual Holiday Pops concerts a few years back.

Happening all over Central Florida, the first of the three-concert series was held at Winter Park FL’s Central Park – a perfect choice for such a musical event.

Over the years, the Orlando Philharmonic’s annual Holiday Pops Concerts have become a regular attraction in the Central Florida area. The celebrated orchestra specializes in a wide variety of holiday classics, with vocalists belting out familiar tunes that entice the crowd to sing along with them. Each year, the concerts attract more and more people, ranging from couples looking for a romantic time, or families who want to spend that special time together as one. Whoever you are or whatever you do, you’re more than welcome to the join in on the musical festivities!

For the Winter Park FL stop, the concert took place outdoors, so everyone got to bring a blanket along, and others even brought some snacks to compliment the performance.

For those who somehow missed the first stop, they were more than happy to head down to Winter Haven’s Polk Community College for the second leg and Winter Springs’ Central Winds Park for the third.

Don’t miss out on this wonderful opportunity to have a memorable holiday season on Winter Park FL by checking out the Orchestra’s holiday event calendar!

The second Kids Fore Kids Golf Tournament, which was held a few months ago on September 12, 2009, was without a doubt a smashing success. Playing host to the event was the Winter Park Country Club in Winter Park FL. The city boasts of a rich history and fast green scenery anyone will surely love. With the combination of that small town feel and up to date facilities, Winter Park Florida is a perfect golfing destination.

And speaking of golf, Winter Park Country Club’s history includes play from the likes of Hogan, Snead, Sarazen and Hagen. Of course, this isn’t to say that those who took part of the games had a tough time with the course.

With over 33 players in participation, ranging from ages 4 to 14, everyone had fun in the in the 9-hole “best ball” scramble as they played in teams of 4. Special congratulations go to tour tournament founder Gavin Fitzgerald, age 9, as well as all the other kids who participated.

The children were cheered on by family and friends in Winter Park FL, including Gavin’s parents and tournament organizers Sondra and Cody Fitzgerald; PGA golf professional, WPCC Head Pro and co-organizer Brendon Elliott; and PGA Tour player Bart Bryant.

Family and friends, including Gavin’s parents, Sondra and Cody Fitzgerald were not left out as they cheered on their kids. Special guests who graced the event were PGA golf professional, WPCC Head Pro and co-organizer Brendon Elliott and PGA Tour player Bart Bryant. In addition, Florida State Senator Gary Siplin was also present to support the tournament and his son who also joined the games.

Thanks to the very successful event, the Kids Fore Kids Foundation has raised over $10,000, all going to children’s like the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies making the folks at Winter Park FL even more proud.

Central Park residents can now look forward to a season of pure skating bliss and pleasure. The city of Winter Park FL is gearing up for “Winter in the Park”, starting Friday, November 20, 2009 until Sunday, January 3, 2010. It’s a freezing treat for locals like me and travelers alike. This is the first time that the city will have its own ice skating rink in Central Park West Meadow in the downtown area.

For only $10 per skater, one can already glide, spin, turn and enjoy time with friends and family the whole day. This fee already includes skate rental so there’s no need to bring those bulky skates along. The more the merrier as those gliding in groups of 10 can take advantage of group discounts and rates.

Private parties or exclusive rentals of the ice skating rink are available from Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. as well, perfect for those who are looking for other options when it comes to celebrating the Holidays in Winter Park FL. For regular ice skaters, the rink is available from Mondays through Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. During the weekends, people can skate all they want from 10 a.m. to 10.p.m. On Sundays, they can start gliding at noon until 6 p.m.

“Winter in the Park” will feature something special every night. Special frosty nights include date night for lovers, snow angels can glide gracefully during the local schools’ night and our very own “Politicians on Ice”. These nights are really what locals should look forward to and we can even invite relatives from neighboring cities and states. Great additions to the chilling Holiday experience in Winter Park FL are Holiday music, Santa appearances for the kids to enjoy, carolers and games.

