Born in California, his father’s job brought Kurtis Flanders and his family to the Chain of Lakes. Flanders grew up here and developed a love for the community, though his disposition didn’t start so sunny. His teenage years were a formative time. His roots in volunteerism, civic-mindedness, and ultimately leadership began to develop about ten years ago when Kurtis was a sophomore in high school. At the time he considered himself an “at-risk youth.” He reflected on that time, saying, “I saw all the bad in the world.” Flanders remembers walking into an art gallery, it was a world different from his own – and he wanted to be a part of it. There, he met Jane Waters the Executive Director for Arts Ensemble, Tinia Clark the Executive Director and Program Facilitator for Sidestreet Art Beat, along with artist Trent Manning. “It was an opportunity to get a spectrum of mentors,” he said. “Art was a big deal for me. […] It still is.” The studio was just the beginning of his transformation. He admitted it wasn’t until around age 19 that his outlook changed entirely. “At a time when I saw mostly the things that are wrong with this world, I still had the difficult path of learning everything I needed to learn and unlearning everything I needed to unlearn,” he said. “The awesome part was that Arts Ensemble helped guide my appreciation not only for art but in the non-profit work they were doing. They allowed me to serve with them, grow, and make mistakes. I owe my roots to Arts Ensemble.” GROWING POSITIVITY AND VOLUNTEERISM Flanders had the idea to start a collective using the talents and ideas of younger artists, musicians, photographers and the like to give back and put big ideas for the community into motion. It started as a Facebook group called, Becoming the Change where folks would discuss forward-thinking ideas around topics like clean energy and sustainable technology. Kurtis founded Growing Positivity in 2017 under the Arts Ensemble umbrella. Their collective handprint can be seen on such projects as the community garden in Florence Villa and working toward the return of the Lake Ina Mushroom. Eventually, Flanders felt the need to branch off. “I wasn’t seeing what I really wanted which was more impact and more change through the arts,” he said. Last year, he created a do-good project called Loads of Love (LOL). The mission of the group is to “serve those who serve.” The initiative provides volunteers and resources to local nonprofits, faith-based organizations, and charitable organizations free of charge. “Loads of Love is a group of individuals and organizations that see the benefit of collaboration and sharing of resources for the greater good or the greater impact of our community,” said Flanders. “If your organization deals primarily with food, but you’re lacking food to give away, we connect you with resources and take care of that issue.” LOL isn’t limited to helping organizations feed the hungry – they provide a gamut of resources. Their first big initiative was giving away 60 bikes at Smoke on the Water last year. They connect organizations with everything from toys, school supplies and teaching materials for afterschool programs, to child items like strollers and Pack ‘n Plays and pet products for the Humane Society. Not only does he hold the title of founder of Loads of Love, but Flanders is also the primary delivery driver. He said, “In that span of ten years I’ve made it a goal to go out and meet these organizational leaders, get a sense of what they provide and what they do, and see how we can bring the resources to them, so they can focus on something else.” Flanders is the Recreational Activities Director for the Public Education Partnership Kids Center, leading the PEP kids in art, music, sports, and other recreational activities. He uses electives as a way to get them excited about their academics. Without disregarding the importance of academics, he highlights the arts. “They say medicine, engineering, those things are noble pursuits, but we stay alive for art and poetry and for theatre and music. Those are our expression.” Flanders bridges the gap between electives and academics by teaching lessons like using math to figure out the odds of a sports team winning or losing or how physics and science can translate to art. He even initiated the PEP Door Project as an enrichment project in which students at the center and artists from around the state designed and painted doors that they’ve set up to separate sections of the open space at the PEP Kids Center. Flanders is the Vice-Chair for the Cultural Arts Advisory Committee for the City of Winter Haven. As an active member of the advisory committee, he helps on projects like the little free libraries, city pianos, and the painted utility boxes around town. Flanders is also the Ministry Outreach Program Manager for the Haley Center and is trying to push the Chain of Gardens Project which aims to plant pollinator gardens across Winter Haven. One has been completed, and the second is in the works, he said. If there is one cause he is most passionate about – it’s people. “Our personal connection to one another is very important. You as an individual define yourself more on how your collective surrounding defines than you do yourself most of the time,” he said. “The personal connection is more important to me than anything else because it’s all of us in this together.” “WHEN ONE TEACHES, TWO LEARN” From at-risk youth to an active member of the community, Flanders says he has had many mentors along the way like Jane Waters with Arts Ensemble and Bobby Williams with Freedom Church whom he works with closely for Loads of Love. Then again – anyone can be a mentor. “I think one thing that makes great leaders is teachability,” said Flanders. “Even the kids that I teach, are teaching me. ‘When one teaches, two learn.’” “I feel like everyone has something they can teach you and if you keep your mind open to that then you’re far more likely to keep expanding your consciousness,” he said. External influences include Canadian clinical psychologist, professor of psychology, and author Jordan Peterson as well as one of history’s greatest artists and inventors, Leonardo da Vinci – a man who engaged in an array of interest and study from art to engineering, mathematics, architecture, and early medicine. “That’s the mindset that I like – full spectrum,” said Flanders. “If you have that broad-spectrum interest in everything then you also get a better understanding that these are all little pieces of the puzzle that make up our reality, our existence, our world. Then you have more appreciation for everything else.” A few things he appreciates when he can spare a few moments to take off the many hats he wears, include reading, research and writing his book. He enjoys exploring the United States by traveling around the country, indulging in nature photography during his travels. ADVICE, REFLECTION, AND GRATITUDE For anyone interested in starting a project to better the community, the environment, humanity, or anything else – Flanders has advice. “Jump into whatever you’re interested in because even if you fail, that’s not a failure if you take it as a lesson,” he said. If you’re passionate about seniors and their quality of life after retirement and don’t know how to give back, he suggested talking with them, spending time with them. “Take a step that you know you can do or that doesn’t cost you anything but your time,” he said. “You’re never going to know everything before, you’re not going to have all the resources before starting something. Start it and continuously make it better.” Initiating impactful projects is a way Flanders likes to create and he wants to keep creating. He is actively building Loads of Love and plans to make it a standalone 501(c)(3) when the time is right. One day, he aspires to be an executive director of his own non-profit. For now, though, he is, “enjoying being alive, being a part of all this, creating what I can, that is hopefully benefitting rather than taking away.” “Each day I’m working on being a little more grateful for everything. The ability to eat, talk, walk, and breathe without assistance. The hard times that become lessons or makes me appreciate the good times even more. My community and all the individuals that support my goals,” said Kurtis Flanders. “I’m even grateful that we all don’t agree and that we have differences. It makes the world more interesting and it helps define what I believe in or value.” Loads of Love FB @LoadsOfLoveLOL Photo by Amy Sexson

This year Lakeland-based property management and real estate firm Lorio & Associates celebrates the big 3-0. The firm offers specialized brokerage services with a focus on commercial property management, leasing, and sales. For the last 30 years, founder Joe Lorio and his team have been managing their clients’ properties with an emphasis on service and quality with a simple, but unique philosophy on how to manage them. New York native, Joe Lorio came to Polk County in 1984. He worked for the real estate developer, Executive National Realty. The company was a property manager that did rehab development, specializing in the restoration of older buildings. He worked with them for five years, opening his own firm on November 1, 1990. As he was buying properties for himself and needed to manage them, he saw property management as an opportunity to be a cottage industry which would allow him the freedom to continue looking for properties to acquire. People saw him craft these property management deals and began to ask if he would do the same for them. One property at a time the firm grew, now managing 32 properties throughout Polk County. The real estate market has had its share of turbulence throughout Lorio’s time in business. His company faced rough waters through the Savings and Loan Crisis during the 80s, and the 2008 Housing Crisis. Yet, they persisted. “When I look back at my career – I feel like I’m the sum total of the decisions I never made as opposed to the good decisions I did make,” said Lorio of the risky investments he decided to pass up. “It’s nice to know you can get through two significant downturns in the real estate business and still be here.” The company is circumscribed to office space leasing, says Lorio. “We consider ourselves the office space specialists,” he said. Along with specialized brokerage services, commercial property management, leasing, and sales, the firm has a residential division. THE TEAM His team is small but mighty. Lorio has crafted an environment of family and passion for what they do. Heather Evans is the office manager, property manager, and a licensed real estate agent for the firm. Lorio is grateful for Evans and all of the work she puts into the business, saying he sees her eventually taking over the business one day. “He has taught me everything I know. Ironically enough, I came here just to answer phones and in the first six months, I was doing everything. Now, I have my real estate license and I’m going to get my brokers license,” said Evans. Evans says she is grateful for the openness, learning opportunities, and peaceful environment at L&A. Also on the Lorio team are Associate Property Manager, Lori Gray, and Maintenance Coordinator Rusty O’Neal. Lorio cares deeply for his team and acknowledges the unique talents each member brings to the firm. He doesn’t keep time charts and as long as the work gets done, they are free to do anything they need, including taking care of children and family responsibilities. He feels that freedom lends itself to productivity. “If you help people, you’ll all be successful and more than that, you’ll all be happy,” he said. CELEBRATING 30 YEARS As Mr. Lorio reflected on the last three decades, he discussed