by Beth Kassab | Nov 7, 2025 | Arts and Culture, City Commission, Events, News
Veterans Honored and Shared Stories at Annual Veterans Day Event
Two veterans were gifted Quilts of Valor and a local mother who lost her son in the U.S. Army earlier this year shared his story and legacy
Nov. 7, 2025
By Beth Kassab
A 28-year employee of the Winter Park Library and the city worker who runs both Winter Park-owned cemeteries were awarded Quilts of Valor on Friday as part of an emotional ceremony honoring locals who have served ahead of Veterans Day.
Sarah Williams, who is acquisitions manager at the library, served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1982 to 1994 during the Cold War, Persian Gulf War, Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
Sarah Williams, a Marine Corps veteran and Winter Park Library employee, is presented with a Quilt of Valor on Friday.
At one point, she was deployed when her daughter was about 8 months old and returned when she was 2.
“It means the world,” Williams said after she was presented with the colorful quilt bordered in a red, white and blue floral pattern that Melissa Mathews and other representatives from the Quilts of Valor Foundation wrapped around her shoulders.
Michael Webb, who served in the U.S. Army from 1994 to 2015 and joined the city’s Parks & Recreation Department in 2017, was also moved by his quilt as it was placed around him. He served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn. (Webb, second from right in the photo at the top of this page, receives his quilt from the foundation.)
“I’ll definitely keep this in the family forever for my sons,” said Webb, who runs Palm and Pineywood cemeteries, after the ceremony. “It will become a family heirloom.”
Quilts of Valor was founded in 2003 and has comforted more than 400,000 veterans with handmade quilts, according to its website.
The crowd at the city’s 15th annual Veterans celebration at the Community Center also heard from Laurie Houck, a Gold Star Mother and vice president of institutional advancement at Rollins College.
Laurie Houck, a Gold Star Mother and a vice president at Rollins College, addresses the crowd at the city’s Veterans Day celebration on Friday.
Houck lost her 22-year-old son David, a U.S. Army Supply Specialist and company armorer stationed at Fort Eisenhower near Augusta, Ga. He was killed in a vehicle accident in January just outside of the base.
Houck remembered how her son struggled when he first enlisted and didn’t care much for bootcamp. But in the military, she said, the tiny malnourished 2-year-old she adopted from China 20 years ago “had found his second home.”
She recalled how he worked to overcome his earliest years in an orphanage where he was left in his crib so long the back of his head was flat to his days in Boy Scouts and, later, as a camp counselor. Skills — she said — that eventually helped him in the Army.
“He belonged and he mattered,” Houck said. “David was known for the way he made people feel valued.”
Ben Mack-Jackson, founder of the WWII Veterans History Project and a Winter Park resident, displays a uniform that belonged to Tuskegee Airman Richard Hall Jr.
The ceremony was emceed by Pastor Troy East of New Hope Missionary Baptist Church and also featured a number of city officials, including Mayor Sheila DeCiccio and a performance by Maria Bryant and the VFW Post 2093 Community Band.
DeCiccio noted the lineup of events the city has planned beginning in January to celebrate the nation’s 250th year. For more information click here.
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by Beth Kassab | Sep 9, 2025 | Arts and Culture, City Commission, Events, News, Uncategorized
Save Christmas? Petition is misleading
City officials asked the Park Avenue District to brand the season of events as “holiday,” but Christmas is not disappearing from the names of the individual events
Sept. 9, 2025
By Beth Kassab
Hold your reindeer, Winter Park. Before you get fired up about the Change.Org petition to “Save Christmas in Winter Park,” let’s take a look at the facts.
The petition, which had 570 signatures by Tuesday afternoon in the city of 30,000 people, makes several allegations, asserting that 70 years of Christmas event traditions are “at risk.”
“In recent planning, the city has agreed to fund holiday lighting only if the word “Christmas” is removed,” the petition states. “As a result, Central Park’s Christmas Tree is now called a ‘Holiday Tree,’ and the annual tree lighting event has been rebranded as ‘Winter on the Avenue,’ intentionally avoiding any mention of Christmas.”