To get to know more of “Winter in the Park, interested parties can call 407-599-3203 or browse through www.cityofwinterpark.org.

Don’t miss this chance to take home $100, $50, and $25 Dexter’s gift card by simply putting on your best Halloween Costume this coming Saturday at Dexter’s Winter Park FL.

Our very own Winter Park FL Fire-Rescue Department Chief, James White, and the rest of the boys in his department brings one home from the recently concluded 2009 Fire Rescue International (FRI) Conference and Exposition held at Dallas, TX with none other than the “Garry Briese IAFC Safety Performance Award” which was cosponsored by Salamander Technologies.

The award is one of 4 awards given by the Safety, Health and Survival Section Awards Program and it is presented only to the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) member to commemorate the individual’s achievement and commitment in the health and safety fields.

What could our beloved Winter Park FL Fire-Rescue department have done again this time to deserve such a prestigious award? Nothing much really. They just somehow manage to design, develop and then implement a safer patient compartment for the country’s ambulances used by firefighters. Dubbed the Ambulance Safety Initiative (ASI), the compartment features a vast improvement in the restraint systems in ambulances that the paramedics and patients use. Overall, thanks to the ASI, paramedics can now safely treat patients thanks to the innovative design of the device.

Just to put things into the right perspective on how difficult it could be to win this award, the IAFC is composed of more than 1.2 million able and witty fire chiefs and emergency responders in the country. And we all thought our guys at the Winter Park FL Fire department had more than enough to take care of, they still managed to squeeze in some valuable time to come up with something totally worthy of everyone’s praise. Oh well, must be just another day at the office for Chief White and his crew.

On October 31, 2009, The City of Winter Park FL will host its 6th annual Family Fall Festival, happening from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., in Central Park. This serves as the kick-off event for Orange County’s Week of the Family Celebration which also runs on the 31^st of October until the 7^th of November. Aimed at bringing together families and the community, the ceremony—to start at 11:30—will be lead by Mayor Kenneth W. Bradley.

With plenty of family activities such as interactive inflatables, a children’s costume parade, old-fashioned hay rides, pumpkin patches in the park, family history information and interactive displays by Winter Park FL Historical Museum, art workshops by Crealde School of Art and many more, this is one event everyone in the area should watch out for.

In addition, patrons are sure to enjoy the free popcorn, snow cones, cotton candy, hot dogs and assorted drinks offered at the event. But it’s not all fun and games, as they are also requested to donate much needed shoes for the Week of the Family “Heart & Sole” shoe drive in support of the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida.

Also participating are the Winter Park FL Police and Fire-Rescue departments who will give fire safety advice, biking safety tips and free candy and treat bags. To help families live healthy lifestyles, the Crosby Wellness Center YMCA, the Winter Park FL YMCA and Orange County Public Schools Food and Nutrition Services Department will sponsor heath and nutrition programs aimed at educating the public.

Even more, Scooby Doo will grace the event to mingle with the kids, courtesy of Bright House Networks™. And last but not least, families are set to have a blast with “Trick or Treat on Park Avenue” with everyone getting treats from different stores between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

These and other more activities happening at Orange County’s Week of the Family Celebration!

For details and information on the City of Winter Park’s 6th annual Family Fall Festival, kindly call 407-599-3506 or visit www.weekofthefamily.org.

One of the oldest golf clubs in the Central Florida can be found on Winter Park FL, the Winter Park Country Club (WPCC) will host the sixth installment of the first Golf Lecture Series presented by Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children on October 6, 2009, at 6 in the evening. The series which continues each month until December showcases some of golf’s most celebrated PGA® and LPGA TOUR® players as well as fitness gurus, mental coaches, golf historians and other experts in the sport. Tickets for the sixth installment are priced at only $10 at the WPCC.

