THE WINTER HAVEN PUBLIC LIBRARY PROUDLY PRESENTS THE 2ND ANNUAL PEEPS DIORAMA CONTEST
BUILD A SCENE FROM YOUR FAVORITE BOOK USING PEEPS AS THE CHARACTERS!
DIORAMAS WILL BE JUDGED IN THREE CATEGORIES:
AGES 14 AND UNDER
AGES 15 AND UP
AND TEAM/FAMILY
SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY APRIL 10-15
CONTEST RULES:
All people/ characters should be made using PEEPS and each entry must contain at least one PEEPS of any shape or color.
Dioramas must be submitted with your name and book title on back of the box AND a completed official entry form, available at the Library or our website.
Entries will be accepted at the Winter Haven Public Library during regular business hours, April 10-15. *Late entries will not be accepted.
Entries must be in a box no larger than 2′ X 2′.
The contents of your diorama must be secure enough to be transported.
If your diorama does not meet the previous guidelines, it will not be included in the contest.
Winners will be contacted and announced by April 21.
Dioramas can be picked up during regular business hours May 1-5 (unclaimed items will be discarded).
City of Winter Haven – Natural Resources 2023 Dates are posted for our kayak ecotour series! Join us one weekend for a free tour of one of our lakes, where the Natural Resources Division staff will tell you about the unique history, character, wildlife, and vegetation in and around our beautiful lakes! They are free to sign up at https://whkayaktours.eventbrite.com
TRAFFIC ALERT Lucerne Park Rd at Ave. U (just north of First St N) is shut down due to a power pole that was pulled down and wires in the roadway. (This involved one vehicle. No injuries or other vehicles involved)
There will be an extensive time the roadway is shut down. Drivers should avoid the area and consider alternate routes.
Team Salt Strong Wins 2nd Consecutive Year at 8th Annual Heart for Winter Haven Golf Tournament
by James Coulter
For the second consecutive year, Salt Strong won first place at the annual Heart for Winter Haven Golf Tournament.
Joel Norris loves attending the annual fundraiser to hit the links and enjoy a great lunch afterward. What they love most of all, and what keeps them coming back time and again, is the overall cause for Hearts For Winter Haven [H4WH].
“It feels good,” he said of winning. “We like them [H4WH] keeping kids off the streets as far as homelessness, and all the great work they do for the city and the county. Wonderful as always. You can’t ask for a better environment.”
Several dozen teams participated in this year’s event, the eighth annual for H4WH. The fundraiser was hosted on Monday at the Winter Haven Country Club.
The event started earlier than morning around 9 AM and concluded that afternoon with a lunch, raffle giveaway, and award ceremony at the country club.
“It was a great day,” said Executive Director Brad Beatty. “We had great sponsorship and players. Everybody had a great time raising money. We had an excellent turnout. We capped it. We had a total number of teams we wanted, and had a full field today.”
Proceeds go toward accomplishing the H4WH mission of eliminating childhood poverty and homelessness in Winter Haven. Through its programs and initiatives, H4WH hopes to eliminate childhood homelessness by 2030.
H4WH will be hosting its annual fundraiser banquet this October, where its member will be sharing its message and mission. In the meantime, they are planning for next year’s golf tournament and hope to continue entertaining people with it for many more years to come.
“I think we really put on a good event for the players, and they enjoy it, and it is a good time of year [and] a great course,” Beatty said. “We always have good food and good experience. And they say every year it is another favorite event. We keep trying to do that over and over.”
The newly constructed single-lane roundabout at the intersection of CR 653, Old Lake Wales Rd., and Old Bartow Lake Wales Rd. is now open to the public. Some minor construction activities are still pending, but traffic can now move in all directions through this intersection.
From Drunken Cubans to Bacon-Wrapped Meatballs: EggFest Offers Good Eats
Nothing beats a good old-fashioned Cuban sandwich. But what if you could enjoy all of that delicious flavor, not between two slices of bread, but inside a giant dill pickle?
That idea is the very concept of the Drunken Cuban—a dill pickle cored and stuffed with green-chili pork butt, salami, and cheese and drowned in pickle juice. These stuffed pickles prove popular with the award-winning team, Nibble Me This, at the annual Chain of Lakes EggFest, sponsored by Mannix Pools.
Chris Grove, the head team member, has been attending EggFest since its inception. His group of friends has been meeting with each other for 30 years from all across the country, from Knoxville to Tampa and Ontario. They choose the Chain of Lakes EggFest as their big annual get-together event.
The name of the group was inspired by his food blog, which he started in 2008. He has been cooking with Big Green Egg ceramic grills for more than a decade, and he has compiled many of his recipes in his cookbook: “The Kamado Smoker and Grill Cookbook.”
Grove loves the flexibility of the grill. He can cook everything and anything on it. He loves to showcase his recipes at the annual EggFest, as well as try the unique dishes prepared by other participating teams.
“I love that you can smoke with it, sear on it, cook pizza on it,” he said. “You can do anything with a Big Green Egg. If you can cook it in your kitchen, you can cook it on an Egg…We come out and enjoy mingling with the crowds. It is our way to give back to the community.”
Nibble Me This was one of the countless cooking teams attending this year’s EggFest, hosted at the Boys and Girls Club of Winter Haven last weekend. Several dozen vendors showcased their cooking talents with unique food items prepared on Big Green Egg grills, from pineapple and sausage kebabs to brisket cheesesteaks and bacon-wrapped meatballs.
On Friday and Saturday, for the price of admission, attendees could enjoy all-you-can-eat food, as well as live entertainment, raffles, and drinks. Proceeds from the event go towards the Boys and Girls Club of Winter Haven and Girls Inc. of Winter Haven.