But those statements are misleading and, in some parts, false.
The city is, in fact, asking for the overall name of the events season to change. But no changes are being requested for the titles of the half dozen main events that make up the season — and most of those use the word “Christmas.”
New lights in Central Park made up part of the city’s display in 2024.
Gigi Papa, a Winter Park resident who frequently attends and speaks at City Commission meetings, is listed on the change.org page as the “petition starter.” Papa did not immediately respond to an email and text message seeking comment about the petition’s statements.
Here’s what happened and why the city requested the change:
In 2024, the Park Avenue District, a relatively new group of merchants, businesses and residents who aim to support the central retail hub, took over coordination of the city’s annual light display and decor.
With about $100,000 from the city government and matching dollars from private donors, the group added more lights, an Instagram-worthy walk-through light cathedral in Central Park, a children’s carousel in front of City Hall and new wreaths and other festive touches.
For years, the city used the name “Hometown Holidays,” to advertise its season of events that run from mid-November, when the display goes up, through New Year’s.
The Park Avenue District changed the name to “Christmas on Park” last year.
City spokeswoman Clarissa Howard said Mayor Sheila DeCiccio heard some complaints about the entire season of events being branded as “Christmas” after it had been branded as “Hometown Holidays” for so long. So the city, which is providing about $60,000 for the decor this year, requested the name be changed to “Holidays on Park.”
“We are not breaking tradition,” Howard said. “It’s a season, it’s not one event. We called the season Hometown Holidays because there are holidays other than Christmas happening downtown.”
In 2021, the city added to Central Park a menorah for Hanukkah and a kinara for Kwanzaa.
A menorah is part of the annual lights display in Central Park.
Carina Sexton, executive director of the Park Avenue District, said she expects the name will change based on the city’s request.
“Regardless of the name, we feel confident that the magic of the season will remain the same and we are thrilled to welcome our community and visitors alike back to the Park Avenue District to celebrate with us,” she said.
Individual long-standing city events with the name Christmas aren’t changing and no one from the city has asked for them to be changed, Howard said. Sexton confirmed she has not received any other requests for changes.
Those events include:
“Christmas in the Park” on Dec. 4 is the annual evening that features a display of lighted Tiffany glass windows from the Morse Museum and Christmas music from the Bach Festival Society and a brass ensemble.
“The Christmas Parade” will be on Dec. 6, which is sponsored by the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce.
And “Tuba Christmas,” another musical event, will take place on Dec. 20 this year.
The name “Winter on the Avenue,” another event lead by the chamber, has been used for years and is not part of a rebrand as the petition alleges.
That will take place on Dec. 5 this year and is described on the Chamber website: “Begin the evening at the Annual Holiday Tree Lighting in Central Park just east of the Winter Park train station. Winners of the Holiday Art Competition will be recognized, Rabbi Dovid Dubov of Chabad Orlando will do a menorah lighting ceremony ushering in the season of Chanukah, and Winter Park Mayor Sheila DeCiccio will lead us in a countdown as we light the Christmas Tree.”
The petition demands the city “return to using the name Christmas Tree instead of Holiday Tree,” even though the chamber’s description explicitly refers to the mayor leading the lighting of the “Christmas Tree.”
“The city does not call it a ‘holiday tree,'” Howard said.
In holiday press releases dating back to 2005, the ceremony has always been referred to simply as the “annual tree-lighting” without the word Christmas. Though Christmas was, and still is, included in many of the event names throughout the seasonal lineup.
“We can’t return to doing something that we haven’t done,” Howard said. “There is no tradition at risk. All of our events are still happening.”
In a press release in August about the light display that will go up Nov. 13, the city noted the season of events and decor brought in about 350,000 people last year, about 7% higher than the previous year.
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Correction: An earlier version of this story stated the wrong year the city added a menorah and kinara to Central Park, due to incorrect information provided to the Voice. The year was 2021.
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by Beth Kassab | Jun 17, 2025 | Arts and Culture, Events, News, Uncategorized
Winter Park awaiting decision on Parade of Bands
The annual December tradition was cancelled last year and may not happen again because of the new college football playoff schedule
June 17, 2025
By Gabrielle Russon
Officials are currently deciding the fate of the annual Parade of Bands in Winter Park.
A decision is expected to be reached next month whether the December parade is a go or if it is canceled for the second straight year in a row.
The parade normally features the two university bands playing in Orlando’s Pop-Tarts Bowl.
“Florida Citrus Sports is the entity that determines whether or not they will have an event. Once we hear from them, then the city works with FCS for the Parade of Bands event coordination and logistics,” Winter Park spokeswoman Clarissa Howard said. “They are in discussions right now and will determine if there is a Parade of Bands at the end of July. At this point, we don’t have a confirmation yet”
The recently released bowl schedule shows the Pop Tarts Bowl begins at 3:30 p.m. on Dec. 27 at Camping World Stadium.
It is the same kickoff time as last year that forced officials to scratch the parade because of the logistical challenge of transporting hundreds of band members into Winter Park and feeding them before the game and the bands’ other responsibilities.
Blame the new expanded college playoff system for the earlier kickoff times.
City and FCS officials told the Winter Park Voice last year they were disappointed the parade wasn’t happening in 2024 but would try again in 2025 although they warned they couldn’t make any guarantees.
The parade shuts down Park Avenue as crowds line the street to hear the music and watch the mascots and cheerleaders go by. Then the masses gather in Central Park for a drum-off. The event, which is free, draws all ages and has been a tradition since 2007 in Winter Park.
“It has been a crowd-pleaser every year,” Johnny Miller, Winter Park’s special events manager, said at the time.
The marching bands are scheduled to make pregame cameos this year for tailgating at Tinker Field and a pep rally at Pointe Orlando. However, if there’s no parade, that means Winter Park residents miss out on the convenience and the magic of having the festivities right in the heart of their quaint downtown.
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Gabrielle Russon is a freelance reporter and former reporter for the Orlando Sentinel, where she covered K-12 education, colleges and universities and the tourism industry. She lives in Orlando with her family and writes about politics, education, theme parks and the courts.
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by Beth Kassab | Dec 17, 2024 | Events, News, Uncategorized
Parade of Bands missing from Winter Park holiday festivities this year
The popular parade along Park Avenue was squeezed out by this season’s earlier bowl game kickoff
Dec. 17, 2024
By Gabrielle Russon
A longtime Winter Park holiday tradition is canceled this year because officials said an earlier kickoff for the Pop-Tarts Bowl on Dec. 28 makes it impossible to hold the Parade of Bands.
“It has been a crowd-pleaser every year. We’re really sorry that it’s not going to be held this year,” said Johnny Miller, Winter Park’s special events manager. “But we will be ready to go next year and hopefully everything will work out with the date.”
So far, Miller has fielded a dozen calls from residents asking about the parade since the event is missing from the city’s holiday calendar. Miller expects the calls to increase as people tune into football and Christmas approaches.
College bands faceoff in Central Park as part of the Parade of Bands. (Photos courtesy of the City of Winter Park)
Since 2007, two school marching bands in town for what’s now known as the Pop-Tarts Bowl at Camping World Stadium have marched down Park Avenue late morning before the game. Little kids sat on the curb and adults brunched outdoors while tubas, drums, mascots and cheerleaders took over the quaint brick street. The parade was up close, personal and loud; the environment was electric.
The finale took place at Central Park, where the two opposing schools competed in a spirited drum-off in a big outdoor pep rally.
“I learned the first year, it’s not a battle,” Miller said. “Bands don’t fight.”
After the performances, the two friendly school bands ate lunch together before heading back on buses to Camping World Stadium. Winter Park city employees served barbecue to nearly 1,000 hungry college students in about 20 minutes, Miller said.
As far as parades go, “It was something different. It was something unique,” said Miller, who appreciates a good marching band as the longtime assistant football coach at Winter Park High School, his other job.
Parades these days are harder to come by. The annual downtown Orlando Citrus Parade was canceled in 2019 after nearly four decades.
The Parade of Bands drew at least 2,000 or more — especially if a Florida team was playing in Orlando.
The Parade of Bands marches down Park Avenue. (Photos courtesy of the city of Winter Park.)
Winter Park resident Marc Hagle, a commercial developer who is currently building a record-setting home in the city at 40,000-square feet on Lake Osceola and who has made headlines with wife, Sharon, for traveling in space, came up with the Parade of Bands’ idea and approached the city, Miller said.
The parade launched in 2007 and has been held annually except for two previously cancelled years, including during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year, Iowa State versus Miami in the Pop-Tarts Bowl starts at 3:30 p.m. on the Saturday following Christmas. This season marks the first of an expanded college playoff system, which prompted some earlier bowl kickoffs.
In past years, the bowl’s start time was in the evening on a weekday, leaving enough time to squeeze in a parade and the bands’ lunch in Winter Park.
“The logistics are very tough, even when the game was at like 5:45, almost 6 o’clock,” said Jill Mickle, senior director of external relations at Florida Citrus Sports.
The major networks control the kickoff time, and there just isn’t enough time with the new schedule this year, Mickle said, adding the bands have other game day responsibilities like playing for their alumni tailgates.
“We’re sad,” Mickle said. “It’s not that we didn’t want to have it. It’s just timing-wise, it couldn’t happen this year.”
Will the fan-favorite parade return in 2025?
“I certainly hope so,” Mickle said, although she acknowledges she can’t make any guarantees.
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by Beth Kassab | Jun 11, 2023 | Events, News
Juneteenth events on tap for the weekend
A series of celebrations to mark the day of emancipation for enslaved people will include a remembrance of the Rosewood massacre
By Beth Kassab
Celebrations of the federal Juneteenth holiday will kick-off in Winter Park on Thursday with the 5th Annual Hannibal Square Community Land Trust Juneteenth Roundtable Discussion on Race, Housing and Health.
The event will take place at the Winter Park Events Center from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Admission is free. To register go to hannibalsquareclt.org/juneteenth-2023.
On Saturday, residents will have multiple events to choose from including a free Father’s Day breakfast and “Remembering Rosewood,” a program curated by Barbara Chandler in partnership with the Hannibal Square Heritage Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Winter Park Community Center & Shady Park. For a full schedule of events and more information click here.
Then on Saturday evening the Equity Council and the city’s Parks & Recreation Department will put on A Night Under the Stars: Jazz & Jubilee at Shady Park from 5 to 10 p.m.
Finally, the Winter Park Library will host multiple programs related to Juneteenth. For a full calendar or to reserve a seat at an event click here.
The federal holiday will be officially observed on Monday, June 19.
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by Beth Kassab | Jun 11, 2023 | City Commission, Events, News
League of Women Voters to host discussion on the affordable housing crisis
Affordable housing is a concern in Winter Park, where officials have discussed transforming the old library into workforce apartments
The Orange County League of Women Voters will host a panel on affordable housing solutions for the region this week as Central Florida continues to see soaring rents and property values that price even middle-class families out of homes in some areas.
“Give Me Shelter: Innovative Solutions to Our Housing Crises” is the latest in the league’s popular “Hot Topics” series and will begin at 11:30 on Wednesday at the Winter Park Events Center. Register here.
Panelists include Terry Prather, senior advisor to Lift Orlando, Ryan Von Weller, chief operating officer for Wendover Housing Partners, and Mitchell Glasser, Housing and Community Development manager for Orange County. Beth Kassab, editor of the Winter Park Voice, will moderate.
“Low wages, a shortage of apartments and rising rents create a perfect storm for workers, their families and others who live on fixed incomes,” reads a description of the event. “What is being done long-term to provide the kind of communities where people can live? The panelists will provide examples of two innovative solutions to housing and how they work with the community and local government.”
This week the Winter Park City Commission will hear from residents at two meetings where the fate of the old library is on the agenda. At least one potential proposal by a local developer calls for the city to trade the library property for the Bank of the Ozarks property, which would allow the old library land to be transformed into, at least in part, workforce housing.
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