In a world where everyone complains about everyone else it's refreshing to find a place where all…read morethe neighbors get along. Park your car and take a walk through the arches of lights. Every house decorated! On the weekends, the homeowners are usually outside greeting everyone there are places for photo opportunities, and even some houses that are collecting for charities. This place helps you remember the joy of Christmas watching all the little children run around and their eyes light up.

Along the Lemon Street Promenade you can find the 24th annual Florida Outdoor Sculpture…read moreCompetition. Out of 60 sculptures submitted for review, 11 were chosen for display by a committee of community members and Polk Museum of Art staff. The Lemon Street Sculpture project is a part of the Parks & Recreation budget. Each artist chosen receives a $1,500 honorarium which they use to get their pieces to Lakeland and for the installation costs. A crane is made available through Lakeland Electric for installing larger pieces. The app Otocast will give you mor information on the art as each artist describes their piece. All of the art pieces will be on display until the end of 2024. Lakeland residents are able to vote on a People's Choice Award and this year the winner selected was Live Large by local Lakeland resident Keith Williams. The sculpture is based on a smaller piece the artist made in 2017. Keith welds and fabricates his art pieces out of recycled metal. His art studio is called 4th Dimension Art & Fab which offers public art and custom fabrication and welding services for the public. As soon as I saw this delightful piece I had no trouble understanding why it won because it was my favorite sculpture too. The piece features a hiker with his faithful dog at his side. The dog has so much personality I couldn't help but fall in love with him. Live Large will be on display in Lemon Street Promenade until the end of this year. Hopefully Lakeland finds a permanent home for him nearby.

Heart in the Park is a 75' tall stainless steel sculpture donated to the City of Port St Lucie by a…read morelocal home builder. It's highly polished stainless steel skin reflects a constantly changing view of the sky, clouds, traffic, people, etc. I'm told there is a glass walkway (visible in some of the pictures) that can be booked for weddings but I don't know any of those details. It's an amazing site to see.

Heart in the Park is a 73-foot heart sculpture in a park that is being built at Village Parkway and…read moreDiscovery Way. Heart in the Park was designed by Filipino American, Orlando-based artist Jefre Figueras Manuel, known as JEFRË. Manuel started Studio Mattamy Homes, the largest privately owned homebuilder in North America, in 2008 after he had a heart attack at the age of 35 followed by triple bypass surgery which gave him a new perspective on life. He transitioned from urban planning to focusing on his art full time. He has gone on to complete large scale art works all over the world. About the artwork he has created, he has said ""I love public art just for the fact that it's actually public. That is my job: to create icons for cities that the public can view and appreciate, that tell the history of the city." You can see more of Manuel's art in the Lake Nona Sculpture Garden. I have been JEFRË fan since first discovering his work in the Orlando Museum of Art. This art piece is meant to be a symbol of inclusivity. Heart in the Park will be adjacent to the 71,000-square-foot Shoppes at the Heart of Tradition commercial center, currently finishing up construction. Heart in the Park is being built along Tradition Trail, also known as the T-Trail. T-Trail will also include Stars and Stripes Park, nature trails, and Tradition Regional Park.

The Sebastian Millennium Clock Tower was erected to celebrate Sebastian, Florida's 75th anniversary…read moreback in December of 2001. It sits on the edge of a parking lot and across the street from Riverview Park. Well this might not be a tourist attraction worthy of flocks of people coming from all over the world to witness, it is an interesting part of sebastian, Florida and something that would trigger a happy memory for many of the people who have called here home at one point or another. Communities need these little mementos of memories for those who call that community home. I am glad that I stumbled across this.

A fun and free activity in downtown historic Kissimmee is a self guided mural tour. The murals are…read morepart of The Time For Art is Now public art project funded by Osceola Arts in downtown Kissimmee. The projects mission is to revitalize the downtown area with colorful works of art. One of the large scale artworks you would see is the Kissimmee mural on the corner of Main Street and Monument Ave. It was painted by Puerto Rican artist RIC ONE in 2021. He is self taught and has been painting for over 25 years. He also painted Two Koi mural in downtown Kissimmee. On the subject of his art he has said "I want to deliver a meaningful message through my art with substance that does not need to be explained. I want to enhance the beauty of this city with color & creativity." No explanation necessary for this colorful mural featuring the word Kissimmee. It is is believed Kissimmee is a modern spelling of an ancient tribal word. Inside the word Kissimmee RIC ONE has painted some of the iconic images associated with the history of the town. There are oranges and cowboys which are a nod to Kissimmee's cattle ranching history. I even saw the head of a sandhill crane. This is the kind of mural you want to use as a photo backdrop because with its Greeting From: Kissimmee it has a postcard like quality that lets everyone know just where you are.

During my travels I have visited a lot of Veteran Memorials but this is the first war dog memorial…read morethat I have found. This memorial is located in front of the Avon Park Community Center and it was dedicated on November 9, 2018. It was donated to the City of Avon Park by the Battle of the Bands and the Loyal Order of the Moose. The Battle of the Bands is an organization created on February 15, 2005 in order to create an annual display that honors veterans on Main Street every holiday season. The monument features a 5 foot tall soldier, German shepherds, collies, and other breeds of dogs. At night the memorial is lit up. As a huge dog lover this memorial instantly caught my attention. It not only recognizes how dogs have served in combat but also how they have offered emotional therapy and support to our soldiers. I love this touching tribute to mans best friend.

