The Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival is one of the nation’s most prestigious outdoor art festivals, consistently rated among the top shows by Sunshine Artist and American Style magazines. Each year more than 350,000 visitors enjoy the show. Join us for this annual tradition in Winter Park, the City of Culture and Heritage. Festival hours are as follows: Friday, March 16, from 9am to 6pm; Saturday, March 17, from 9am to 6pm and Sunday, March 18, from 9am to 5pm.

Festival takes place in Central Park in Downtown Winter Park. For more information visit the festival’s official website at www.wpsaf.org.

Races are always a great way to fundraise for local community projects and a healthy sport to enjoy. For the upcoming races in Winter Park Florida in January and February read through the below information.

Seasons 52 Park Avenue 5.2k presented by Florida Hospital
Location: Central Park on Park Avenue, Winter Park 32789
Saturday, January 21, 2012
7:30 a.m. 5.2k mile run/walk
8:45 a.m. Free Healthy 100 Kids’ Run
Proceeds benefit Florida Hospital will benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida and the Track Shack Foundation.
Contact: 407-896-1160 or www.trackshack.com
Registration required.
Entry fee: Thru Jan 14 $24
Jan 15-Jan 20 $28
Race day $35

Florida Hospital Lady Track Shack 5k
Location: Mead Garden in Winter Park
Saturday, February 4, 2012
7:30 a.m. 3.1 mile run/walk
8:45 a.m. Free kids’ run
Benefiting Florida Hospital Track Shack Cancer Screening Program
Contact: 407-896-1160 or www.trackshack.com
Registration required. Entry fee:
Thru Jan 28 $24
Jan 29-Feb 3 $28
Race day $35

House of Hope Run Around the Pines 5k presented by Florida Hospital
Location: Showalter Field, 2535 Cady Way, Winter Park, 32792
Saturday, February 18, 2012
7:30 a.m. 3.1 mile run/walk
8:45 a.m. Free Healthy 100 Kids’ Run
Benefiting The House of Hope
Contact: 407-896-1160 or www.trackshack.com
Registration required. Entry fee:
Thru Feb 11 $24
Feb 12-17 $28
Race day $35

Join Winter Park on October 22, 2011 for the 1st Annual Cows‘n Cabs. Grab your “cowboy” dress, boots, jeans, hats, and spurs and head to Central Park – West Meadow, 150 North New York Ave., Winter Park, FL, 32789. This will be a cowboy cooking event with wine and craft beer benefiting three great causes!

Cows ‘n Cabs is a fundraiser to benefit non-profit charities that assist families in need within the Central Florida area. C ‘n C has a lineup of top chefs from around the region paired with fantastic wines and craft beers.

This “Western” themed culinary event will feature live entertainment, including a band, live auction, and a raffle with all proceeds benefitting Coalition for the Homeless, Community Outreach and the Winter Park Y Scholarship Fund. Cows ‘n Cabs hopes to raise much-needed funds for these non-profits that work diligently to instill hope and assist in stabilizing the lives of those stricken by poverty in our community.

For more information visit www.cowsncabs.com.

The City of Winter Park will present their 16th annual Olde Fashioned 4th of July Celebration on Monday, July 4, 2011, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., in Central Park.

Mayor Ken Bradley will lead a special presentation at 11 a.m. from the main stage to honor the recent listing of the downtown historic district on the National Register of Historic Places. The celebration will feature live patriotic music performed by the Bach Festival Brass Band and the Bach Festival Choir, horse-drawn wagon rides, the Orlando Cloggers, the Rockin’ Roadster Road Show and much more! Children’s activities will include the annual bicycle parade at 9 a.m. from City Hall to Central Park, as well as fun games and inflatables.

Come for an afternoon of music and romance with Michael Andrew and Swingerhead in Downtown Winter Park.

Sunday February 13 from 4-6:30pm.

Concert is free and made possible by the Park Avenue Associations.

To celebrate the re-opening of the City of Winter Park’s crown jewel, Central Park, the city’s Public Art Advisory Board showcased its newest “Art on the Green” exhibition, which highlighted the works of Chris Scala and Barbara Sorensen. “Art on the Green 2010” featured an exhibition of sculptures: Barbara Sorensen’s Dwellings in Red, and Chris Scala’s Trailer.

Dwelling in Red is Barbara Sorensen’s continuing investigation of the vessel form. It was made with intricately woven powder-coated aluminum with a bright red color finish. The sculptures, which relate to each other, also captivate the viewer—a clear sign of Sorensen’s focus on human-landscape relationships.

Chris Scala’s piece on the other hand, concentrates on his interest in the study of privacy, transparency and light. Taking ordinary copper wire and stainless steel, he’s woven them into a fabric, resulting in sculptures that look either transparent or opaque, all depending on how the light strikes them. Scala’s work is based on the travel trailers of yesteryear, and is made entirely of metal fabric.

For details and information on “Art on the Green,” you can contact the Winter Park Public Art Advisory Board at 407-599-3498. You can visit the exhibition at Winter Park’s Central Park.

To celebrate the completion of renovations to the City of Winter Park’s crown jewel, Central Park, the City will be hosting a Grand Opening Ceremony on the 20^th of October at 9 in the morning to mark this momentous and long awaited occasion. The two-phase renovation process was first completed in July this year, with phase II finished earlier this month, just in the nick of time for the annual Winter Park Autumn Art Festival.

As a way of celebrating the Grand Opening, the Winter Park Public Art Advisory Board will also unveil their latest exhibition, “Art on the Green,” which will showcase the works of Chris Scala and Barbara Sorensen.

But it’s Central Park that’s really the star of the show. The park has always been one of Winter Park’s most special tourist spots, a place where everyone can come together to have fun, to reflect or simply to enjoy the warmth of the sun.

Renovations to Central Park include the improvement and addition of a new electrical system, light posts, sod, landscaping, wider sidewalks and a new irrigation system that uses water more efficiently. The renovations were made as part of the Central Park Master Plan, a proposal first accepted by Winter Park in 2002.