BJ Mannix, the owner of Mannix Pools, appreciates how the community has kept the event going for several years, and how it brings everyone together to enjoy good food for a good cause.
“This year is starting out to be the best year yet,” he said. “We have amazing support from local community businesses. We have more sponsorship dollars than any other year we have. I bring that up because the community has stepped up to the plate… I cannot stress enough that our success is based on the community.”
Melanie Brown Culpepper, who volunteered with Grove Roots to sell refreshments, loves the event. She and her fellow volunteers work hard to put on the event, and she is glad to see such a warm reception for it.
“It is amazing,” she said. “A beautiful day. We worked hard this whole year to put on this event. It will be one of the best one yet. This is for a good cause that supports the Boys and Girls Club. Also Girls Inc. That is what we are here for. Just the community coming out.”
Heart 4 Winter Haven Wants Zero Homeless Children by 2030
by James Coulter
Almost 96,000 children in Florida are homeless, according to statistics from the University of Florida. Heart 4 Winter Haven hopes to reduce that number in Polk County to zero by 2030.
Since its inception nearly a decade ago, Heart 4 Winter Haven has taken the initiative of identifying homeless youth in Polk County and implementing programs to help alleviate homelessness.
“We believe poverty has been misdiagnosed,” their mission statement on their website declares. “It’s rooted in broken relationships. We bring people together through collaborations that restore relationships, build resources, and grow community.”
Heart 4 Winter Haven, a local non-profit organization, addresses homelessness through its C.A.R.E. method: Connect all sectors of their city, including government, businesses, non-profits, and churches; Alleviate poverty in all forms; Restore relationships; and Elevate the entire community.
Their many programs and initiatives are designed to address the root causes of poverty and homelessness by providing low-cost mental health counseling, helping with eviction prevention and housing stability, and offering financial education and training for people in low-income situations.
“By December 31, 2025, we will directly impact the lives and homes of 1,000 families,” their website states. “By December 31, 2030, we will ensure there isn’t a single homeless child in Winter Haven.”
Heart 4 Winter Haven celebrated the grand opening of their newest location with a ribbon cutting hosted by the Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce. The organization had previously operated in four previous locations. Their newest location was provided in part by South State Bank, explained Brad Beatty, Executive Director of Heart for Winter Haven.
Beatty and his organization have lofty goals to not only reduce poverty and homelessness in Polk County, but to completely eliminate it by the end of the decade. Their new location offers them greater space to do that, Beatty said.
“That [effort] will take a lot from all of us, and we are excited about it,” he said. “We think that is a goal worth rallying around and it fits a beautiful space like this. And our partnership with the City and the Chamber are so important with what we are doing…That [goal] will become a big deal come 2030 and something we will look back and say we were able to do something special for our community, and our community deserves that.”
City Commissioner Brian Yates commended Heart 4 Winter Haven for their efforts in addressing poverty and homelessness in the city: “Heart 4 Winter Haven is an awesome community partner. There are so many things on the government level that are difficult to get down. And that is where community partners like H4WH come in and take the torch to the end of the finish line. Brad, you are doing a great job with Heart for Winter Haven. You have a great team. And we wish you all the best of luck.”
Sarah Beth Wyatt, Winter Haven Chamber President and CEO, cut the ribbon for Heart 4 Winter Haven at their previous location nearly a year ago. It was her first act as the Chamber President.
“I hope this is your forever home, and we are so excited for all that you are doing with all of the growth,” she said. “So, it is exciting to see how you all have grown over the years, the great community partner you are to all of us…We are excited to have you all here, and we are excited to see what magic comes out of this building.”
Heart 4 Winter Haven is located at 1951 8th St NW, Suite 100, Winter Haven, FL 33881. For more information, call 863-291-6270, or contact: [email protected].
Easter Sunday may be about a week away, but the Easter Bunny arrived early at the Church of the Nazarene in Winter Haven last Saturday.
More than 50 children from the church and local community arrived to hunt for plastic eggs filled with candy and other goodies during one of the many egg hunts hosted on the church grounds.
Aside from hunting eggs, attendees could also bounce around on an inflatable obstacle course, make their own candy bags, and fill in coloring pages. Children were also able to receive their own Easter bag filled with goodies and invitations for the Easter Sunday service.
Ashley Pax joined the church as its children’s pastor last summer. Since then, she has focused her efforts on reaching out to the local community through events such as this. The egg hunt more than exceeded her initial expectations, she said.
“We are excited to see our community involved and coming out,” she said. “I love getting to meet our neighbors and meet new people out here and make new friends. The weather is beautiful and very fun.”
Church of the Nazarene will be hosting its Vacation Bible School from Jun 29 to July 2. For more information, visit the church’s Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/WinterHavenNaz
Downtown Winter Haven Road Closure This Saturday, April 1, 2023, the Polk County Schools Visual Arts Festival will be held in Central and South Central Park from 8 am – 4 pm. Ave. A between 4th & 5th Streets along with Central Ave. between 4th & 5th Streets will be blocked. Take some time and enjoy our beautiful weather and visit the Festival!
The Cultural Arts Advisory Committee will meet Tuesday, April 4, from 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm in the Florida Room at Nora Mayo Hall, 500 Third Street, NW, Winter Haven.
The Cultural Arts Advisory Committee (CAAC) was established by Resolution R-14-13. The CAAC provides guidance and recommendations to the City Commission, staff and community on items such as the development of cultural arts programs and events; communication, dialogue and exchange of ideas; and advocacy for expansion and enjoyment of the community’s cultural art facilities; potential projects and initiatives related to cultural arts; serves as sounding board for public input about cultural arts issues and opportunities; and makes recommendations regarding allocation of City funds for capital expenditures related to cultural arts.
