Music and Martinis: Imperial Symphony Orchestra in Lakeland

With the Emmys only a week away, all of Hollywood is getting ready with their best designer duds, flashy jewlery, and handsome dates by their side. Though Arbor Glen may be thousands of miles from the big awards show, Lakeland can still give you the Hollywood treatment without having to leave this fine city.

Next week, The Lakeland Center will be hosting “Music and Martinis.” The event promises to be an amazing evening that will make you feel like you’re one of the stars. You and a friend or loved one can attend Sikes Hall and hear a live “Pops” performance from the Imperial Symphony Orchestra while sipping on martinis from various Lakeland restaurants. You will hear music from films such as “Star Wars,” and “Indiana Jones.” What songs do you hope to hear?

Be prepared for the tastiest martinis to have ever encountered your palate because they will all be competing for the title of “Best Martini.” You automatically get a vote when you purchase your ticket, so put your tasting gameface on & help decide the winner!

The event is happening August 31st at 7PM. If you purchase your tickets early, you can get them at a reduced price of $30 apiece.

Family Day 2010 is “Going Global”

Lakeland, Florida is a great place to live for families. There are always great activities happening around town like “First Friday“ and family events happening right here at home. If you’ve been looking for your next great opportunity to take the family out for a day, think about getting everyone together for Family Day 2010 at the Polk Museum of Art.

Saturday, September 18th, Family Day 2010 will be “Going Global” with activities and entertainment representative of places all over the world. There will be performances from Didgeridoo Down Under, Luis Campaneria - a magician, Tampa Taiko Japanese drumming, and the Kuumba Dancers & Drummers. And seeing as this in the PMoA playing host, you can be sure there will be various art activities such as African masks, origami lanterns, Morroccan good luck hands, Australian didgeridoos, and Chinese good luck door hangers.

Save the date on your calendar! If you and your kids are one of the first 500 people at the museum, you will receive a free gift bag of school art supplies. This a great opportunity for your kids to learn about various cultures and the for the whole family to enjoy quality time together right here in Lakeland.

Twitter Made Easy

It’s one of the fastest-growing and most popular social networking sites out there, yet there are still many internet users who are unfamiliar with the very basics of Twitter. Are you a regular tweeter?

One of the best things I love about this website is that it’s very straight-forward. You have 140 characters to get the message across, so you know exactly what you’re getting from those you follow in just seconds.

A reason everyone should get involved on Twitter is because it’s one of the most valuable and accessible tools for staying connected, both right in Lakeland or anywhere in the world. Here are some of our favorite Lakeland tweeps we follow on the Arbor Glen account:

• LakesideVLG – Lakeside Village’s Twitter account
• PolkVision – A great follow to learn about anything happening in Polk County
• LakelandChamber – The Lakeland Chamber of Commerce
• lakelandlocal – General information about what’s happening around town from Lakelandlocal.com
• PolkMoA – Learn about upcoming events at The Polk Museum of Art, including Plant City Day

And of course we love to follow our residents on Twitter. If you have an account, leave it in the comments section here on the blog, or @Arbor_Glen on Twitter.

Happy tweeting!

First Friday Presents Dog Days of Summer

Today is First Friday! As the video explains, August’s First Friday theme is Dog Days of Summer. Instead of hanging out at Central Bark this evening, take your pooch to Downtown Lakeland for great dog-themed events.

• The General Store (as featured in that funny YouTube video) will be selling doggie items that your pooch will love. make sure to tell Sparky hello!
• Lakeland Police Department will have their canines on hand to get support for kicking off fundraising efforts for the Honoring Heroes BBQ. Purchase a calendar and support a great cause!
• Get your pup’s picture taken by the photographers of Fitz Gallery and get it framed later by FastFrame
• Your pooch can enjoy cooling off with great treats from The Doggie Bag.
• Enjoy live entertainment from Shorts N’ Flip Flops Improv Comedy or listen to the musical stylings of Phil Schneider, Bryan Rivers, and JP Henderson.
• Witness The Pooch Parade! You may even still have time to sign your dog up if you’d like to participate. This kicks off at 7:30 PM on the corner of Bay Street and Kentucky Avenue.

See you in Downtown Lakeland tonight for First Friday’s Dog Days of Summer!

