A long motorcade traveling South Florida Avenue on Thursday afternoon made a stop so that Vice President Mike Pence could get out at Reececliff Family Diner and enjoy some of its famous pie. Later, at a campaign rally in Kissimmee, he praised the work of LPD Officer Paul Dunn, who died a week earlier in a motorcycle accident on the way to work. See coverage in The Ledger and and keep scrolling for social media videos: More
For the first time since the Miss Lakeland was revived three pageants ago, most of the winners have Lakeland backgrounds. Out of five 2020 winners — Misses Lakeland, Swan City, Polk County, Lakeland Teen and Polk County Teen — two claim Lakeland as home and a third lived here until recently and hopes to move back. More
The Medulla Elementary School float, featuring elves and carrying the theme of thanking business partners, won the Judge’s Choice Award at Thursday night’s Lakeland Christmas Parade. Sponsored by the Junior League of Greater Lakeland, the parade theme was “The Joy of Giving.” Here is a list of award winners: More
What: 39th Lakeland Christmas Parade
When: 7 p.m. Thursday, beginning with fireworks over Lake Mirror
Where: RP Funding Center and back via Lake Mirror (see the map above) More
For several years, the city of Lakeland has asked people not to put up chairs until the day of the annual Christmas Parade, but the presence of early chairs has grown. This year, officials say they’ll remove chairs that show up along the parade route before Dec. 5, the day of the parade | News release
Autumn Farnsworth, 10, helped another budding artist get started on the paint-it-yourself canvas prominently displayed at Munn Park Saturday morning and exclaimed to the other child, “You’re making art!” More
Coming soon to the Lakeland Public Library: improv class for adults, a music listening club in partnership with the Imperial Symphony Orchestra, and a talk by author Therese Anne Fowler, known for her novels about Zelda Fitzgerald and the Vanderbilts. And available now: free little library bookmarks. More
