Winter Park City Talk

Spring Pops Concert

The city of Winter Park will proudly host the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra as they present Spring Pops “Voices of Spring” on Sunday, April 6, at 7 p.m. in charming Central Park in downtown Winter Park. Bring your blankets and lawn chairs to enjoy an evening of heart-warming music under the stars. This wonderful performance is made possible by a generous grant from the Charlotte Julia Hollander Trust. The event is free and open to the public.

Conductor Paul Hostetter will lead the Orlando Philharmonic in a program titled “Voices of Spring,” featuring light classical works and selections from American musical classics by Leonard Bernstein, Leroy Anderson, George Gershwin, Rodgers & Hammerstein and Lerner & Lowe. Featured soloists Natalie Cordone and Shawn Kilgore will perform “The Girl from Ipanema,” “It Might as Well Be Spring” from “State Fair,” “Oh What a Beautiful Morning” from “Oklahoma!,” “Do-Re-Mi” from “The Sound of Music,” and others.

Paul Hostetter is the conductor and artistic advisor for the acclaimed Sequitur Ensemble, the principal conductor of the New York Concerti Sinfonietta, and the founder and artistic adviser to the Music Mondays chamber series in New York City. He has served as associate conductor for the Broadway productions of “Candide” and “The Gershwins’ Fascinating Rhythm,” and appears as a guest conductor at opera companies and orchestras across the United States.

Natalie Cordone has performed Off-Broadway, with the Orlando Opera, and recently had her TV debut on MTV’s new half-hour comedy “The Inbetweeners.” She is a regular performer at The Winter Park Playhouse including parts in “Nunsense” as Sister Mary Amnesia and “Steppin’ Out with Irving Berlin.”

Shawn Kilgore played as Billy Bigelow in “Carousel” with the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra and Orlando Ballet in 2012. Prior to that, he played Bobby in Mad Cow Theatre's “Company,” and George in their “Drowsy Chaperone.” At The Winter Park Playhouse he performed as Nick in “Baby” and his first solo cabaret “Optimistic Voices.”

To learn more, please visit orlandophil.org or call the Philharmonic box office at 407-770-0071.

Students join together in unity

The city of Winter Park and the Multifaith Education Project are proud to announce the 11th annual Trees for Peace Interfaith Tree Planting Project, Tuesday, April 8 in Central Park West Meadow located at 150 N. New York Ave. in downtown Winter Park. Mayor Ken Bradley will begin the ceremony at 11:30 a.m. and the program will be led by Louise Franklin Sheehy, director of the Multifaith Education Project.

More than 100 Christian, Jewish and Muslim students and faculty, representing the Geneva Christian School, the Jewish Academy and Leaders Preparatory School, will join together to plant trees for peace. In recognition of their commitment to work together in the spirit of unity, the students will plant 10 trees and bless them in traditional manner according to each faith. They will then celebrate the occasion with a picnic on the lawn of the park.

The city of Winter Park’s Urban Forestry Division will supervise the students in planting the trees including Eastern redbuds, flowering dogwoods, Sweetbay magnolias, fringetrees and live oaks. In addition, the division will donate a tree to each school so the students can hold their own tree planting ceremony on their respective school properties to remind them of this event for years to come.

This unique tree planting project represents a continuing effort to encourage children to appreciate diversity while building positive relationships with people of other faiths. The Trees for Peace project is also dedicated to teaching students to be “stewards of the earth” by learning lessons about environmental responsibility from each faith and sharing them with one another.

Call to artists!

The city of Winter Park and the Winter Park Public Art Advisory Board announce a call to artists for Art on the Green 2014, an exhibition of outdoor sculptures in Central Park located in downtown Winter Park. Joseph H. Seipel, sculptor, educator and Dean of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts, will serve as guest curator for Art on the Green 2014. The exhibition will run from Monday, Sept. 1, 2014, through March 1, 2015.

Artists nationwide who have participated in at least three previous juried shows are encouraged to submit entries for the competitive selection process now through Monday, April 21, 2014. Complete details regarding artist entries may be found by visiting the city’s official website at cityofwinterpark.org/AoG

Winning entries to be included in the exhibition will be announced Monday, May 19. Each of the six selected artists will receive a $2,000 honorarium.

For more information regarding Art on the Green, a project of the Winter Park Public Art Advisory Board, please call 407-599-3498.

Spring Cleanup

Spring is here and now is the time for spring cleaning! The city of Winter Park encourages residents to participate in the city’s annual Spring Cleanup. This cleanup provides an extra “bonus” pickup day so that residents can dispose of old furniture, broken appliances and other bulky items. To take advantage of this convenient service, residents must place their items curbside after 5 p.m. on the evening prior to their second regularly scheduled pickup day.

If you live north of Fairbanks/Aloma avenues, your bonus day will be the week of May 5.

If you live south of Fairbanks/Aloma avenues, you bonus day will be the week of May 12.

Please note: Hazardous waste, electronics and yard waste are not included in the Spring Cleanup.

If you live in a townhome or condo, please contact Waste Pro directly for a large item pickup.

For more information regarding Winter Park’s Annual Spring Cleanup, please contact Utility Billing Customer Service at 407-599-3220 or Waste Pro at 407-774-0800.

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