Erika Spence: Business in the Park

Marching ahead

The year 2014 continues to march along – how is it that we are one-sixth of the way through the year already? Weren’t we just celebrating the holidays and setting resolutions?

With the arrival of March, the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce is taking a moment to reflect on the economy. Many times it is easy to swallow packaged sound bites on economic news, stock market hiccups or policy changes; it is another to analyze data and seek the trusted council of economists who spend their time researching long-term trends. For this reason, the Chamber in partnership with Rollins College Crummer Graduate School of Business is proud to host the annual Economic Update Breakfast on Thursday, March 6.

This year’s event will reflect on “The State of Business After the Great Recession.” The program features an economic overview by Dr. Bill Seyfried from Rollins College that will examine the five years since the Great Recession and provide members with information to guide their businesses forward. The remainder of the program will include a panel discussion with local business leaders on how their businesses and industries have been impacted and how they reacted and transformed their businesses in order to thrive. Panelists will include John Burden, president/CEO of Old Florida National Bank; Paul Ellis, president of CNL Commercial Real Estate; Kelly Lafferman, CMO/principal at Findsome & Winmore; and John Rivers, chef/owner of 4Rivers Smokehouse.

Art in the park

The weather is another indicator that time is marching forward, quickly. Winter boots, coats, scarves and gloves are a thing of the past already and stores along Park Avenue are filled with spring attire just in time for the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival on March 21 and 22, which feels later than normal, but the festival always starts the third Friday in March.

Kick off art festival traditions on Thursday, March 20, with some sidewalk sale shopping along Park Avenue and area side streets. The early bird gets the worm, so come out before the crowds arrive and relish your sidewalk sale finds. Then, join the merchants of Hannibal Square and the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce for an art festival weekend tradition: the Hannibal Square Wine Tasting. This evening celebration of fine wine gets everyone in the festival spirit with a street party along West New England Avenue. Sample more than 40 varieties of wine and beer, plus enjoy tasty appetizers from local restaurants and live music by The Redcoats. The event runs from 5 to 7:30 p.m. on March 20. Tickets and more information can be found at winterpark.org.

After you order wine tasting tickets, be sure to visit wpsaf.org to plan the rest of your art festival weekend. The fun begins on Friday at 9 a.m. with 225 nationally and internationally-renowned artists displaying their talent in Central Park. This is also when people start spreading their blankets on the grass near the Central Park stage for the Friday night concert.

Parking will be at a premium for the weekend, and while many local scout troupes, sports teams and school groups will organize parking lots throughout downtown, please consider supporting Leadership Winter Park when searching for a parking space. Leadership Winter Park provides leadership development opportunities for youth, adults and seniors in our community. Monies raised during the festival will support scholarships for these programs. Members of the current class, as well as alumni, will be manning parking lots on Saturday and Sunday at Florida Community Bank and Cooper, Simms, Nelson & Mosley Insurance at the corner of New York and Canton avenues (enter both lots from New York Avenue).

For updates on Chamber events and programs and other community happenings, ‘like’ our Facebook page at facebook.com/winterparkchamber or follow us on Twitter at @WPChamberFL

Erika Spence is the senior director of marketing and communications at the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce.