Calling all art lovers, this one’s for you! I had the immense pleasure of sitting down with two artists in Polk County who are hoping to make a “splash” on the art scene come November. Gillian Fazio and Katerina Santos have a festival in the works running from November 6 through November 14, 2026, that is sure to knock your socks off. Coming from a shared love of each others’ work and a serendipitous meeting through murals at Disney Springs, Gillian and Katerina are the geniu

James ‘Lone Star’ Camp may not have gotten to play a cowboy in old Westerns, but he has darn sure lived like one. Lone on the range, the Bartow native traveled across the country from Tupelo to Devil’s Lake, painting murals along the way. For 83 years old, Lone Star is still plenty sharp between the ears. And boy, does he have stories to tell. Photograph by Amy Sexson Most would know the old cowboy for the orange tricycle he rides around Bartow (he calls it Trigger), which ha

Fourteen-year-old Harlow Manning is a freshman at Harrison School for the Arts. The young Winter Haven native was bound to be creative,...