Executive Director and Three Board Members Exit Park Avenue District
The changes come in the wake of a controversy over whether “Christmas” should be in the title of the city’s holiday decor the group is tasked with overseeing
Sept. 29, 2025
By Beth Kassab
Carina Sexton, executive director of the Park Avenue District, announced Monday she is stepping down, part of a leadership shakeup at the nonprofit that promotes economic development along the city’s historic retail corridor and coordinates the city’s annual holiday lights display.
The changes, which include the resignations of three board members, come in the wake of a controversy over what the group would call the holiday decor with some residents expressing anger that Winter Park city government, which is providing $90,000 this year for the project, requested the name be changed from Christmas on Park to Holidays on Park.
Alan Chambers, the district’s board president, said Sexton and the board “mutually agreed to conclude her tenure” and “wish her the very best in her next chapter.” He did not give a specific reason for the departure other than to say the changes had been in the works for a while and that it wasn’t related to the holiday decorations.
“We appreciate all that Carina has done for Park Avenue and her role in this important and inaugural position,” said Chambers, who is vice president of operations for John Craig Clothier, which operates eight Florida stores, including two on Park Avenue. “Our mission remains at the heart of everything we do: Fall in love with the charm, sophistication and the history of the Park Avenue District.”
Sexton said the decision was not the result of disagreement over the title of the holiday decor, and listed the Christmas line-up as one of her key accomplishments.
“The website and the design of Christmas on Park would not have been possible without the incredible time and talent of Tracy Brand-Liffey, whose creativity has left a lasting mark on the District,” she wrote in her resignation letter. “I would also like to express my gratitude to the mayor and city commissioners for their vision, funding, and cooperation in helping to create and move the district forward. Their support has been instrumental in ensuring the success and growth of this organization.”
Brand-Liffey, who owns New General Cafe on New England Avenue, confirmed to the Voice hat she has left the Park Avenue District’s board, a decision she attributed to personal and professional reasons.
“This was not an easy decision, but the timing feels right given recent personal and professional changes, coupled with the robust challenges this organization faces and the political constraints that have limited our ability to advance initiatives in the way I once envisioned,” she wrote in a resignation.
She declined to elaborate on what she meant by “political constraints.”
Chambers said the group will change the title of the decor and district website that highlights the line-up of events from Christmas on Park, which was first used last year, to Holidays on Park at the request of the city. Some promotional materials that were done in advance, however, won’t be changed in time.
Before the Park Avenue District took over coordination and fundraising for the signature decorations last year and added new features such as a children’s carousel in front of City Hall and a walk-through “Cathedral of Lights” in Central Park, the city called the decor and event line-up “Hometown Holidays.”
It requested a more inclusive overall name this year because the festivities also include celebrations for Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.
But the line-up of events, some of which are led by the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce, still include multiple Christmas celebrations such as the Christmas Parade, Christmas in the Park (which features and outdoor display of Tiffany windows from the Morse Museum and the Bach Festival Society choir) and Tuba Christmas. None of those names or traditions are changing nor did the city request any changes to them.
But as word got out about the request to change the overarching title, a resident started a petition that claimed the city was threatening to put Christmas traditions “at risk.” It made multiple inaccurate claims such as how the city’s Christmas tree would only be referred to as a “holiday tree” and also falsely stated that the annual tree lighting event has been “rebranded as ‘Winter on the Avenue,’ intentionally avoiding any mention of Christmas.”
“Winter on the Avenue” is an event put on by the Chamber of Commerce and the name has been used for years. The chamber’s own web page about the event uses the words “Christmas tree” in the description: “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 resident, who frequently uses the public comment portion of City Commission meetings to advocate for conservative causes, has refused to acknowledge factual inaccuracies in the petition, which now has more than 1,000 signatures, though it’s unclear how many of the signers live in Winter Park.
Chambers said Tracy Klingler, who owns the boutique Frank, and Ginny Enstad, of Ginny’s Orchids, are also leaving the board, but along with Brand-Liffey will remain involved in helping to steer the organization.
Theresa Smith-Levin, the founder and executive director of Central Florida Vocal arts, is the district’s treasurer and Sarah Grafton, managing partner at Grafton Wealth Advisors, remains advisory board chairwoman. Also on the board are Ricci Culver, who owns Through the Looking Glass boutique; Meredith Gardner, who owned The Grove; Tim Noelke, operating partner at Prato as well as Luke’s; Nora Miller, an attorney at GrayRobinson; Sheila Wyatt, founder of Sheila & Co Moving and Chris Southern, owner and vice president of Bosphorous Turkish Cuisine.
The lights will turn on Nov. 13 and the line-up of events will run through the new year.
