By Capers Gay
An event to celebrate the holiday of Juneteenth was approved by the Lake Wales City Commission at the May 7, 2025 meeting. The holiday, meant to commemorate the abolishment of slavery, will have its own Lake Wales celebration on June 14, 2025.
The event will last from 3pm to 7pm and will require Lincoln Avenue between D Street and B Street to be closed from 10am to 10pm. Alcohol will be served, and the event will feature a DJ, live music, vendors, and food trucks. There is estimated to be no fiscal impact as the event is unbudgeted and paid for by the Juneteenth Lake Wales LLC/Lincoln Community Development Corporation. This same group will fully reimburse the city for the police and public service costs.
The special event permit passed the committee’s consent agenda without any controversy or comment from the public, though a committee member did note that the large amount of items on the consent agenda opened them up to criticisms of rubber-stamping permits.