people who have influenced him, mentored him, and philosophies that contributed to the business’s longevity. Two mentors he had throughout his real estate journey were Gary Ralston and Dean Saunders whom he described as two of the most accomplished brokers in town. Ralston especially impacted Lorio. He said of Ralston, “He started selling suits in Madison Avenue and that was great sales training because he took that and went into real estate. That’s probably one of the reasons I wear a suit every day is because he wore a suit every day.” “He was successful. I thought if I did what he did, I would be successful,” said Lorio. The manner in which he manages properties is important to the L&A owner. “I’ve always wanted to manage property like I was managing my parents’ property,” explained Lorio. This philosophy was cemented in his mind during his days waiting tables at an upscale New York restaurant to put himself through college. One day, Lorio was conversing with his friends, probably discussing plans for when they got off work he said. The owner of the eatery came to Lorio’s table with a water pitcher and filled up each water glass. Lorio knew he was in trouble when the owner walked over and sat the pitcher down beside him. He said, “Make believe you’re serving your parents.” “That stuck with me,” said Lorio. He manages the properties in his care with the same due respect. He often tells his team, “Make believe you’re managing your parents’ property. Take care of it better than what you’re doing.” His entire business is also based around a high level of service. “In our society, we pay people based on the quality and quantity of service,” said Lorio. “If you provide a good service for someone, the money will come in so fast you won’t be able to count it.” The Christian roots of the firm also impact the way they do business says, Lorio. He tries to treat everyone, no matter their social or financial status, equally. This level of fair service has paid off. He told the story of a young man named Ed Laderer who came to him and said that he was leaving his company to start his own business. He didn’t have a lot of money but needed an office. “I worked really hard to finance this little hole in the wall of an office. […] He was so appreciative that I found it. Today, he owns Southern Homes with Greg Masters and we manage his property to this day.” Evans added how important his time and presence with clients is to Mr. Lorio. “It’s not just a text, it’s not just an email. It’s picking up the phone and calling to say, ‘Can I meet you for lunch,’ or ‘Can we grab some coffee and talk this over,’” she said. Here’s to 30 More Years What does the future hold for Lorio & Associates? Where will the company be on its 60th anniversary? “I would like to help the people that are here. I would like to mentor them so that one day if I leave here in any capacity […] that they don’t have to go work for somebody to collect a paycheck,” said Lorio. Thirty years in business has left Joe Lorio with much to be grateful for. “First and foremost, I am grateful to God Almighty for the great life that I’ve had. Sometimes I have to pinch myself. It’s hard to believe that I do what I do,” he said. Lorio & Associates 1820 Florida Ave S, Lakeland, FL (863) 680-1628 http://lorio.com FB @LorioAssociatesInc Photo by Amy Sexson

Down a narrow dusty driveway along the Tiger Creek Preserve in Lake Wales rests a primitive cabin framed in an old Florida landscape. This cabin belongs to conservationist, philanthropist, and subject for an upcoming art exhibit, “Sticky” Steve Morrison. “Why don’t I walk you around a little bit before we sit down and talk, and you can get a feel for the environment here – how I’m embedded in this place,” said Sticky after we exchanged introductions and pleasantries. We were invited to interview Sticky by filmmaker, artist, and organizer of the Sticky Steve Exhibit, Paul O’Neill. The documentarian known for his Eye for Art mini-doc series and celebrated mixed media artwork, set up his equipment to film our interview as Sticky gave us the grand tour. “This is the Tiger Creek Ecosystem,” he began. We walked down a steep decline to the creek. It was as if time stopped. It was quiet, it was still, it was calm. “I’m on the edge of this amazing place and that’s something that I’m really grateful for,” he said with reverence. Morrison explained that the creek starts up by Highway 60, flowing about six to eight miles through the woods into Lake WalkIn-Water. From there, it travels to another four or five other lakes before it reaches Lake Kissimmee which sends it off through the Kissimmee Canal into Lake Okeechobee. It flows into the Everglades, running off eventually into the Gulf of Mexico. You could realistically leave in a canoe from Morrison’s Tiger Creek home and go all the way to the Gulf – something he plans to do one day. “We’re part of this amazing connection of the southern half of Florida,” he said. “The water from here helps provide nutrients and water for the Everglades.” The water is considered to be a blackwater stream according to Morrison. This designation comes from the rainy season when the water fills up the swamp and leaves and debris steep in the water creating a dark tea. At the end of the rainy season during the summer, the water is jet black due to the tannic acid in the leaves. During the winter, the water recedes and flows down the channel. Without the rainy season levels of tannic acid, the water turns a warm orange color and is almost crystal clear by mid-Spring. This winter color is one theory he has for the area’s name. The orange-tinged water wrapped in bands of tree and foliage shadows resembles the markings of a tiger – especially when the water ripples and kicks up sediment and muck from the creek floor, said Sticky. Another theory is that early settlers of the area simply didn’t know what a tiger looked like, mistakenly calling panthers (which the area was known to have) tigers and bobcats, little tigers. Regardless of the creek’s name origins, this wildland is a sanctuary to Sticky. Back up the incline, we made our way to his cook shack which used to be the kitchen for the house. They had a wood cookstove, he explained. The original residents cooked outside because it was too hot to do it in the house most of the year. He remodeled the primitive cooking area as an outdoor kitchen of sorts. Adjacent the kitchen was a washroom and outhouse with an inviting claw foot tub completely open to the elements, begging for a bath under the stars. “I call this a Polk County Jacuzzi,” he laughed. The washroom and outhouse were complete with solar hot water and a composting outhouse made cozy by artwork, novelties, and other sentimental items with a large picture window capturing the wilderness. Sticky lives simply. He doesn’t have air conditioning or electricity and indulges in minimal modern electronic conveniences. His father found the cabin in the 1960s and started fixing it up in the 70s. “We were on an exploration to see where Tiger Creek was because we’d heard about it but had never been to it,” said Morrison. “We stumbled upon this cabin which was abandoned, and Dad fell in love with Tiger Creek and this entire area.” His father contacted the owner and eventually purchased the property from the family. “It was dilapidated and basically unlivable when I moved in. I had to fix it up quite a lot,” he said. Sticky put in new floors made from pine wood recovered from Hurricane Charlie and built the cabinets and shelves in his kitchen. His love of music was present in the guest bedroom where a row of string instruments hung decoratively on the wall. On the adjacent wall hung his old Boy Scout merit badges. Nature and music revealed themselves to be a central theme in Sticky’s life. A man with many hats quite literally, Sticky showed us his collection that he hangs from the ceiling for easy retrieval. His favorite was a worn leather piece that belonged to his dad. Another was made from a gourd, and a funny mid-century tourist hat that came with built-in “glasses.” We made our way to the back porch which doubles as a dining room with an open window through to the kitchen. It was surrounded by preserve. His cabin was the epitome of home – a respite. We paused to listen to the nothingness. It was gorgeously absent of distractions. At that moment, I felt embedded there too. TIED TO THE LAND Morrison’s family comes from the Midwest. They moved to New York City so his dad could work for the National Audubon Society in the 1950s. The family eventually moved to Florida when Morrison’s father obtained the position as the Director for Bok Tower Gardens. He was the second director of the gardens and worked there for 25 years. Morrison came back to Lake Wales after graduating with a fine arts degree from Florida State University in 1972. He worked for a few years with the Polk County School System. “Then I got into beekeeping and a lot of other back to the land endeavors,” he said. “I had chickens and goats and ducks and a garden and lived really close to the land.” He acquired more and more beehives and became a commercial beekeeper in the 1980s, which he did for ten years. This is where his Sticky nickname, well, stuck. Sticky is well-known for his conservation work on the Ridge. The Nature Conservancy purchased the land adjacent to his and needed someone to manage the property. They contacted Morrison. “They wanted to hire someone like a warden,” he said. “I didn’t think that fit with my personality.” They kept coming back. “I eventually told them if we could change the job from being a warden to being a caretaker, I’ll do it.” Sticky started working as the caretaker for the Tiger Creek Preserve 15 hours a week for $5 an hour. This initial part-time gig turned out to be a life-changing experience for Morrison. At the time, the Lake Wales Ridge was being discovered as an important area for biodiversity. Scientists swarmed the Ridge to observe and monitor the ecosystem, and Morrison had the opportunity to show them the preserve. “All of a sudden I realized that in my backyard was this incredible world of nature that had worldwide significance because of the rareness of the species here […],” he said. “I started tagging along with these scientists and my 15 hours a week job ended up becoming an on-the-job education.” He got first-hand training on native plants, wildlife, and the ecology of the area. Morrison eventually became the full-time manager of Tiger Creek Preserve and five other Nature Conservancy preserves on the Ridge, specializing in “prescribed burn” or commonly called a “controlled burn.” After 30 years in service to the Nature Conservancy, Sticky Steve Morrison retired about a year ago. He feels fortunate to have had, “a career doing something that was really challenging and educational for me and allowed me to share what I was learning with the community around me. I can’t overemphasize how grateful I am for this happening to me.” A second-generation conservationist, Sticky has an incredibly strong tie to the land. “My parents were part of this wave of concern of the loss of what made Florida special – which was nature,” he said. “I developed my appreciation for nature by being reared by them and being taken to the special places in Florida, seeing first-hand what Florida was really about and observing them fighting to save the best of what was left of Florida.” As a result, his parents became involved in the Nature Conservancy. “They spearheaded the acquisition of Tiger Creek Preserve,” he said. On more than one occasion during our tour of the property and interview, he referred to himself as being “embedded” in the natural habitat here as if, like the creek trickling past, the pine trees overhead he was an immovable