Chambers said the group is still fundraising for the decor, which will this year focus on Park Avenue rather than extend to the side streets and Hannibal Square as it did last year.
“We do have some more fundraising to do,” he said. “We have the ability to pay for it, but we are always looking to cover those expenses rather than those things coming out of our general budget.”
WinterParkVoiceEditor@gmail.com
Wacky MAGAs strike again, foaming at the mouth at use of the word “holiday.”
Poet John Lydgate: ” You can’t please all of the people all of the time” For god’s sake, Christmas is Christmas. Leave it at that.
We’ve already denigrated Park Avenue with tacky entrance signs ,
the likes of Disney, New Smyrna beach, Kissimmee old town
Funspot. It doesn’t need to be commercially advertised. It’s our
town, not the tourists’ town.
The only things denigrating Winter Park these days are people with a deluded sense of self-importance and entitlement.
Kudos to the Park Avenue District board for voting to retain the inclusive “Holidays on Park” which is the umbrella name for the beautiful Park Avenue lights, the Christmas Tree Lighting, the Kwanzaa, and the lighting of the Menora, etc.
I love the Christmas Parade and Tuba Christmas — which remain, despite the erroneous information that was circulating in the petition. We have enough division in our country — and I’m glad this issue is now settled in WP. I look forward to celebrating the holidays with my friends!
We might have the money in the 32789 but we do not have the common sense to ignore the 1% loudmouths who wanna make culture war issues out of nothing.
Such nonsense and childish.
This is terrible news. Carina did so much for downtown and brought people together. Carina and the three hard working board members stepping down without a clear reason is going to make it hard to trust the Park Ave District. Even worse though is that one person created false information and brought a wedge into our city that not need be there. Hopefully this isn’t a sign of an emerging pattern for our community. I hope the residents and businesses thank these four people who have make Park Ave. better.
CURIOUS WHO ???
“Chambers said the group will change the title of the decor and district website that highlights the line-up of events from Christmas on Park, which was first used last year, to Holidays on Park at the request of the city. “
Please specify who at the CITY requested the name change?
I’ve been reading “The Voice” for a long time. Considering the slanted writing and the plethora of posted comments that come from the left side of the aisle, with few corresponding comments published from the right, it’s time to be honest and change the name of this website to, “The Winter Park Liberal Voice.”
Oh, yay, another anonymous comment from someone who thinks they are right about everything. Cue my shocked face. Please, tell me what is so slanted about the Voice? The story about the state taking away vaccine data from parents? If you believe that public records, transparency and public health (especially when it comes to a parent looking for information about their child’s public school) is a partisan issue then you are entitled to think that. As a journalist, it makes me ask what has happened to our community for folks to conclude that such basic issues are now partisan? Or the story about the Christmas decorations? No one who I have spoken with is against the Christmas decorations or the line-up of Christmas events. The city has even allotted more dollars toward this project over the last two years. The request to use the name Holidays on Park on the Park Avenue District website (not for an event) was an effort to be inclusive of Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, which are also celebrated during the season of events. Again, it makes we want to ask how we have come to decide that such a basic gesture of inclusion is now political rather than a simple effort to bring more people out to the events? Or can we no longer do something because it’s the right thing to do? So, yes, please tell me why are these stories so “slanted?” I’m reporting facts.
Exhibit 7,392 why anonymous comments should not be allowed.
Cancel my subscription. Whoops! The Voice costs nothing – equal to it’s level of “journalism.” Adios. One more conservative no longer interested in this constant left-wing dribble.
Instead of citing examples as I asked you to do, you stomp your feet, pick up your ball and go home. That’s your choice. But for anyone reading this, let’s ask ourselves why we can’t return to a time when it was considered magnanimous and even wise to contemplate and even challenge one’s own views for the sake of finding solutions or dare, I say, meeting in the middle? I’m happy to do so, personally, but you cite no examples. As for the cost of the Voice, we are a news nonprofit supported by community contributions. We are one of many local sites working to find a sustainable model that can help provide credible news to the communities we serve. Thanks for the insult, but I’m proud of where we are and where we are going as journalists attempt to forge a new future in the most dismal times of industry chaos.
As always, I am happy to answer any questions about The Park Avenue District, which is alive and well. The 3 board members stepped off the board, but not away from membership or the committees they are a part of. It’s difficult to run small businesses and give extra time to board membership.
Mr. Chambers,
In the article you were quoted as saying, “the group will change the title of the decor and district website that highlights the line-up of events from Christmas on Park, which was first used last year, to Holidays on Park AT THE REQUEST OF THE CITY. “
Please specify who at the CITY requested the name change?
Thank you!