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THE MAIN STREET BARTOW NEWSLETTER
November 2014
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MAIN STREET LIGHTS UP WITH SPIRIT OF THE SEASON
Magic on Main Friday Fest and Lighting Ceremony with live music by Faces South, Festival of Wreaths and Santa visits in the Polk History Museum, car show, motorcycles on display, food demonstrations, and more at Bartow's Friday Fest on November 21, 6-9pm.
 | | Faces South returns to share in the magic of the season! A variety band, Faces South specializes in playing music from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Their show will likely feature anything from classic country and classic rock to blues and doo-wop. |
Magic on Main opens the holiday season in Bartow with live music, twinkling lights, and a visit from Santa Claus. Michell Githens State Farm Insurance and Leo Longworth State Farm Insurance are sponsoring the annual event. They and city officials will flip the switch on downtown's thousands of twinkling Christmas lights at 7 p.m. The
program also includes a blessing of the city, seasonal music performed by the Union Academy Chorus, and a visit from Santa Claus, of course.
Before and after the ceremony, all the usual Friday Fest activities will be going on. Faces South will offer live music - blues, oldies, rock and country; along East Main Street and Central Avenue you'll find downtown restaurants and street vendors offering food and drink, plus children's activities, and the Classic Car Cruise-In. This month, there will also be motorcycles on display and antique tractors on the 300 block of Main Street.
 It's always a great time to meet up with family, friends and neighbors, and the weather's supposed to be just right.
Making the festivities even more magical, Santa will be in the Polk County History Center to visit with the children and pose for photos from shortly after 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Be Still Studios & Photography will be taking photos with the jolly man. A $5 donation to the museum is suggested. Also take a moment to stroll through the History Center's annual Festival of Wreaths and silent auction opens Friday night at 6 p.m. and ends Saturday, Dec. 13, during Main Street Bartow's Spirit of the Season Christmas Market event. For more information call 863-534-4386 or visit www.polkhistorycenter.org.
Friday Fest is held on the third Friday of every month and is hosted by Main Street Bartow, Inc., Bartow's Community Redevelopment Agency, the City of Bartow, the Polk County Democrat, and Kelley Buick-GMC. For more information, call
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 | | The Impurrial Polk County Internet Cat Film Festival will quite 'paws'itively be the most unique event you have ever attended! |
FESTIVAL FULL OF FURRY FELINE FUN
Join Us For The Internet Cat Video Film Festival this Saturday from 4-8pm in Downtown Bartow.
Cannes is the place to go for an international film festival, but Bartow is the place to be for the first Impurrial Polk County Internet Cat Film Festival.
Main Street Bartow will be cat-apulted into fame as feline fanciers and fun-loving folks gather on Saturday, Nov. 22, from 4-8 p.m. for this spec-cat-ular new event, sponsored by Bartow's new Pet Supermarket. The highlight of the festival will be the screening of videos featuring crazy cats who know how to ameows humans. Who can resist?
Other festival "cativities" will include feline face painting, mewsic, photo booth pictures, a cat costume contest for humans, a people's choice award for the crowd's favorite cat video, vendors and adult beverages. The cat celebration will include a showing of "dog-shaming" photos, and cat-themed games for all ages presented by SPCA Florida.
All this fun takes place on the grassy lawn at the intersection of East Main Street and North Wilson Avenue.
Spectators are encouraged to participate in the "pawsitively fetching picnic on the lawn," a rather dignified affair worthy of the most beloved feline, by bringing their own table and chairs (centerpiece optional, but suggested) and pre-ordering box dinners from one of the local restaurants downtown.
This free family festival is a "leave your pets at home" event so that none of our furry friends accidentally get loose or stressed out.
More activities are in the works for the event sponsored by Pet Supermarket and Simply Storage. Interested vendors and sponsors may contact Main Street Bartow at 863-519-0508 for more information.
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MAIN IDEAS
A Message From The Main Street Bartow Executive Director
By Laura Mills Simpson, Executive Director
I have been on an intense learning curve over the last month! From people to places, I have realized that even though I have lived here my entire life, I still have lots to learn about this community! I have been meeting with business owners, property owners, elected officials, Main Street members, and other various community leaders. Much of what we have discussed has circled around them helping me understand how we got to the Bartow we have today - and how we can create the Bartow of tomorrow. In these conversations, I have learned most that our community leaders truly are passionate about advancing our community while maintaining our traditions and culture.
I have also been learning about the Main Street program and how we relate to the Main Street Florida program and the National Main Street Center - a division of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Many in the community know us as the hosts of various events and activities along Main Street. This is just one portion of what we do! Main Street Bartow is truly to be a preservation-based economic development tool of our community. To ensure this, our Main Street Bartow, Inc. Board has adopted the National Main Street Four-Point Approach:
Organization
Organization establishes consensus and cooperation by building partnerships among the various groups that have a stake in the commercial district. From the overall structure of the organization to local strategic partners, this focus area truly leads the organization towards its mission and vision.
Promotion
Promotion takes many forms, but the goal is to create a positive image that will renew community pride and communicate our commercial district's unique characteristics, its cultural traditions, architecture, and history and activities to shoppers, investors, potential business and property owners, and visitors.
Design
Design means getting Main Street into top physical shape and creating a safe, preserving a place's historic character, inviting environment for shoppers, workers, and visitors.
Economic Restructuring
Through economic restructuring, we can show you how to strengthen our community's existing economic assets while diversifying its economic base. We will focus on this by evaluating how to retain and expand successful businesses to provide a balanced commercial mix.