fixture. Though he has a degree in fine arts, Sticky said, “I’ve transferred my artistic talent into a whole variety of things in my life which don’t involve a canvas or sculpture.” One such creative outlet is music which has been a part of his life since he started playing guitar in high school and later fiddle in college. He became interested in Appalachian music and traditional American music. He played music for many years with his wife, Sandy Greer Morrison, who passed away in 2014. “She was the main feature artist and I was the sideman, which I was perfectly happy with,” he smiled. Sticky has played with friends he grew up with around Lake Wales for some 45 years with their band Sticky Steve and The Pollinators. At 24 years old, in 1974, Sticky started a Lake Wales tradition known at The Bass Tournament. “It was for myself and my buddies. It continued on and became more and more popular with the local group of friends and expanded to friends of friends. It’s become this really amazing congregation, a tribe of Polk County people who are all connected in some way or another and have come to look at the Bass Tournament as sort of an annual reunion of the tribe,” he said. “I call it a “fishing optional tournament” because so few people fish.” He was one of the founding members of Lake Wales Mardi Gras. His krewe, the Loyal Order of Wild Shiners, dubbed him “Exalted Ruler for Life.” SANDY’S MUSICGIRL SCHOLARSHIP When Morrison’s wife Sandy passed away, he wanted to find something that people could do in memory of her. He began to dream up a music program. “I had the idea of creating a scholarship program here locally,” he said. He planned to use the money to send local girls to a music camp. He partnered with the Lake Wales Arts Council to form the scholarship program, Sandy’s MusicGirl Scholarship. The idea took off. “It has evolved into this amazing program of helping inspire girls to develop music skills and self-esteem,” said Morrison. The program offers a weeklong music day camp, private lessons, loaned instruments, jam sessions, family music camp-outs, and workshops for girls 6 to 19. Their first camp in 2015 served 19 girls and has grown every year since. Last year they served a total of 70 girls. “It’s become this amazing community-centered program to increase the number of girls and eventually women involved in music,” said Sticky. Seeing the girls develop their music skills and getting to know their families and work with the people who help with the program has been a gift to Sticky. “That’s one thing I’ve found is that the more good, the more love you put out there – the more that comes back to you and that’s been an amazing experience for me.” “Sandy would have been extremely happy,” he said. An amazing musician, Sandy struggled with her self-esteem. “As good as she was, it was still hard for her to get up on stage,” he said. That inspired the mission for Sandy’s MusicGirl to not solely develop music skills, but also selfesteem and creativity. “I think she would have really liked that part of it,” he said. Sticky says he receives more from the program than he feels is fair. “To see the progress over time of these girls improving not just their music skills but their stage presence and their confidence is just this incredible reward,” he said. Recently, SMGS had a guitar raffle to raise money for the program. A guitar maker offered to make a custom guitar entirely out of Florida wood. The raffle raised $6,746, of which, a portion will go to extending the camp by two days. THE STICKY STEVE EXHIBIT, 2020 When Paul O’Neill came to Sticky Steve Morrison with the idea to do an exhibit revolving around his likeness, Morrison didn’t know what to think. “I have a little bit of trouble with the idea of having an exhibit be about me,” he said. O’Neill documented Sticky’s reaction to being the subject of this exhibit which asked artists of varying mediums to create a portrait of Sticky. He first sent O’Neill names of other people in the community he admired and thought would make good subjects for the project. O’Neill wanted Sticky – so he obliged. He has since sat for numerous photographs, portraits, and even had a cast of his face done by a Bok Academy middle school student. Once all of the pieces are collected, the artists and Morrison will come together for one exhibit. Sticky says he likes the idea of bringing these artists together for an evening. “So far I feel like the beneficiary of this project, and I’m learning to adapt to the attention that it’s bringing me,” he said. The exhibit date and time will be announced soon. Fifty artists have committed to the project, including O’Neill himself. PUT LOVE IN, GET MORE BACK A man who not only lives closely with nature but is himself a part of it – Sticky says he has much to be grateful for. His answer to the question, ‘What are you grateful for?’ was simple but powerful, much like his life, “I’m grateful for the generous universe we live in if we are receptive to it,” he said. “It seems like, when you put out positivity, it comes back to you.” “It was a surprise to me when I retired that there was this bigger world out there of opportunity,” he went on to say. He encouraged people his age, nearing or already in retirement, “to be open to this generous universe, to participle in it and see what it will give you back that you can be grateful for.” Find something to immerse yourselves in, he urged – something that, “requires you to put love into it and then you’ll get more back.” Before we left Sticky’s house, with a refreshed perspective on life, gratitude and giving love and positivity to the world – he played us a song, “The Gopher Tortoise Blues.” He strummed the guitar and spun a captivating tale of an old gopher tortoise who’s simply tired of all these critters using his hole. It was a front-row, one-man concert on Tiger Creek, I’ll surely not forget. Photos by Amy Sexson

World-traveled, Grammy-nominated artist Jim Salestrom is set to croon for the crowd at the Lake Wales Arts Center later this month on January 18. “I play songs about places that I’ve been and people that I’ve met,” said Salestrom. “I try to bring some humor. I’m a storyteller and the music is geared for all different ages.” The singer/ songwriter was influenced at an early age starting with his parents taking him and his brothers to hear music at church and the symphony. “I started singing when I was really young […] and I loved it,” said Salestrom. He said that Elvis Presley must have been on the television, prompting him to want a guitar. He got one for his seventh birthday and played piano and trombone throughout grade school. “I got thrown in the deep end,” he said of his musical career origins. Performing with folks much older than him, Salestrom played with a religious folk mass and went on tour with a college choir at age 15. That same year, Salestrom and his older brother Chuck, along with Dugg Duggan, Craig Link, and Bill Howland formed a band of their own, Timberline. The group had a country/ folk/ rock sound featuring Salestrom as the lead singer and main songwriter. Timberline built a regional fan base and signed with the national booking agency, Variety Artists within their first year. When Salestrom was about 18, the band signed to a national recording contract and released their first album, The Great Timber Rush. When the album came out, Timberline was put on as the opening act for Dolly Parton. The band eventually broke up and Salestrom began his solo career. “I got a phone call from Dolly’s people about two years later asking if I’d like to audition,” remembered Salestrom. This was in 1979 when Dolly’s icon-status was well-cemented following hits like “Coat of Many Colors,” “Jolene,” and “I Will Always Love You.” He was chosen to join Dolly’s band, playing acoustic, electric, high-string guitars, and banjo. “It led to a lot of really interesting opportunities,” he said. “It was such a gift.” Throughout the 80s, he traveled the world with Dolly, appearing on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson three times, and playing iconic venues and events from the Grand Ole Opry to the Academy Awards Show. “Dolly Parton is an incredible storyteller,” he said. “To have been right behind her on stage for thousands of shows, I hope a little bit of that has rubbed off on me.” Dolly wasn’t the only bonafide star Salestrom played with. He also joined John Denver for many projects. “He was my hero and I got to sing and record with him in 1991,” said Salestrom. Since Denver’s passing in 1997, Salestrom has been singing in tribute bands, paying homage to his idol. A talented musician and shining star in his own right, Salestrom says he is grateful for the opportunity to perform, sit in, or record with so many artists. “I’ve gotten to play with just about everybody I’ve ever hoped to play with,” he said. This includes the likes of Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Livingston Taylor, Kenny Rogers, Emmylou Harris, Linda Rondstadt, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Tom Rush, John McEuen, and Peter Yarrow among many other greats. Salestrom’s solo career has proven illustrious. A few accomplishments include singing the opening song for “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,” being nominated for a Grammy for outstanding children’s album in 1997, performing for many presidents both as a part of Dolly Parton’s band and as a solo artist, and making numerous national television and radio appearances. He continues to travel the world performing. Salestrom remarked, “I feel like I have been so lucky to make a career traveling the world and playing my guitar and telling my stories and singing my songs.” The powerful influence music had on Salestrom as a child has driven him to light the fire in other children across the globe, donating his time to elementary schools from Montana to Germany. This includes performances, and in some schools, recording albums with the students as fundraisers. Salestrom has even played here in Polk County. “I’ve had the joy of playing for one of the grade schools in Lake Wales and had a wonderful time,” he said. He will be playing at another Lake Wales elementary school the Friday before his performance at the Lake Wales Arts Center. Salestrom remembers a formative moment for him – a moment that inspires his work at schools today. “I remember when I was about 12 years old, I got to see a community concert,” he began. A duo performed with 12-string guitars which Salestrom loved. He went up to talk to the act after the show and asked what kind of guitar they were playing. The man told him that it was a Martin. He had heard of Gibson and Fender, but not Martin. The man told him that the guitar manufacturer, established in the United States in 1833, made the best acoustic guitars in the world. “I saved my money up and got one,” he said. “I think every time I go and play for a grade school, there’s going to be one child in the audience that’s going to think, ‘I bet I could do that. I might even be able to do that better than him,’” he laughed. “I love that feeling.” Salestrom went on to say, “It just takes one person to light a flame. If you can get one person, that takes it to the next step musically or finds that creative joy that I’ve found in writing music and performing – that’s the goal.” Another current passion project for the singer/ songwriter is his new album, Library. “I loved to read and as a child. I loved to go to the library and that stuck with me,” he said. The works of wordsmiths like Jack London and Mark Twain have influenced his storytelling through songwriting. He remembers a teacher in sixth grade that would read Tom Sawyer to the class every day after lunch. A few pages each day, Salestrom and his classmates were hooked. “It’s a really neat thing to have teachers that instill that passion for reading in you,” he said. Ideally, he would like to get his album in the hands of the American Library Association to be distributed. As the title of Salestrom’s January 18, Lake Wales Arts Center show implies, the audience will enjoy renditions of tunes from Dolly Parton and John Denver, along with songs from Jim Salestrom’s albums Library and Music From The Mountains. Executive Director for the LWAC, Andrew Allen may also join Salestrom on stage to play the piano. “I’m grateful that I get to come to Lake Wales,” said Salestrom. The show will have a little something for everyone, so bring the whole family. He said, “People come away feeling a little bit better and that’s the goal to make everybody feel inspired.” Jim Salestrom “Denver, Dolly and More” Performance When: January 18, 2020 at 6 PM Where: The Lake Wales Arts Center 1099 FL-60 E, Lake Wales, FL www.lakewalesartscouncil.org Tickets: CentralFloridaTix.com Jim Salestrom www.jimsalestrom.com

