Tony Camarillo kept the RP Funding Center doors open during a seven-year, $16 million renovation, negotiated a five-year, $5 million sponsorship deal that brought an NBA minor league team to Lakeland and reduced the city’s annual operations subsidy by 60% despite enduring a pandemic-induced “worst year ever” in 2020. More
The Polk Museum of Art at Florida Southern college today announced a $6 million, 10,000-square-foot expansion that will triple the gallery space and add classrooms and art labs. More
The Lakeland Public Library’s main branch on Lake Morton is preparing to open its renovated adult section to the public in a few weeks, with the new History and Culture Center and a renovated children’s section following in May. More
Colorful fish murals are being painted on the outside walls at the building on Memorial Boulevard where the Red Lobster chain got its start, The Ledger reports. Kentucky artist Bob Gregory is painting the aquatic scenes on the building, which is being transformed into the 5,000-square-foot Lakeland Fishing Outfitters, under the same ownership as outfitters in Tampa, St. Pete and Tarpon Springs.
Two striking red sculptures were recently installed on opposite ends of the Lemon Street Promenade in downtown Lakeland. The 400-pound, 9-foot-long “Red Buffalo” by James Futral of Fort Myers anchors the promenade’s west end at Florida Avenue. Jim Galluci’s 600-pound, 10-foot-tall “Red Digital Arch” forms a portal for the promenade’s eastern edge at Massachusetts Avenue. More
The Polk Arts Alliance has hired former Harrison School of the Arts Principal Daryl Ward to serve as the nonprofit organization’s next executive director. More
Entertainment and health articles drew the largest audiences on LkldNow in 2021, reflecting both interest in COVID-19 prevention and perhaps ways to find respite from the pandemic. More
Lkld Live, a 6-year-old nonprofit arts organization that gave a platform to musicians and artists that they might not find at commercial venues, is folding at the end of December. More
Like the Artists’ Hall of Fame she established with the Polk History Center, Meri Mass prepares to retire on a personal walk of fame leaving a trail of accomplishments as an arts advocate and collaborator for arts and sports tourism. More
For Jeremy Rosado, a former Lakeland worship leader, 2021 has been a year of second chances. A few months after recovering from COVID-19, he found out he would be a contestant on NBC’s “The Voice.” More