The Winter Park Country Club, a place rich in history, traces its roots back to 1900. The club has successfully maintained its stature in the golfing world, hosting some of golf’s biggest events. The club’s history includes plays from the likes of Hogan, Snead, Sarazen and Hagen. Featuring 2,470 yards of golf from the longest tees for a par of 36, it has a rating of 32.4 and a slope rating of 50 on Bermuda grass.

Lee Janzen

On this month’s lecture, the Winter Park Country Club is proud to bring over Lee Janzen as the guest speaker for October’s session. Janzen is known for being an eight-time PGA Tour winner and two-time US Open winner. Drawn to golf at an early age, he won his first tournament at 15, playing for the Greater Tampa Junior Golf Association. In the next few years that followed, Janzen along with the Florida Southern team won the Division II national team championship. He turned pro in 1986.

For details and information on the lecture series, please call 407-599-3339 or e-mail winterparkgolf@cityofwinterpark.org.

Score your tickets now. Space is limited so grab this opportunity to hear from the masters of golf.

For the fifth time in a row, Rollins College of Winter Park FL still holds the top honor for the annual rankings of “America’s Best Colleges”. The college has bested 117 master’s-level universities in the South of the country yet again.

One of the main factors that has contributed to Rollins’ firm grip on the top spot of the rankings include small class sizes with 67% of the classes that has students numbering less than 20. This figure makes Rollins College of Winter Park FL better than Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cornell University, University of Notre Dame, Dartmouth College, and John Hopkins University whose respective ratings for the category are 65%, 58%, 55%, 63%, and 65% respectively.

While smaller class sizes make for better learning, the quality of faculty makes for quality lessons and 94% of the faculty working full-time at Rollins College of Winter Park FL, students has a better chance of landing with a subject matter expert that is proud and happy as a college professor. This percentage makes Rollins better than larger-than-life names like Princeton University or even Yale University among others.

For Rollins College, the honor of being the South’s best college is just one of the many fruits of the hard labor that their students, faculty, alumni, and recruiters who have been dedicated in producing students who are not just extraordinary leaders but also active contributors in their respective communities since 1885.

With all the distinctions garnered by the Rollins College of Winter Park FL, any student planning to get a degree in the field of Arts or Business is far from being wrong to choose Rollins College, America’s Best College in the South.

With the relaxing and natural ambiance in Winter Park FL, it is naturally a great place to spend the day walking at your own pace while enjoying the historical sites and sounds. In fact, there might be no better way to enjoy either the sunset or the sunrise in Park Avenue or along the seemingly endless stream of lakes found nowhere else in the country.

Winter Park FL is considered to be one of the top spots to visit in the U.S. and walking in such calming atmosphere is one of the reasons for such. With the city government openly supporting the activity as a mode of recreation and transportation, walking in Winter Park FL is guaranteed an experience to write home about.

True to the city government’s pro-pedestrian campaign, they even set-up a Pedestrian & Bicycle Advisory Board composed of resident pedestrians and cyclists to work hand-in-hand with the city hall in making Winter Park FL a better place to walk. And, with the board’s mission “To create and promote a viable and safe pedestrian and bicycle-friendly infrastructure and promote these modes of transportation throughout the city”, anyone wishing to walk their way around Winter Park FL is guaranteed to have a safe and truly memorable experience.

With over 20 years of serving good food and wine with a twist of fun and creativity on 3 physical locations in the Orlando area, including one in Winter Park FL, Dexter’s has always meant good value for money in every bite of their freshly cooked dish and in every sip of their hand picked wines.

Dexter’s dining experience is ever-changing with monthly menus that reflect the seasonal changes and availability of ingredients to insure only the freshest make it to every plate at a cheaper price. This plus the live bands and contemporary art pieces with no cover charge make Dexter’s the place to be for the cool folks of Winter Park FL and the Orlando area.

With numerous awards under its belt, including the “Best Brunch in Orlando”, Dexter’s is guaranteed a must-dine and wine in Winter Park FL, Thornton Park, and Lake Mary.