Sometimes, simple food is the best food – especially if you’ve imbibed. A downtown Winter Haven staple for 37 years, Slate Family Billiards is that place you want to get drinks on Friday night and a bar-food lunch fix on Monday afternoon. We sat down with one of the owners of Family Billiards, Bryan Rich to talk all things bar cuisine. Rich and his partner purchased the establishment in 2016. “I used to come here when I was sixteen with my brother, so I’ve been around Family Billiards for a while,” said Rich. An incident in the electrical room left them with significant water damage. They took a year and a half to remodel, giving the pool hall a fresh look when it opened back up in September of 2018. Known, of course, for billiards, beer, and cocktails, their menu is worth a second look as well. It boasts bar fare staples like wings, pizzas, and burgers, and other handhelds. Their burgers and fried bologna sandwich are patron favorites according to Rich. Are you even from the South if you’ve never eaten a fried bologna sandwich? It’s one of those ‘Mamma used to make me’ meals pretty much guaranteed to be good. It is uncomplicated and satisfying. The Slate Family Billiards fried bologna sandwich consists of white bread, mayo, lettuce, tomato, melted American cheese and artfully fried (a term I’m going to start using more often) bologna. “We use good ingredients. It’s simple food – but good ingredients make simple food good,” said Rich. Their menu is ever-changing, keeping the staples but adding and subtracting items to suit their customers. Some more recent additions include mac and cheese triangles, fried pickles, and corn nuggets. “We are going to revamp our burger menu and add different toppings – we’ll have a Hawaiian burger, a breakfast burger, a Texas burger,” added Rich. Grab a beer on tap or try one of their signature cocktails like the blue Slate Margarita. If you’re looking to get adventurous with your drink choice, you can spin the Shot Wheel to take your chances on a variety of shots from a Washington Apple, Fireball, Lemon Drop, Irish Car Bomb and the like. “It’s a fun atmosphere,” said Rich. The clack of billiards and hum of regulars chatting lends itself to a comfy, hometown bar vibe. The outdoor patio is the perfect place to enjoy a bite to eat and a few drinks when the weather is nice. Though any billiards aficionados reading this might already know, Slate Family Billiards hosts APA Pool League on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday and darts tournaments on Wednesday. Check out their Facebook for more information. Guests can get their hands on this, “Good old comfort food,” any day the pool hall is open from 11 am to 30 minutes before close. The food and drinks are tasty, sure, but what makes this place great? The customers. Rich said, “The customers are happy-golucky – they’re really nice people.” Slate Family Billiards 20 4th St SW, Winter Haven, FL (863) 247-8899 FB @slate8pool Photos by Amy Sexson

“I’m not trying to find something that makes me happy – I’m trying to find something with meaning,” said Lake Wales artist and filmmaker, Paul O’Neill. Though filmmaking is certainly something that brings him joy, the meaning he finds in forming a connection with an artist and finding out what makes them create, drives O’Neill. An artist himself, the ‘Why?’ behind others’ artwork fascinates him, and he has set out to capture that on film. O’Neill was born and raised in Youngstown, Ohio. He grew up in the Rust Belt and graduated from Youngstown State University. He left for Florida to enter the prescribed burning field with the Nature Conservancy. He was hired by “Sticky” Steve Morrison to be a part of the burn crew at Tiger Creek Preserve. Morrison is O’Neill’s latest film subject and the subject of 50 other artists as well. But, more on that later. He settled down in Lake Wales where he met wife, Lita. The couple has two kids – 15-year-old Lily and 12-year-old PJ. O’Neill has been a professional firefighter for 19 years. The family man and firefighter also enjoys tending to his garden on the lot beside his home. He has filled his food forest with moringa, Meyer lemons, pineapples, avocados, papayas, and muscadine grapes. He’s somewhat of an amateur beekeeper as well, with two hives on his property. EYE FOR ART As a child, O’Neill was always making something or being creative in one way or another. “It came naturally to me. It was comforting,” he said. The self-described hobbyist filmmaker has always preferred documentaries over other genres, though he didn’t consider making one himself. “This film series came out of nowhere,” he said. Eight years ago, O’Neill was on a fire alarm call in Orlando. At the building they were called to, he encountered a group of UCF students making a short film. When the call was settled, he struck up a conversation and asked what kind of cameras they were using. They told him, and he went out and bought one. He began making films. “I just started with my friends. I knew nothing about filmmaking, cinematography, anything like that. All I knew, is that someone was doing it and I wanted to do something similar to that,” he said. “I had this drive to create something.” He wanted his projects to be something that he enjoyed, and if anyone else was interested or entertained, that was great too, but it was secondary. The series morphed from profiles of his friends to artists of varying mediums. “It wasn’t a straight path to it – it was minor micro-adjustments to where it is now. I’m not saying I’ve met the goal, but it’s a lot further than where I started,” he said. The minimal yet resonating cinematography of his Eye for Art film series was inspired by another Vimeo creator, Jesse Brass. O’Neill would watch his films with pen and paper in hand, taking note of transitions, close-ups, when the music was introduced and other stylistic elements. O’Neill contacted Brass at one point to tell him that he had been emulating his style and even credits him for inspiration in his films. The subjects for Eye for Art contrast in medium and style, but they all must have one thing in common. “I have to like their artwork,” said O’Neill. Many of his subjects were contacted via cold email or by introducing himself to them at an art festival. He sees his films as something the artist can use to benefit their artwork and help him further develop his cinematography skills. “My main motivation for the film series is to get to the essence of what it means to be an artist,” he said. “I feel like artists are in touch with something that maybe most people are not in touch with. It’s kind of these fundamental ideas about what it means to be human […].” “What’s important is why,” he added. “I go into it trying to get to the most basic, distilled version of ‘Why are you doing this?’” He understands the complexity of this question and anticipated that I would ask him the same. “Who knows why we do anything,” he said. So why does O’Neill create films? “There’s this concept I really like: People don’t have ideas, ideas have people,” he said. He thought about the truth of that phrase, how an idea can enwrap you entirely. “I go into the film with questions that I think will bring out the essence of why they’re doing it,” he said. He talked about meeting the artist for the first time. “We’re both figuring it out in five hours – and there’s something nice about that. There are no preconceptions coming in.” He wants their interaction to be genuine. If they apologize for the state of their studio, he says, “I’m glad it’s a mess – I want to find you in your normal habitat.” His films are made for two people – himself and the artist he is capturing. O’Neill said, “It’s tough to be alive – we’re all going to face hardships. What’s the antidote to that? It’s not happiness, it’s meaning. And for me, this is an area that brings meaning.” The Lake Wales filmmaker has profiled 24 artists in his Eye for Art series so far. Some of the artists he has interviewed included Bok Tower Gardens director, David Price, Polk State College professor of art, Holly Scoggins and Winter Haven artist Trent Manning among other impressive names. His most recent, ongoing film project chronicles his former Tiger Creek Preserve Manager, friend, and mentor, Sticky Steve Morrison. STICKY STEVE THE EXHIBIT, 2020 A documentary film called, “The John Show” unintentionally inspired O’Neill to make friend and mentor Sticky Steve Morrison the subject of an epic art exhibit. The film, by Julie Sokolow, documented Pittsburgh graphic designer, Brett Yasko asking 250 artists to each do a portrait of his friend, John Riegert, over the course of two years, at the end of which, they all came together for an exhibit of the work. It wasn’t until a year after he had watched the film that the idea hit him. “I started sending cold emails out that day before I even asked Sticky,” said O’Neill. Five artists had already signed up before he told his subject. Hired by Sticky to be a part of the Tiger Creek Preserve burn crew, O’Neill was impacted by the conservationist. “He became a mentor whether he realized it or not,” said O’Neill. “How he lived his life – it really imprinted on me. There are different ways to live your life in a meaningful manner and he is the epitome of how to do that.” The filmmaker spouted off a handful of Sticky’s many life accomplishments – he is a musician, conservationist, former commercial beekeeper and most significantly of all, he is kind to people. Sticky was also the person who introduced O’Neill to his wife Lita. O’Neill said of Sticky, “He’s the most humble person. You’ll never hear negative words out of his mouth.” Though O’Neill is 45, with a family and a career and mortgage, he said, “I still look up to him. ‘What would Sticky do?’ That comes to mind often for me.” He is so humble, in fact, that when O’Neill approached him about the exhibit, Sticky sent him a list of names he thought would make better subjects for the project. Paul told him no, he was set on having him be the subject. The goal of the project is simply the project itself. “The goal is that we’ve brought 50 artists together – some know each other, some don’t, some know Sticky, some don’t – but we’ve brought everyone together for this one night,” he said of the exhibit. There will be no judging of the work, but participating artists are free to sell their pieces. Some have already committed to selling their work to donate to Sandy’s MusicGirl Scholarship, a scholarship program and camp for girls ages 6 to 19 to learn music, creativity, and self-confidence. Sticky started the program in honor of his wife Sandy Greer Morrison who passed away in 2014. Sticky has already sat for numerous portraits and paintings by contributing artists. “Sticky is getting out and meeting people he’s never met before. Other people are meeting Sticky, and meeting each other,” said O’Neill. Artists have said to O’Neill, “This has really changed the way I see things – I haven’t met anyone like this guy before. Thank you.” “You asked – what is the purpose? I think that’s the purpose,” O’Neill said. The date and venue of the exhibit will be announced soon, but those interested can find updates on The Sticky Steve Exhibit, 2020 website. MEANING IN ART When he isn’t masterfully documenting the work of other artists, O’Neill is working on his own mixed media artwork. His work is typically created using stencils he makes from photographs that he takes. “I use spray paint or reclaimed wood and materials you don’t generally consider art materials,” he said. Though he’s been creating art his whole life, it wasn’t until recently that he started to show his work. He’s had shows at Outer Space Gallery, Lake Wales Library, and claimed third place at Art Crawl this year. “It’s been a huge surprise to me,” said O’Neill. Apart from the occasional stranger, the subjects of the photos he uses for his work are familiar – friends and family, people close to him. “They mean something to me,” he said. He showed us an abstract stencil of a person eating popcorn in Canada, several shots of Sticky, and his kids. Beyond the Sticky Steve exhibit and other current projects, he thought about what the future of his films and artwork might look like. He said, “A phrase that I heard someone say is, ‘Artists are people who go out into the world and come back and report what they’ve seen – even if they don’t understand it.’” O’Neill thought to himself, “Especially if they don’t understand it.” “I just want to keep reporting what I see and maybe it will make sense to someone – maybe it won’t,” he said. “I want to keep enjoying this process. And I just want to keep going a little bit deeper into some of my pieces – deeper for me or someone else.” We finished by asking him, “What are you grateful for?” O’Neill thought for a moment and said, “Coming home and looking outside and knowing my kids are doing well and my wife is happy – that’s what makes me grateful.” He added, “I’m grateful to have some meaning in my life – my artwork, a film series working with people. That brings meaning to my life.” Eye for Art vimeo.com/easyacrefilms The Sticky Steve Exhibit, 2020 thestickysteveshow.weebly.com Photo by Amy Sexson

A trendy hole-in-the-wall bistro, an upscale dining establishment, your favorite taco truck – these are a few of the places you might expect to get an exceptional bite to eat. But – in a strip mall? In the Barclay Place Shopping Center off Highway 98 in North Lakeland sits an average-looking eatery. A fast-casual restaurant with a modest facade and simple dining space, guests walk past a bubble gumball coaster and a row of quarter toy machines to order some of Lakeland’s finest under-the-radar fare including an unintended guest favorite. Shuiqing Cindy Liu came from China to America as a child. She lived in New York before moving to New Orleans where she and her husband bought a restaurant from a Philadelphia native serving authentic Philly cheesesteaks and Po Boy sandwiches. Cindy and her family lived there for about ten years before moving to Florida. “Sometimes you just want a change of pace,” she said. They sold the restaurant and moved here a year and a half ago and opened their North Lakeland restaurant, Philly Steak & Wings in October of 2018. “I like Lakeland,” she said. “I feel they don’t have something like this store here.” The restaurant offers up Philly-style cheesesteaks and wings along with other handhelds like Poboys, burgers, and Gyros. Their namesake, like everything else they offer, is noteworthy. The generously sized Philly cheesesteak has cheese melted over Amoroso bread hugging freshly sliced ribeye. Their wings are nothing to balk at either. Popular flavors include tangy Lemon Pepper and Honey Hot wings, dripping with Nashville-esque spice. You’ll get messy eating them – but it’s one hundred percent worth it. Cindy takes the quality of their food seriously – freshness is not a standard she is willing to compromise. The ribeye is sliced fresh, not frozen, for their sandwiches and potatoes are punched and fried daily for French fries. Onion rings are handcut, fried crispy and served with a tangy secret sauce. A unique feature at Philly Steak & Wings is their Thai ice cream. Cindy saw the ice cream being made during a trip to Thailand. “You can see people paint the ice cream on the machine close to the street,” she said. Her homemade ice cream base is poured onto a flat, extremely cold surface where it begins to solidify. You can add different fruits and treats to be mixed into the dessert as well. Cindy artfully paints the ice cream onto the surface and rolls it into neat swirls. “You can watch how we make it from the beginning to the end,” she said. We had the Oreo’s Secret which was mixed with an Oreo, topped with more crumbled cookies, whipped cream, chocolate sauce, and a chocolate Pocky. ‘Just one more bite’ quickly turned to a nearly empty ice cream cup. Cindy started with a cashier, front-of-house role at the restaurant. She asked her husband to teach her how to run things in the back. “I can do everything here – the front, the grill, the fry pot,” she said. She especially loves to cook for her three children (and they love it too). One meal she would often keep on hand for them has brought in a new wave of business over the last several months and gained the restaurant a sort of cult following with area foodies. DUMPLING DAYS Cindy learned to cook from her mother. “My mom liked making food for me when I was a little kid. She always taught me – you have to cook for the kids. I love the food she cooked for me,” she said. “When I have time I always cook and I try to make different food for the kids.” “The dumplings began with the Lakeland Food Group,” said Cindy. She explained that someone from the Facebook group came into the restaurant. The two struck up a conversation about traditional Chinese cuisine. On the day he came in, Cindy had made dumplings for her kids. She asked if he wanted to try them. “He tried it and he felt like it was the best dumpling [he had ever put] in his mouth,” she said. “He posted about it on Facebook.” Robyn Wilson saw the post and stopped in too. “She would sit at that last table,” said Cindy. As she does when the pace slows a bit, Cindy came out to chat with her customers. She and Wilson began conversing over food. “My little girl loves dumplings, so I always keep some in the cooler for her,” said Cindy. She went back to the kitchen and retrieved some for Wilson. She too posted about this hidden gem and messages and calls requesting her delectable dumplings inundated Philly Steak & Wings. The first time she made them for the public, she prepared around 60 orders and ran out within half an hour. About five months into her dumpling days, she does it only a few times a month, making more than 200 orders each time, now offering them for two consecutive days. Like the rest of the menu, Cindy’s dumplings are made with fresh ingredients like green onions, mushrooms, a refreshing hint of ginger, and bamboo shoot that Cindy’s mother mails to her from China. The flavor includes soy sauce, oyster sauce, and a few other components. She stopped listing ingredients and said with a laugh, “It’s secret!” She lets her loyal following know when dumpling days are by announcing them on Facebook. On the day we came in, it was pork and shrimp dumplings on the menu. The dumpling itself was sturdy but tender. Its slight translucence revealed a few of the fresh ingredients within. We’ve all had dumplings with a grayish mass of mystery ingredients – Cindy’s dumplings are the antithesis of those. Fresh, bounding with flavor, steamy goodness. The dumplings were served with two sauces – hoisin with sriracha and a second secret sauce that Cindy makes with a homemade hot oil working in harmonious tandem with other top-secret spices. It’s the kind of food that makes you want to hug the person who so generously prepared it. “We opened one year ago, and I almost have no off days – I stay here every day. I want to make sure that every customer is satisfied with their food and their experience,” said the dedicated Philly Steak & Wings owner. Cindy expressed gratitude for her patrons, glowing reviews, and recommendations. She plans to work hard to keep each guest satisfied and says she is open to any suggestions people may have. Eventually, they plan to expand and open another restaurant on the Southside to serve their customers across town. As we were raving over the spread, Cindy came to check on us. The food and service left nothing lacking and we told her that. She smiled and said, “I enjoy making food for people who enjoy the food I make,” before heading back into the kitchen to fill the dumpling orders that were rolling in. 4963 US Hwy 98 N, Lakeland, FL 33809 (863) 606-6122 Phillysteakandwingslakeland.com FB Philly Steak & Wings Photos by Amy Sexson

On the last Saturday of each month (except in November and December) a special group of women meets at Heartfelt Quilting & Sewing in Winter Haven to use their talents for a good cause. The store was started by Tom and Pat Roberts. Pat Roberts started sewing as a child and began working at her first fabric store on her sixteenth birthday. She started Heartfelt in 2005, before that she had a business with a partner for five years. She has been selling sewing machines for 45 years and fabric for 50. With a heart for the cause, Pat welcomed the group to meet at her store, free of charge to work on their charity projects. “Pat has opened her heart and her doors to all of us,” said Crossroads Stitchers, Chapter Leader, Margaret Travis. Judy Buchner, a member of Crossroads Stitchers and Ryan’s Case for Smiles agreed. RYAN’S CASE FOR SMILES Crossroad Stitchers is a four-year-old chapter of Florida Sewing Sew-ciety (FFS) with 29 dues-paying members, according to Travis. In addition to their own charity works, the group collaborates with Ryan’s Case for Smiles to make pillowcases for children in the hospital. Crossroads Stitchers has donated over 200 pillowcases to the Orlando Chapter of Ryan’s Case for Smiles. Buchner told the story of how Ryan’s Case for Smiles got its start – with one mother making pillowcases for her son. Cindy Kerr started making pillowcases for her son Ryan during his cancer treatment. It made Ryan so happy that Cindy decided to extend that joy to all the children in the Oncology Unit at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. According to their website, “Case for Smiles has grown into an international movement that has 120 chapters throughout the US and Canada.” Buchner belongs to the Orlando chapter of Case for Smiles. “We deliver 750 pillowcases a month to Orlando area hospitals,” she explained. The group buys the fabric, cuts it, constructs pillowcases, washes and irons them before delivering them to hospitals around Central Florida. In September, the group did a large push for Pediatric Cancer Month and made over 4,000 pillowcases. EVERY LITTLE GIRL SHOULD HAVE A PRETTY DRESS Ryan’s Case is only one of the many ways Crossroads Stitchers and Heartfelt are using sewing to positively impact the community. The newest initiative of Crossroads Stitchers is called “Every Little Girl Should Have a Pretty Dress.” The group is sewing dresses to be donated to little girls at The Mission in Winter Haven. Roberts said she has done something similar with another group in the past with dresses that went to Romania. “We wanted to do something here, that stayed locally,” she said. Local little girls