I am so ashamed and triple embarrassed! OMG Steven B, what did you do?…read more I've lived in this teeny tiny town for five years and I'm a lifelong dog lover and I've been a member of the Loyal Order of Moose for many years. I've driven by this wonderful memorial maybe a thousand times and for some strange reason it's never "clicked!" Along comes my good Yelp friend https://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=lvthTfCQGD0qaEk6jCdRdQ from considerably out of town and she writes the very first review! I am so ashamed! Thank you, Ariel W., for bringing me to my senses. This is an awesome and well-deserved memorial for our four-legged friends that is co-sponsored by the local Moose Lodge. War Dogs have helped humans for hundreds of years, saved countless lives and provided much needed emotional support to our soldiers. The memorial is very nicely done in bronze. I've stopped by twice now and I'm not ashamed to say that I've shed a tear or two!

Union is one of 9 sculptures that are part of See Art Orlando, a permanent contemporary collection…read moreof art that was unveiled by Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and the See Art Orlando Board of Directors on November 18, 2013. The art project was launched by Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and art lover Jennifer Quigley. They hoped that adding public art to downtown Orlando would bring pride, boost the economy, and strengthen the city's cultural core. The art is mainly displayed around Lake Eola. Union is located at Robinson Street and Eola Drive in Lake Eola Park. Union #2 was gifted to the city by the Harvey and Carol Massey Family. Union was created by sculptor, Ralfonso who is world famous for his kinetic, light, and interactive sculptures. Union #1, #3, and #4 are located throughout China. Ralfonso has been designing environmentally interactive art since 1980 and since 1999 he has been concentrating solely on kinetic and light sculptures for public places from his studios in West Palm Beach, Florida and Geneva, Switzerland. Once you see Ralfonso work you will know it. I instantly recognized Union because I had already visited a piece that looks very similar called Reflections that Ralfonso made as part of a 1.15 million dollar art project to create kinetic and interactive art to bring cultural tourism to Boynton Beach. Union is a group of six wind driven 25-feet tall steel aluminum poles with 30 curved wings at the top that move and reflect light. It is made out of mirrored polished stainless steel. The sculpture has programmable RGB LEDs, Hourly Light Chime, and is synchronized to the City Color Program. I love the height, movement, and drama of this piece. It is always different depending on the environment. It is so fun to explore and try to find all of See Art Orlando's pieces.

This particular piece of art is located on the edge of Lake Eola Park and just across the street…read morefrom the Persimmon Hollow Brewing Company. A little bit more clarification is that it sits on the corner of Robinson Street and Eola Drive. Lake Eola park has a lot of public art. These displays of public art help to give a community a sense of personality. I also firmly believe that these particular pieces of art will stand out in memories a people who grew up here in Orlando. The interpretation of art is left to each person who looks at it. For me, this particular piece looks towards the future and what our evolution can look like. If you are in Lake Eola Park, come check this piece out. See what it says to you. Art teaches us to look inward, it teaches us also to look outward at the world around us.

This is another of my favorite murals in Lake Placid. You can find it facing into Journal Plaza on…read morethe wall of Olde Friends Gallery & Gifts. This is one of fifty-one large murals on the side of buildings throughout downtown Lake Placid. Bob and Harriet Porter got the idea for the Lake Placid murals in the early 1990's during an motorcycle trip to Alaska. The couple made a chance stop in Chemainus, Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Inspired by the towns collection of mural they decided to try and recreate murals on the buildings to draw tourists to the town to revitalize the economic downturn. The couple founded the Lake Placid Mural Society in 1992. Having visited Fort Myers a few times I instantly recognized the three titans who are featured in this mural painted by Keith Goodson and completed on July 25, 2005. Florida artist Keith Goodson has been a professional artist since 1994. His artwork features Christian themes, nature, and history. He does murals, portraits, and illustrations. He uses his art to express his faith and to spiritually connect with the viewer. This mural tells the story of how Swain Bowers once rescued Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Harvey Firestone. In 1927 Swain Bowers opened Lake Placid Motor Co.. That same year Edison, Ford, and Firestone who lived in Ft. Myers decided to take a road trip through Highlands County to look for goldenrod as a potential source of rubber. During the trip, the three friends got their Model T stuck in the sand of a primitive road near Lake Annie. Swain Bowers was called to rescue them with his truck and he brought chains to pull them out. To his amazement he found out that he had helped three of the most famous men of the time. Swain Bowers was a respected member of the Lake Placid community for his willingness to always lend a hand. He and his wife Frances were members of many civic organizations. He served for 12 years as Lake Placid School Board trustee and was a member of L.P. Chamber of Commerce, the Cattlemen Association, and National Auto Dealers Association.

HeartandSoul is a mural by a local artist that is a part of the creative infusion Disney Springs…read moreArt Walk. The pieces area spread through the popular Disney springs outlet shopping and entertainment district. This particular piece features a very brightly colored flower on a blue background. It is kinda hard to make out what it is. But is very lovely to look At. Overall a really good piece that is part of a cool art initiative in an area that will attract a lot of viewers.