Buying Fresh When You Can’t Go to the Farmers’ Market

It’s a shame the Downtown Farmers Curb Market isn’t open during National Farmers’ Market Week, but there are other ways you can get the freshest produce possible without even having to leave Lakeland.

Lakeland is the home of Publix, one of the best grocery stores around. Here, you can always fresh produce, including your favorite fruits and vegetables, along with life’s other necessities.

If you want to guarantee your veggies and herbs are the freshest, even more so than the grocery store, why not consider growing them yourself? Starting an apartment garden is easy for anyone to do! have a few plants on your balcony, or do your research to find low-light appropriate plants so you can place them anywhere in your apartment.

Create a Masterpiece at the MoZaic Art Fest

Channel your inner-artist this upcoming Monday at the MoZaic Art Fest at the PicassoZ Art Cafe. At the MoZaic event you can create a masterpiece in the form of mosaic by using clay, adding printed words and photos, and incorporating random objects you may find.

Not sure this is something you’d like to do? It’s absolutely free to check out, and you can even mosaic a cookie to get some practice in. It’s only costs $6.50 to take part in the main event.

No matter whether or not you partake in creating your own mosaic, the cafe asks that each attendee glue their own unique piece to the group mosaic that will later be donated to a charity auction.

Located right in Lakeland, FL, the PicassoZ Art Cafe often holds events such as this that allow both new budding artists and those with great practice express themselves through creation and the development of new techniques.

The MoZaic Art Fest is taking place from August 2nd until August 4th.

Get on the Bus!

Summer is almost at its end, and it’s time to start stuffing the buses.  No, I’m not talking about packing kids into the vehicle; I’m speaking of the Lakeland Kiwanis Club’s Stuff the Bus Campaign.

“Stuff the Bus” is an organized community effort to collect school supplies and distribute them to some of the Lakeland public elementary schools. “Stuff the Bus” has been well received by the administrators, educators and families that are touched by the generosity shown by the citizens of Lakeland.  The Principals and Guidance Counselors are ultimately in charge of distributing the supplies, making sure that the supplies reach those kids who need them most.  On average, “Stuff the Bus” distributes approximately $50,000 in supplies to the schools.

Superintendent Gail McKenzie says that the average family will spend at least $100 per child to send them back to school this fall; an expense many families can’t afford.  The assistance offered not only benefits the students and their families, but also the hard working teachers that spend approximately $1,000 of their own money to help students each year.

Be sure to ‘Get on the Bus’!  The most important items needed include pencils, pens, scissors, glue sticks, folders, crayons, spiral binders & notebook paper. The distribution date of the supplies collected will be August 18^th.  You can donate today at your local Walgreen’s or call 686-5900 for more information.

Seeing Double at Polk Theatre

Want to catch a summer flick? If you want a change of pace from Cobb Theatre in Lakeside Village, you should visit Polk Theatre. They have some great deals going on this summer!

On Saturday evenings the theatre plays a double feature. All summer long Polk will be airing classic movies like Jaws and The Godfather. Tickets are only $4 for this event – that’s less than a regular-priced ticket for one movie at other theaters.Tickets for any show are $4, and you can also get popcorn and a drink for $1 each. You can’t beat Polk’s summer deals!

Texting Can Wait Until You Park

While many people believe they are able to multitask, texting while driving are two activities that should never go together. Texting is an easy task when sitting on a couch at home. However, trying to type out a coherent message while operating a 2-ton piece of machinery is a completely different scenario with potentially dangerous results. It’s reckless, and no one should try this!

Why not put the phone down long enough to drive home safely? It’s easy, and you could potentially save lives just by waiting to text. If the conversation is important, make the call with your hands free device!

Do you think Florida will ever ban texting while driving?

Hulu: Making Changes to Make Some Money

Hulu, everyone’s favorite website to stream television shows, clips, and movies, will no longer be offering this service entirely for free. The website has been receiving a lot of pressure from it’s media company to finally turn profit, and a plan of action has just been announced. Rather than offer multiple season of a show for free, users will soon have to pay to see older seasons of the shows they love.

Don’t worry – recent episodes of shows from ABC, FOX, and NBC will still be available to stream for free, and many past seasons will be up for free viewing as well.

The new site is currently available by invitation only. Were you one of the lucky few that got the invite? Better yet, would you call yourself “lucky”?

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