will receive a handmade dress that was sewn with love, especially for them. When we spoke with the group, a member of the FFS Chapter in Palm Beach County, Edie Townsend was there to teach the Crossroad Stitchers how to sew garments. Townsend said she tries to teach at least one garment sewing class a year. “Some of our non-garment sewers have become very prolific at making these clothes,” she said. The significance this one piece of clothing will have to an underprivileged little girl isn’t lost on the sewing group. Travis asked, “Don’t you remember your favorite dress when you were growing up?” What do they hope the little girl feels when she wears the dress? Judy Buchner said she hopes it makes them feel “twirly.” Tears welled up in Roberts’ eyes as she said, “That she knows she’s loved – that somebody thought enough of her, to give her a dress.” Townsend hopes it will boost their self-esteem and said she feels blessed to help. She said, “You feel good because you’re presenting it to someone who needs it. The person who receives it feels good because someone thought enough of them to do something for them.” In her work with Ryan’s Case for Smiles, Buchner said she recently received a note about a mother who had to take her child to the hospital in an emergency, unable to bring anything. “The child got a pillowcase and the mother was so relieved that there was something that belonged to that child. The mother had almost as much benefit from that pillowcase,” she said. “I think the same thing is true with this.” Travis said this is the first time they’re making dresses for little girls locally, but that they hope to continue and expand the project next year. DO GOOD, FEEL GOOD Additionally, the Winter Haven sewing group donates dog beds to the Humane Society of Polk County with scraps from other projects so that nothing goes to waste. Small fabric hearts that they call “Hearts of Love” are donated to Advent Health’s NICU units. Travis explained that premature infants have a tremendous sense of smell. “If the mother puts this little heart near her and rubs it on her skin, they put it in the incubator so the child has the smell and it helps with her lactation,” she said. Roberts said that once someone takes a class to learn how to use longarm quilters, they don’t recommend starting with a large, expensive project. To give them more experience, they have the students sew charity quilts that are donated to the sheriff’s office. When they have their quilt machines on display at shows for folks to try out, they use those pieces for dog blankets to be taken to the local animal shelters. The women all agreed that sewing was a source of comradery, creativity, and companionship for them. “I think most importantly, it’s a way to give back,” said Buchner. “We can teach anybody to do this and feel good about what you’re doing for your own community.” The women encourage anyone reading this to come in and help. They can teach you how to sew or you can help in other ways like ironing, folding, and bagging the items. Their next meeting at Heartfelt Quilting & Sewing is set for the last Saturday in January. Heartfelt Quilting and Sewing 365 5th St SW, Winter Haven (863) 299-3080 heartfeltquilting.com FB @heartfeltquiltingandsewing Florida Sewing Sew-ciety www.floridasewingsewciety.org If you are interested in joining, email: Margaret@EazyPeazyQuilts.com Crossroads Stitchers quiltsandtea.com/crossroads-stitchers Ryan’s Case for Smiles Caseforsmiles.org FB @CaseforSmiles

A Revolution of Agriculture and Industry in the Sunshine State Though market competition from foreign countries and the ravaging effects of citrus greening haven’t been kind to the Florida farmer, there is hope in hemp say the founding members of the Florida Hemp Growers Alliance (FHGA). To discuss this regionally emerging industry, we met with the organization’s co-founders, Bo Snively, Darrin Potter, and Justin Donalson. We were invited to conduct the interview at the Tarpon Springs home of an advisory member to the FHGA, Bob Clayton. Clayton’s home, the first hempcrete house in the state, seemed an appropriate venue for the conversation. More on the hempcrete house, later. ABOUT THE FHGA AND ITS FOUNDERS Fourth-generation Polk County farmer, Bo Snively says farming is the only thing he knows. He grew up watching foreign competition and citrus greening drive the younger generation from the farm and saw some families lose their farms altogether. Looking to keep the heritage alive and bring promise to agriculture again, he began to research hemp. “I think this crop can revitalize the agriculture industry,” said Snively. In 2017, he was the first farmer to testify in front of the Senate Agriculture Committee on behalf of industrial hemp. He advocated for Senate Bill 1020 allowing farmers to pursue industrial hemp, deeming it an agricultural commodity. It’s important to note the difference between hemp and marijuana. Hemp is required to meet the federal requirement of containing less than 0.3% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive compound present in marijuana. In other words, hemp will not get you intoxicated or “high.” Florida Senate Bill 1020, signed in late June of this year, will make it legal for hemp cultivation with a permit through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) who will devise rules for growing the crop. According to Snively, the FDACS rules for hemp are projected to be released in the first quarter of 2020. Darrin Potter comes from Pahokee, Florida – sugar cane country – where his family grew mangoes, bananas, pumpkin, papaya, grapefruit and avocados on their small farm. He obtained a degree in Biology from UCF, moving afterward to California in 2006. He worked in the medical cannabis space where he saw opportunity in the industry. Potter moved to Colorado in 2008, officially starting his company, Kind Love in 2010 before selling it in 2014. While in Colorado he helped to build another company, The Green Solution. Potter returned to Florida in 2014 where he founded GrowHealthy in Lake Wales, one of the first medical cannabis operations in the state. He sold GrowHealthy in 2018 to publicly traded, iAnthus Capital. He had already been doing consulting in the hemp industry when he met Donalson and, later, Snively. Potter said it made sense to him to move out of the cannabis space into hemp – a borderless crop and an industry with significantly fewer regulations tied to it. From the building infrastructure and cattle side of things comes Justin Donalson. His maternal grandfather was the President of the Iowa Manufacturers Association and his father started one of the first genetics programs for cattle in the state, in Winter Haven during the 90s. Donalson had been researching hemp for roughly five years when he met Darrin Potter in 2014. He described it as “kismet” that they both met Bo Snively at the same time. The three began developing the idea for the Florida Hemp Growers Alliance. Still in its infancy, starting earlier this year, the FHGA boasts over 500 members with daily growth. According to their website, “The Florida Hemp Growers Alliance is focused on improving the outlook and landscape for farmers in Florida through the burgeoning hemp industry. With educational content, access to seeds and genetics, specialized guidance, and more, the FHGA is dedicated to improving the outlook for today’s farmers and the farmers of the future.” Snively said, “I think hemp is going to be a lifeline to Florida as a whole for agriculture.” Potter agreed, emphasizing its significance to farmers. “The contention was to help farmers not step into mistakes that I’ve seen a lot of people step into in cannabis. I wanted to make sure people didn’t gamble more than they could lose,” he said. WHY HEMP? The hemp plant has a multitude of benefits to the environment, the farmer growing it, the animal eating it, the consumer using it, and as an industrial powerhouse that could reinvigorate agriculture in the state. The founders of the FHGA believe Florida could be a leader in the country for hemp cultivation, production, platelets, and seed. “We want Florida to be the golden standard for hemp,” said Snively. Florida’s climate makes it ideal for hemp cultivation. According to Snively, for every one outdoor grow cycle up north, Florida can grow three. “When you push seed north, it has a quicker germination rate. That’s why we are trying to have that industry here because of the opposite effect – when you ship seed south, it doesn’t do too well,” said Snively. Donalson agreed, adding that Florida has the potential to be the cornerstone of manufacturing for North, Central and South America because of our ports. That scale of industry translates to job creation according to Potter. “Medical cannabis has created well over 300,000 jobs in the U.S. It employs more people than the NFL right now. This is ten times greater than that,” he said. “The opportunity to create jobs in the U.S., Florida, anywhere – I think that’s profound. I think that’s something that we need in this country is the opportunity to put people back to work.” “Hemp has the opportunity to touch, benefit, and subsidize nearly every industry in Florida,” said Donalson. “From timber, manufacturing, citrus, specialty crops, processing, international shipping, logistics within the state and out of state, banking, commodities, brokering – pretty much everything you can think of is going to be touched by hemp.” Snively broke down the main three hemp crops – cannabidiol or CBD, fiber which can be used in construction, bioplastics, textiles, and manufacturing, and grain used as cattle feedstock and in food products. From the hemp fiber crop, two components are harvested – hemp hurd and fiber. “Two products from the fiber plant crop, turn into thousands,” Snively said. Industrial hemp is not meant to replace crops, say the FHGA, but rather to run parallel. “It’s a rotation crop. You grow it to drive the weeds out of the land. Its roots go down deep and suck up nutrients that go into the leaves. We can leave leaves for compost, so you’ve got fertilizer in the next round,” explained Snively. With many growers and consumers looking toward organic commodities, Potter pointed out the importance of soil health. “A lot of these organic crops are high in heavy metals due to the precursor, the inputs that they use in organic farming which can be anything from fish emulsions to different guano.” The accumulation of heavy metals in the earth builds up and can find its way into products on store shelves. “Hemp is great for remediation of the soil. It is an accumulator of heavy metals and will strip the soil of heavy metals. You could then plant a cover crop such as legumes, pull your beans, and then till the remainder of the plant into your soil putting nutrients back in,” said Potter. The environmental impact of hemp should not be understated either, he says. Carbon emissions are pulled from the air simply through plant respiration. He described leafy plants as similar to solar panels – they pull in light, produce energy, and convert carbon into oxygen. Hemp also holds promise for the Florida cattle industry. “Florida is a cow-calf operation. We ship our cattle out west for feedstocks. It’s cheaper to send the cows out there than to send the grain down here,” said Snively. “If we have an active feedstock for our cattle. We could harvest our cows, slaughter our cows, and market our cows here in Florida.” According to Snively, there is already a group of Florida cattlemen raising their cattle and marketing their meat in Florida. Potter explained that hemp can produce six to eight tons of feed per acre – fields of hemp could be planted for grazing. “Hemp would be a great food supplement for beef production,” said