Winter Park City Talk

Happy 4th of July!

On behalf of the city of Winter Park, I wish you a safe and happy Independence Day. Here are some important events and information as it relates to holiday festivities in Winter Park:

City Hall closed

City Hall will be closed Friday, July 4, in observance of Independence Day. City offices will re-open at 8 a.m. on Monday, July 7. Household garbage, yard trash and recycling collection services will not be provided on July 4. Normal services will resume on the next regularly scheduled collection day.

Fireworks safety

As you celebrate Independence Day this weekend, please remember to leave fireworks up to the professionals. In Florida, virtually all fireworks except sparklers are considered illegal and can turn any amateur fireworks festivity into a tragedy. Keep your friends and family safe this year by letting professionals do the show. Have a safe and happy 4th of July celebration!

4th of July celebration

The city of Winter Park will present the 19th annual Olde Fashioned 4th of July Celebration on Friday, July 4, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Central Park. Mayor Ken Bradley will lead a special presentation at 9:15 a.m. from the main stage. Wear your red, white and blue, bring a blanket or beach chair, and gather with family and friends to enjoy this Winter Park tradition.

The annual celebration will feature live patriotic music performed by the Bach Festival Brass Band and Bach Festival Choir, horse-drawn wagon rides, Orlando Cloggers, Rockin’ Roadster Road Show and much more! Children’s activities will include the annual bicycle parade at 9 a.m. (lineup begins at 8:30 a.m.) from City Hall to Central Park, as well as fun games and inflatables. Free hot dogs, watermelon and water will available for all to enjoy, while supplies last. Remember to support the event vendors when you get your hot dog, buy some chips and a soda. For more information regarding the 19th annual Olde Fashioned 4th of July Celebration, please call 407-599-3463.

Museums joining 4th of July celebrations

In addition to all the festivities, The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art will also present their Independence Day Open House. The museum, which is home to the world’s most comprehensive collection of work by American artist Louis Comfort Tiffany, will provide free admission to its galleries from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Winter Park Historical Museum, located at 200 W. New England Ave. (north end of the Farmers Market building) will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Please stop by to see the new exhibition, “Whistle in the Distance: The Trains of Winter Park.” Museum admission is free and they will be serving complimentary old-fashioned lemonade to all visitors.

City website gets internal makeover

The city’s most comprehensive resource, cityofwinterpark.org, is transitioning into a new content management system (CMS) and will be launching that system next week. Users will notice a fresher, more up-to-date design with a newer look and feel. It will also be easier to navigate, run more efficiently, and provide an even better user experience.

A majority of the changes were made to the “back-end” programming, organization and management, allowing the city’s website to become a more technologically advanced administrative tool for information sharing. Because of the tremendous amount of content and initial transitioning period, you may experience broken links. If this occurs, please let us know what page you found the missing link on by emailing [email protected] and our Communications Department will correct it as quickly as possible. By transitioning to this new system, you will also need to update any bookmarks that have been saved previously, as the page address will be different.

The Communications Department continually strives to improve and enhance cityofwinterpark.org to make it more effective and intuitive for our users to find information. Thank you for your patience and support during this transition.

New England Avenue streetscape project

On Monday, July 7, demolition of the intersection of New England and Interlachen avenues will begin for the installation of bricks, new traffic signals, and decorative mast arms. The entire intersection will be closed to traffic, so travelers in that area will find detour signs to assist in navigation. Local business and resident driveway access will remain open along New England and Interlachen avenues. Completion is expected by Thursday, July 31, barring inclement weather or unforeseen circumstances. Every effort will be made to keep inconvenience to a minimum during this time frame. Thank you for your patience as the city continues to make improvements to its infrastructure.

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