We talked with Timothy Collette from Clean Pirate Life to learn about the fifth annual Foot the Chain Music & Waterski Festival happening in February. With a new sober living facility as the end goal, find out about the fun happening along the way to get there. HOW DID FOOT THE CHAIN COME ABOUT AND WHY? TC: Foot the Chain (FTC) started with a group of guys who came to Winter Haven every year after the holiday season, to warm up and barefoot waterski our beautiful chain of lak

This month, we look back to 1915 when a small group of determined residents had a vision of connecting many of our lakes by canals. The group organized as the Twenty Lakes Boat Club. At the time, some of the lakes had small “runs” or swampy places that connected them. This club wanted to create canals there. Pleasure boat in Howard/Cannon canal, one the Chain’s most scenic. Foot bridge spanning the canal behind boat was originally installed to connect the properties of Dick a

As we dive into Lakes Appreciation Month, let’s take a look at one of Polk County’s most distinctive water bodies, Lake Hancock. Nestled between Bartow, Lakeland, and Winter Haven, Lake Hancock is one of the largest lakes in the county, covering 4,583 acres. It is second only to Lake Weohyakapka (“Walk in Water”) for the title of the largest lake fully within Polk County’s border. However, size is just one of the lake’s attributes; Lake Hancock also plays a vital role in the

July is National Lakes Appreciation Month, and as a UF/IFAS Extension agent, I’m taking this opportunity to shed light on an aspect of our local lakes that’s often overlooked but is incredibly important: the value of aquatic plants. Many of us might view these plants as pesky water weeds, but if we dive deeper, we’ll discover that they play a critical role in maintaining the health of our lakes and the wildlife that inhabits them. Watershed kayak tour led by Polk County Exte

May is American Wetlands Month, and with one-fifth of the nation’s wetlands, Florida is the perfect place to appreciate the beauty and importance of these ecosystems. Home to various types of wetlands, these areas provide crucial habitats for threatened and endangered species, help maintain water quality, and protect our communities from flooding while contributing to the state’s rich biodiversity. Tiger Creek Preserve Wetlands are unique and complex transitional areas betwee

We are surrounded by water, both fresh and salt. What happens when an aquatic ecosystem becomes unbalanced or worse? We sat over coffee with Sea & Shoreline President and Partner Carter Henne to discuss seagrass solutions, saving Crystal River, and how you can help keep Florida water bodies clean. Winter Haven-born biologist Carter Henne lives in Polk County with his wife, Dr. Michelle Henne, and their two dogs. The avid angler and outdoorsman grew up on Lake Daisy. “It was

From charming guests as a Southern Belle to awing audiences as an Aquamaid at Cypress Gardens, Brenda Mitchell sat down with Haven to share stories of an iconic time in Central Florida history. Citrus was booming, “Mr. Florida” Dick Pope Sr. was operating a star-studded theme park, and Winter Haven was forging its designation as the Water Ski Capital of the World. Eclipsed only by “Mr. Florida” himself, images of beguiling Southern Belles and Aquamaids arm-in-arm smiling to t

Champion Skier Barbara Cooper Clack Heddon “Don’t be too hard on yourself. You practice hard, you work hard, you give it all you’ve got.” That is what champion competitive water skier Barbara Cooper Clack Heddon learned during her thirty-year career. It was a lesson she first had to learn on Christmas Eve, 1956. Heddon was 13 when she learned to ski at the Sump on Lake Hollingsworth. “My uncle got a boat and invited us all down to ski,” she remembered. “I told my dad, ‘I want

No sunset or lake silhouette is more fitting than that of “The Water Ski Capital of the World” to honor the 100th anniversary of the sport. The waters of Dick Pope Sr.’s tropical haven and skiing sanctum, Cypress Gardens, were the stage for many shattered records, celebrity guests, and film and television productions throughout the years. The magic lives on as later this month, thousands of spectators and athletes the world over will descend on Winter Haven for the 2022 Inter

“It’s magical,” said 25-year-old seaplane pilot Abbie Kellett. “You’ll see – it’s just amazing.” Some 500 feet below the yellow airframe of the Piper J3 Cub, semis and Suburbans move along like toy cars. Breaking up the cityscape and pastoral patchwork are deep blue-green lakes dotted between baseball fields, highways, hospitals, woods, and pastures. Like swollen raindrops, some lakes appear perfectly round from our vantage point and others less so. An alligator suns himself

Third-generation Central Floridian, angler, author, and entrepreneur Joe Simonds lives in Winter Haven with his wife, Dr. Loren Simonds, and their three children. Fish, or more the memories made catching them, drove Joe and his brother Luke to start an angler-centric company offering products and real-time tips to their fellow fishermen. These memories go back to fishing with friends in Winter Haven. The Lakewood neighborhood surrounding Lake Otis and Lake Link is where Joe a

“There are no other Everglades in the world. They are, they have always been, one of the unique regions of the earth; remote, never wholly known. Nothing anywhere else is like them.” These words from iconic conservationist Marjory Stoneman Douglas, speak to a truly magnificent and unique place, The Everglades of Florida. Most people when they envision the River of Grass, think of South Florida and a National Park. However, the Everglades ecosystem is so much more than the Sou