Potter. “You could see “Hemp Fed Beef” in the stores soon.” “When you get down to it – this is another industrial revolution. It’s here, it’s right around the corner,” added Snively. OLD FLORIDA MEETS NEW FLORIDA: PLANTING THE SEED One focus of the FHGA is tailoring education and services to the next generation of farmers. “Farming is a heritage and we stand for that. We are in it for the long haul. We want to bring that pride back to citrus growers in Polk County. We want to shed some light back into the agriculture industry,” said Snively. “I think this crop has the potential to last another 4 generations and have that heritage brought back.” Kids who have grown up on farms whether that be anything from citrus to blueberry to cattle have been deterred from staying on the farm because of issues like foreign competition and citrus greening explained Potter. He said, “Hemp has invigorated a younger generation to get back into growing and being a part of that culture.” That invigoration from hemp has invited not only the younger generation but also folks who have never farmed before to grow the crop. This is why one of the cornerstones of the FHGA is education. They want to be a resource for information about everything from buying the right seed for the right purpose to understanding the logistics of the supply chain from seed to product. “That’s what the FHGA is about – we’re trying to navigate through the newness of it and trying to line up everything so that everyone succeeds,” said Snively. Assuring success means providing the tools and Snively says the FHGA aims to “provide a toolbox to the agriculture industry.” The FHGA is presently in the process of securing a large shipment, somewhere in the realm of one thousand acres worth of seed, to “help jumpstart the industry in fiber production.” The shipment is an international variety of fiber and grain seed due to come into the states early this month. In this first year, they hope to find which varieties do well in Florida. “Everyone’s not going to learn in the first year. What we’ve been recommending to people is to plant only as much as you can lose because it is new. It’s a new environment and a new crop for Florida and Florida has a unique environment. With working with universities and knowing how it grows, we’re going to be relaying that to the industry,” said Snively. He especially thanked FDACS and all the universities participating in navigating the hemp industry. “That’s what is going to drive the industry – education,” he said. Three varieties of hemp were planted on 34 acres of land in Polk County as a pilot project through Florida A&M University and Green Earth Cannaceuticals. The purpose of the project is to find out what varieties are viable to be harvested in Florida, and that they meet the federal requirement of containing less than 0.3% THC. The FHGA hopes that hemp will be a cover crop, a commodity, and an industry in Florida, providing opportunity for the state. Motivation, education, and longevity were words exchanged by the three founders of FHGA. “Build for longevity via altruism,” is their motto says, Donalson.” “We’re here for the long haul.” THE FIRST HEMPCRETE HOUSE IN FLORIDA There are eleven tons of hempcrete in Bob Clayton’s Tarpon Springs home. It was the first in Florida and the fourth in the nation at the time he built the house. Clayton first stumbled upon hemp due to serious health problems. When he started adding hemp powder protein to his diet, he began to lose weight, exercise became easier, and he felt better. He lost 35 pounds and 8 inches off his waist. Clayton was invested in the crop. He began looking into other uses for it and followed leads about carbonnegative, completely recyclable hempcrete online. Why did he build the house? “I felt it was the one thing that we could do that could help hemp. It was the only legal hemp that you could get. It was never illegal to work with stalk,” he said. Clayton imported a shipping container of hemp from England to use in the home’s construction. Hemp core, made by breaking up the center of the stalk of the hemp plant, is what Clayton’s home is made of. He described using hempcrete as a “different way of building houses.” The home was slip cast with forms, stuffing core between the forms and moving up the walls. The house had to dry for roughly 90 days before the stucco and plaster were able to be applied. European lime was used combined with the hemp. He explained that lime is desirable as it is a “low carbon tool” which “binds uniquely with the silica in the hemp.” “These walls are technically getting harder and harder as time passes. It will just gradually complete that mineralization process,” he said. The walls in Clayton’s home are permeable, not trapping water vapor that could cause mold and mildew. The home’s permeability also makes it breathable. Clayton doesn’t use heat during the winter and boasts an enviable $60 electric bill in August. Clayton built the home in 2012 and received the certificate of occupancy in January of 2014. January of 2015 is when he went to Tallahassee for the first time – the first of five years spent traveling to the state capitol to advocate for industrial hemp. This is how Clayton met Snively, after finishing his house and being asked to testify in front of the Agricultural Committee. Clayton believes in hemp. He would like to see it become plentiful enough here for developers to build entire hempcrete neighborhoods. “To do hempcrete well, you’ve got to have critical mass. You’ve got to do a quantity of houses you can’t just do one. You’ve got to have a regular supply coming in,” said Clayton. To build hempcrete homes more efficiently, expediently, and cost-effectively relies heavily on the success of the FHGA’s mission to give hemp a presence in Florida. If you are interested in what the Florida Hemp Growers Alliance intends to accomplish, would like more information, or want to become a member, visit their website listed below. Florida Hemp Growers Alliance www.fhga.org Photo by Amy Sexson

The Florida Brewery, established in the 70s, is the second oldest brewery still in operation in the state. Primarily a manufacturing facility, the brewery opened its doors to the public a year and a half ago introducing their Beer Garden and Taproom at 202 Gandy Road in Auburndale. The community grew fond of the beer and atmosphere at the Florida Brewery and voiced that they wanted to enjoy them on more than just Friday and Saturday. When the opportunity came up to open an eatery downtown, the brewery partnered with restaurant industry veterans to be sure their cuisine mirrored their “crave-able” beer. Operating partners for Crave & Copper Justin Leo and Matt Oakley both have executive chef backgrounds. Leo has stepped into a front of house role as Director of Operations and Oakley as Executive Chef. The two are in partnership with Leo’s sister and Oakley’s wife, CFO of the Florida Brewery, Stacey Oakley as well as COO of the brewery Julie Williams. THE ATMOSPHERE “The atmosphere is all about community,” said Leo. Stacey Oakley agreed, saying that they want Crave & Copper to be an experience, something they have already created through the Florida Brewery. “When we did the Beer Garden we specifically put no TVs there. We wanted everybody to talk. We wanted a gathering place,” she said. Leo described their décor as rustic, modern-industrial. They wanted to keep the historic elements of the building complemented by modern finishes he said. Railroad imagery and large sliding barn doors, which can be closed to partition the restaurant, fit well within their rustic vibe. Focus is immediately drawn to the large rustic community table as you walk into Crave & Copper. “It creates the opportunity for people to get together and talk,” said Leo. Though the concept centers around pub fare and Florida Brewery beer, the atmosphere is family-friendly. Crave & Copper sits in the former Hudson Hotel, built in the 1920s. The hotel’s rooms were upstairs, now office space, and Crave & Copper is in place of its original restaurant. Stacey Oakley explained that Auburndale was a stop along the railroad back in the day. As a significant part of the town’s history, they wanted to pay homage. “It ties into the brewery because the copper kettle that sits at the beer garden was also brought down by the railroad in the 1970s,” she said. Many of the hotel’s original details have been left intact, but modernized – like the ceiling which was painted copper to suit their color scheme, the rehabbed bar and the exposed brick on one of the walls. Spanning an entire wall of the restaurant just beyond the barn doors is a mural by Central Florida based muralist, Joe Starks. According to Stacey and Julie, Starks worked off a photo of the building from the 1920s. The image peers into a scene straight from Lake Ave. in the roaring 20s, the only detail bringing it back to the present is the ‘Crave & Copper’ sign. Images of Prohibition, their brewery roots, and Auburndale’s iconic water tower make an appearance in the piece as well. Starks finished the entire monochromatic mural with spray paint in just one weekend, finishing it with copper accents. Stacey Oakley said the Hudson Hotel was a gathering space. They would broadcast fights on their radio outside and people would gather around to listen. The hotel’s restaurant would host $1 Thanksgiving dinner nights for the community. “The whole basis for what they did is similar to why we wanted to do this here. It was all focused around having a community destination,” she said. “We wanted something that was going to put Auburndale on the map,” said Executive Chef Matt Oakley. In the same way that Winter Haven and Lakeland have built up their downtown with exceptional dining, shopping, and recreation – the Crave & Copper owners want to see the same thing for downtown Auburndale. Folks shouldn’t have to drive out of town for a good meal and good beer he explained. TO EAT Describing their cuisine as upscale pub fare, Matt Oakley said, “We wanted to keep it traditional bar food, but we wanted to elevate it by using super fresh ingredients, sourcing as much local produce and proteins as possible.” For the proteins on their menu, Craft & Copper is working directly with Buckhead Beef, a mere three-minute walk from the establishment. For fresh produce, C & C is partnering with Farmer Jack in Winter Haven. Oakley said they are working on “fun, funky” flavors for the menu. You can’t have a pub without wings – that would be sacrilege. They have an assortment of flavors like Nashville Hot Honey and Thai Chili Peanut Sauce. We tried Crave & Copper’s delectable wings seasoned with their proprietary Copper Dust. Made with a spice blend from a chef-owned and operated company out of Spokane, Washington, Matt Oakley wanted to highlight the quality of the spices. He created a dry rub using garlic powder, onion powder, chili lime powder, white pepper, kosher salt, and honey granules. They have an assortment of other brilliant bar food like burgers, handhelds, and shareable apps along with seasonal salads and hearty vegetarian options like their grain bowl featuring a substantive variety of brussels and grains. A must-try is their smoked fish dip, ideally served with a frosty glass of Polar Pilsner. Made with locally caught Lane Snapper smoked in-house with pecan wood, Chef Matt says, “It’s a traditional Florida fish dip, but with my twist on it.” There were no frills, it was just plain good – like, really really good. It was served with a homemade hot sauce and crackers. A work of culinary art that Chef Matt brought to the table was his Beer Cheese Burger, which along with the Steak N’ Cheese made with local shaved ribeye, proved to be guest favorites within the first week