Dixieland Lane street sign
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The resurgence of small businesses in the historic Dixieland neighborhood must be ready for prime time. It’s gotten attention in the last few days from Tampa’s Fox 13 and Bay News 9.

The Fox 13 report highlighted the sculpture created by local artist Josh “Bump” Galletta for the Dixieland Mall, as did a feature article Sunday in The Ledger.

FOX 13 News

A drawing of the sculpture that will be placed in the Dixieland Mall.
A drawing of the sculpture that will be placed in the Dixieland Mall.

The sculpture was commissioned through Platform Art, a nonprofit organization bringing pieces of public art to Lakeland, and will be unveiled April 11 during the Dixieland Spring Art Festival.

The Bay News 9 piece looked at the district’s history as a fashionable suburb that went into decline and is now seeing a renaissance. It quoted Dixieland Relics owner Karen Dasher saying, “All of a sudden, we’re getting this surge of art shops, antiques and salvage, a neat little wine and restaurant bar, coffee houses and just a lot of different things going on.”

Here’s a film promoting Dixieland that was produced by Indie Atlantic Films, which is located in the Dixeland Mall:

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Barry Friedman founded Lkldnow.com in 2015 as the culmination of a career in print and digital journalism. Since 1982, he has used the tools of reporting, editing and content curation to help people in Lakeland understand their community better.

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