On Friday, March 21, at 9am The Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival kicks off in Central Park and Park Avenue in Downtown Winter Park. This is one of the nation’s most prestigious outdoor art festivals. It is ranked the “7th Best Fine Art and Design Show in the Country” by Sunshine Artist magazine and voted Central Florida’s “Best Festival” in Orlando magazine’s Best of Orlando 2013 issue. Each year more than 350,000 visitors enjoy the show. Festival hours are as follows: Friday, March 21, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, March 22, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, March 23, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Expect to see dazzling sculpture and glass for the big pocketbook as well as smaller works to please just about anyone. Enjoy Friday night’s jazz concert, children’s workshop village and school art exhibits, and great food and sidewalk cafes. Join us for this annual tradition in Winter Park, the City of Culture and Heritage. Please be sure to leave your dogs at home when you visit the festival as they are not allowed to enter the event. Thank you for your cooperation.

Come to the Casa Feliz Historic Museum, on Saturday, March 15, from 9am-2pm. We hope you will join us for our 3rd Annual Wickets to Fair Trade Croquet Tournament and Benefit! Players will have a fun time playing croquet on the field at the beautiful Casa Feliz and have an opportunity to win great prizes. After the tournament, enjoy mimosas, snacks and a silent auction.

The event cost is $50 per team of two or $40 for a student team. Equipment is provided, although you are welcome to bring your own mallet if you have one.

The funds raised at the 2014 Wickets to Fair Trade event will benefit the Ten Thousand Villages Learning Tours Fund, which allows members of our local community to directly connect with our artisan partners in developing nations and see firsthand how Fair Trade impacts their lives and communities.

On Thursday, March 20, the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Small Business Resource Network is host a monthly educational program for small business owners. The seminar series is designed with small business owners and professionals in mind and provides the necessary fundamentals of, and resources for, growing and sustaining a profitable organization in our community.

This month’s guest speaker is brought to you by Strombeck Consulting CPA’s.

Run Around the Pines 5k Presented by Florida Hospital

Hometown favorite race, with a flat, fast course which meanders through a neighborhood adjacent to Winter Park Memorial Hospital. This event benefits the Track Shack Foundation.  5k for runners/walkers with free kids run.

Come out and join the fun on February 15 at the Showalter Fields.

Zimmerman Kiser Sutcliffe Winter Park Road Race 10k and 2 Mile Presented by Florida Hospital

This is the Grand Finale of the Track Shack Running Series. The fitness enthusiasts at Zimmerman, Kiser & Sutcliffe, P.A., invite you to celebrate 37 years of running right where it all began on Park Avenue in beautiful Winter Park.  10k and 2 Mile run/walk available as well as kids run.  Special Distance Dare for participating in both 10k AND 2 mile.  For full details, visit www.trackshack.com

Lastly there will be the Run for the Trees Jeannette Genius McKean Memorial 5k.

Run for the Trees 5k run/walk is a unique point to point event. The last mile is on the tree-canopied, wilderness dirt road of Genius Drive. This privately owned glimpse of old Florida is opened to the public only once a year, for this event. All finishers receive a young tree!

Bring the family out on February 22 to Mead Garden for family fun as we race rubber ducks for charity.

Park gates open at 9:45 am and activities and races conclude at 2pm.  You can purchase your rubber ducks ahead of time at the Winter Park Farmers Market, or at the park the day of the race.

There are two races to enter, 12:15pm or the 1pm race.

Cost is $5 a duck to race, for spectators all the activities are free.

Come out and support a great charity and have fun at the same time! All proceeds go to the Mead Botanical Garden Nature Education Program, which educates the community and revitalizes the natural area through local programs.

For more information call, 407-628-4139, or visit the Mead Garden website.

Presented by the Florida Hospital, this charity run benefits the House of Hope home for troubled youth. Come to the Showalter Fields for 7:30am on February 15 and bring your running shoes and bottles of water.

The cost to enter this race has yet to be determined. For more information call 407-898-1313 or visit the Run Around the Pines website.

Purvis Young is an Urban Expressionist who paints about urban experiences and the struggles of African Americans. Young paints on  domestic items to depict scenes of life. A very provocative and influential artist of Florida, his work is on display at the Hannibal Square Heritage Center at Créalde School of Art.

For hours of availability call 407-539-2680.

For more information visit the Créalde website.

Bring your snacks and a blanket out to Central Park on February 13. Enjoy a public presentation of Romeo and Juliet at 7pm.

This February 14 join us for a networking and learning program at this month’s installment of Good Morning Winter Park. Our guest speaker will be Kimber Threet Saint-Preux, Executive Director of ITNOrlando.

We will be discussing transportation for seniors. Our STARS (Senior Transporation Affordable Reliable Safe) program will enable seniors to get back their mobility by having affordable and reliable transportation available to them.

This discussion comes with a free continental breakfast. Come out and join the discussion.

We’ll be at the Winter Park Welcome Center 7:45am networking, and 8:15 program.

The Rotary Club of Winter Park is bringing back their chili cook off. Local restaurants and caterers will compete for the coveted Peoples’ Choice award and have their dishes evaluated by a select panel of judges.  Live entertainment by Papa Jack Express, drinks, dessert and a live auction led by American Fundraising Auctions round out the evening at the Winter Park Farmers’ Market.

Net event proceeds will benefit the Rotary Club of Winter Park Foundation, which provides grants to more than 30 local charities each year.  Over the last 20 years the club has donated more than $685,000 to charities serving the Winter Park community.

So come down to the Winter Park Farmers Market this February 26 and enjoy Winter Park’s best chili.