of opening. The burger is made with a custom beef blend of chuck short rib and ribeye. Chef Matt makes beer cheese using the Florida Brewery Polar Pilsner incorporated into a mix of cream cheese, white cheddar, and chives. He makes a spicy tomato jam and accompanies it with hydroponic leaf bib lettuce. The beercheese-laden succulent burger is topped with “swine candy” – a helping of generously thick-cut candied bacon, all served on a brioche bun. Everything about the burger was remarkable from the first glance to the last bite. You might get messy, but it’s worth it. Matt had a food truck before opening the restaurant and one of his flagship menu items was the beer cheese burger. The burger was so beloved that it is part of the reason for their name. Patrons would come into the brewery and say how much they craved the burger or his chicken sandwich. “It wasn’t just good – people craved it,” said Stacey. “We wanted our beer to be the same – not just good, but crave-able.” The Crave & Copper kitchen is staffed mainly with culinary students from local schools. Matt Oakley reached out to Traviss Technical College to ask if they had any recent culinary graduates or soon to graduate students looking to work. The applications flooded in. The chef says he is glad to have them in his kitchen, remarking, “My goal as a chef is to teach and share my craft. I’m not one of those chefs that like to hold all my secrets in. I’m open with my recipes, I’ll tell anyone what they are. I want people to cook and to learn how to do it right so that we have more chefs and great food in town.” TO DRINK Florida Brewery COO Julie Williams discussed their five-barrel brew system at Crave & Copper. Three fermenters turn yeast into alcohol and one bright beer tank holds finished product ready to be kegged. “This is what we consider our research and development. The big brewery down the street, one batch is 300 barrels,” she said. “This gives us the chance to use a little more creativity on a small batch.” Crave & Copper has twenty rotating beers on tap including a cider. Stacey Oakley said that their beers cater to the traditional lager style and are made intentionally drinkable for Florida – whether you’re boating, fishing or backyard barbequing. They recently added 863 Light, their version of an American Standard Lager, and 863 Ultra, which she described as a more “calorie-conscious American lager” to the menu. Their best-selling beer by far, Beach Me Up, started as a seasonal brew. The crisp grapefruit shandy earned a fixed spot on the menu due to demand. Wine is also available along with a cocktail menu offering six craft cocktails. “We’re focusing on small-batch producers,” said Matt Oakley of their craft cocktail offerings. “We partnered with Florida Cane Distillery in Ybor. We use them exclusively for our liquors.” YES, I’M CRAVING IT “We’re not a brewery that decided to do a restaurant and we’re not a restaurant that decided to be a brewery,” said Stacey Oakley – a sentiment that resonated throughout my experience at the Auburndale restaurant and taproom. “We partnered with people who have a restaurant background. We handle the beer because that’s what we’re good at and they handle the restaurant. It’s been such a perfect pairing because there is a huge focus on both sides,” she said. I live over an hour away from Crave & Copper and have no qualms saying their food and drink menu are worth the drive. Neither the food or the beer is an afterthought. Each dish seemed thoughtful, hitting just the right spot between bar food staple and rave-worthy (or should I say, crave-worthy) cuisine. You HAVE to try this place. Crave & Copper 117 E Lake Ave, Auburndale, FL Craveandcopper.com FB @craveandcopper IG @craveandcopper Hours: Sunday 11AM - 9PM Monday 11AM - 9PM Tuesday - CLOSED Wednesday 11AM - 9PM Thursday 11AM - 9PM Fri. & Sat. 11AM - 11PM

I can’t take credit for that title – that’s all Kaley Aldridge. It’s what she makes with her creative business, Moonebird. It is scary and brave to walk away from the security of a job that doesn’t make you happy to follow your passions – and that’s exactly what the creative mind behind Moonebird did. Twenty-seven-year-old Kaley Aldridge is from St. Augustine originally. After college, she and her husband Russell, a Lakeland native, moved back. That was about five years ago. Though Kaley describes herself as a bit of an introvert, she always seemed to find a job in sales — which she didn’t exactly love. “I’ve always been an artist so I wanted to try to delve into that somehow. For me, jewelry making was something that I did on the side,” said Aldridge. She knew if she was ever going to quit working in sales, there was no time to act, like the present. In January of this year, she made the nerve-wracking decision to quit her job, finding encouragement in her husband and in the fact that Lakeland seemed like a community conducive to small business. “I got tired of working jobs I hated,” she said. “I wanted to do something creative and fun.” She now works part-time at a jewelry design studio downtown and making magic with her small business, Moonebird. The name was inspired in part by her love of birdwatching and by the family name of her Great Great Grandma Mooney who Kaley described as a badass. She too was a female business owner, running a bar in Rome, Georgia during a time when female entrepreneurship wasn’t so supported. Moonebird started off selling prints and jewelry. It evolved into more jewelry and continues to evolve based on Kaley’s interests and what her customers gravitate towards. More recently, Kaley has delved into pottery which she’ll have available for sale at the Holiday Haus Mrkt on Dec. 13 at Haus 820. She doesn’t see many creators in the area making ceramics, so she would like to bring them to the table – quite literally – in the form of pieces that people can be inspired by and find use in. “There’s nothing better than a special mug or a plate that you use every night because you love it,” she said. CREATIVE PROCESS “I’ve always been inspired by nature,” said Aldridge. She half-joked that her aesthetic is suited best to picking something up and rubbing the dirt off of it to use. She enjoys the earthy tones and textures of natural gemstones, shells, pearls, and botanicals. Moonebird jewelry tends to be minimalistic and powerful in style – full of good vibrations that you can’t help but feel that Kaley has put a little piece of herself into each item she creates. She makes brilliant use of natural beauty, including asymmetry in some pieces. Kaley’s creative approach to her art is much like that which inspires her – natural. “The creation process is me sitting with all the beads I have and adding one, subtracting one, until I like the design of it,” she said. Depending on how inspired she feels, a design could take her anywhere from ten seconds to an hour to get just right. To make her Botanical Essence Necklaces, Kaley collects flowers, wildflowers, and roses that have already fallen (she may or may not trespass to pick up a pretty flower or two). She takes them home and dries them out on a window screen for a few weeks until they’ve dried out completely. She makes a “ floral confetti” out of them and casts that in resin to live a second life as a special piece of jewelry for someone. Her crystal statement necklaces or “Warrior Necklaces” she described as power pieces. She uses natural elements like Labradorite, Halite, shell, Quartz, Pyrite, and Natural Moonstone – looking for color palettes that complement each other. INSPIRATION AND SUPPORT It isn’t just nature that inspires Aldridge, it’s the abounding creativity of the people she surrounds herself with. “I have some really creative friends. It’s good to have people that you can sit with, in silence, and create,” she said, naming Chad Loving of Loving Studios and WNDER Co photographer and fellow jewelry maker, Brea Marie. She is also inspired by makers she meets at markets like Lyndsey Venrick of Pin + Needle as well as Evan Neidich of Fox & Crow Paper Co. “Finding a little artistic community that you can exist with and create with is really fun,” she said. And of course, she couldn’t do it without her adorable pups – pit mix, Luna and boxer rescue, Kawaii. Her number one fan throughout her Moonebird journey has been her husband, Russell. Any idea that Kaley thinks might be crazy or out-of-the-box, Russell is there to root her on. “He’s pretty great,” she smiled. “I’ll keep him.” MOONEBIRD ASCENDING Her first year with Moonebird has been a fulfilling one says, Aldridge. “I like the freedom,” she said. “I like the space and freedom to create.” She remembers the first time someone purchased one of her pieces at a market, thinking, “That’s so wild that someone would spend their hard-earned money on something that I made and I love. That was inspiring to me.” That creative momentum and freedom that Moonebird has allowed Aldridge is a big part of the reason she is going back to school in January to study Marine Biology. Aldridge has been interested in the subject since she was young. She said, “You know when you grow up and sometimes forget what you always wanted to do?” Though life had taken her elsewhere, Kaley is course correcting toward her dreams in art and academics. Aside from her academic pursuits, Aldridge is an avid birdwatcher and artist of many mediums. She enjoys painting, poetry, ceramics, jewelry-making, and anything else that intrigues her. You can find her “tiny pieces of tangible magic” on Instagram, Facebook, Etsy and the many markets she attends. Follow Moonebird on social media to find out where she will be next! Moonebird Moonebird.etsy.com FB @shopmoonebird IG @moonebird Photos by Amy Sexson

Built in 1932 as a winter retreat by Charles Austin Buck, the estate was acquired by Bok Tower Gardens in 1970. The 20-room Meditarranean-style mansion is decorated for the Holidays and is celebrating its 25th year of the home tour. The entrance hall shimmers in silver to celebrate the 25th Anniversary. For this year’s decorations, they’ve brought the beauty of the outside, in. Spectacular trees are decorated with birds, forest creatures and of course, citrus. Peacocks that used to roam the gardens were an inspiration, too. Original paintings by local artist Blair Peterson Updike are hung throughout the house, inspired by the beauty surrounding the gardens. New this year is The Secret Garden featuring fairy houses and trees for the birds. I sat down with Ginny Dunson and Patti Bostick while they were putting the finishing touches on the estate one afternoon. This was a collaborative effort between Dunson, Bostick and Bok Tower that has been going on all year. Dunson and Bostick have been involved with decorating Pinewood Estate for five years. “It’s such a privilege to be here, it’s an honor,” Bostick said. “I’m an interior designer and have been in business for 34 years. This is so fun and special that I can be so creative every year,” Dunson said. “I think the most unique thing is the pineapple tree. That’s a nod to our Southern roots and hospitality,” Bostick explained. They hope the guests will feel the warmth and coziness of the house and be inspired by something they’ve seen. Erica Smith, Director of Marketing & Public Relations added, “What makes this year unique is that they extended beyond the walls of the estate. We’ve never done a secret garden before and it was their vision to say christmas exists outside of these walls. Porches are decorated, there’s something on the inside and outside.” She continued, “They work tirelessly, without them, there would be no home tour.” Tours are Nov. 29 - Jan. 5. Adults $25, Children 5-12 $12. Bok Tower Gardens 1151 Tower Boulevard Lake Wales, Florida 33853 boktowergardens.org 863-676-1408