We have secured local volunteer leaders to champion each of these focus areas. Over the coming months, we will convey to you each committee's goals, visions, status and needs through this monthly newsletter. We will be looking for those willing to serve on these committees. If you have an interest in making an impact in Bartow's Main Street district, please contact us at the Main Street Bartow office at 863-519-0508 or email me directly at [email protected].
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HOLIDAY TRADITIONS AND NEW ADDITIONS
 | | Main Street Bartow will be visited by Santa himself, as the annual parade celebrates his arrival. |
Annual Christmas Parade adds new 2-day Spirit of Season Gift Market in Ft. Blount Park.
Parade and Market - December 12th, at 6PM
Spirit of the Season Gift Market and Community Events - December 13th,
9AM - 8PM
Each December, Bartow streets are lined with adults and kids, many adorned with glow stick necklaces and Christmas shirts, anxiously awaiting the sight of the Magical Illumination Christmas Parade and its most important participants: Santa Claus and his lovely wife, Mrs. Claus. (Does she have a first name?)
This year's light-up procession takes place Friday, Dec. 12. Trophies will be awarded for the best floats in six categories: Best School, Church, Government, Business, Non-Profit Adult, and Non-Profit Youth, as well as trophies for Best Decorated Car and Best Marching Unit. Entry fee is $20 (no charge for non-profits). For a $250 sponsor fee, an entrant will have prime placement near the front of the parade. Sponsors so far are Central Florida Athletics; Evolve Professional Landscape Management, LLC; and Mosaic.
Entrants in the parade are required to have lights on their floats, and no live Santas are allowed, as the real one has already accepted. As a safety measure, no throwing of candy from the floats will be allowed. Walkers may hand out candy.
The procession begins at 6 p.m. at Mosaic Park, heads north on Broadway to Main Street, then east to First Avenue, where it ends. But the evening's entertainment is just getting started. Spessard Holland Chorus will sing and Mamie's School of Dance will perform. Santa Claus will visit with kids and pose for photographs by the big Christmas tree in Fort Blount Park. To allow for greater access (and more space for your to see) the staging for these activities will be on Broadway, between Ft. Blount Park and The Polk History Museum (the Old Courthouse).
That's also the site of the Vintage Gift Market, which will be open from 4-10 p.m., offering special gifts for the folks on your Christmas list ... or maybe a treat for yourself. Vendors will offer food and beverages in the area near the Polk County History Center. And don't forget, downtown merchants and restaurants will be open, too. The Gift Market will feature vendors of all types, from specialty jewelry, candles, and to artistic pieces. It's a great way to spend your time, after you place your chairs and while waiting on the parade to approach.
The parade is sponsored by Main Street Bartow, Bartow's Community Redevelopment Agency, and the City of Bartow. For an application or more information, contact Main Street Bartow at 863-519-0508 or [email protected].
But wait ... there's even more! Main Street Bartow's Spirit of the Season continues on Saturday, Dec. 13, with the Vintage Christmas Gift Market, more live entertainment and special treats, from 9 a.m.-8 p.m.
The market opens in Fort Blount Park at 9 a.m. for shopping. Then from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., make your own ornaments at the Polk County History Center. Live entertainment from school and church choruses and handbell choirs begins in the afternoon by the Christmas tree in the park.
Of course, Santa will also be there, and so will some of his helpers, who will be happy to pose with you for Elfie Selfies. You won't want to miss the chance for a ride in a horse-drawn carriage or to win a treat in the Red Velvet Cake Walk.
For more information, watch for next month's newsletter, call 863-519-0508, visit our facebook page, or check out our new website at www.mainstreetbartowfl.com.
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 With new menu items such as whiskey shrimp served with grits or slow roasted rosemary and garlic pork tenderloin with maple apple chutney, you are in for an experience from JFD's new Chef, Shawn Gregg. Shawn attended culinary school at Cuyahoga College in Cleveland, Ohio. He was a former Executive Sous Chef at House of Blues in Cleveland, and served as the same with the Cleveland Chop House. He was a consulting chef on three episodes of Restaurant Impossible and has provided catering services for the following motion pictures: Captain America 2 - The Winter Soldier; Draft Day; Wolf of Wall Street; and Zorro. He served as the head chef for The Walking Dead.
One would wonder how Chef Gregg found his way from the movie sets to Bartow. He says he "relocated to Bartow for a more small town feel and a warmer climate to raise my children." Chef Gregg is looking forward to bringing different culinary styles and trends from different regions of the United States to Central Florida.
JFD's is located at 315 E Main St, Bartow, FL 33830.
We are always looking for ways to feature exciting happenings along Main Street Bartow. Make us aware of what is happening in your businesss at [email protected].
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MAIN STREET LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE  As a means to remain connected to our community and beyond, Main Street Bartow, Inc. has launched our new website. The site features Main Street Bartow Membership Directory, with a locator map; an events calendar that you can connect with via Google; and an overview of the organization and its leadership. Other features to come are pages on each of the organization's focus areas, online membership applications, and pages dedicated to such event promotions as SyFy Saturday and the annual Craft Fair, where vendors can register online.
"Although the bulk of this effort was already in the works prior to my arrival, getting the site functioning and live has been a priority even before I started officially," stated Executive Director Laura Simpson. "Utilizing this communication tool as a platform for other media will be a top component of sharing the organization's message and disseminating the character of Main Street Bartow," stated Simpson.
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COMING EVENTS DOWNTOWN
For More Info 863.519.0508
November
Nov. 21, Fri. - Magic on Main Friday Fest, Light Up Bartow Celebration, music, entertainment, food and fun. 6-9 p.m. Call Main Street Bartow at 863-519-0508.
Nov. 22, Sat. - Impurrial Polk County Cat Festival, 4-9 p.m., Downtown Bartow. Call Main Street Bartow at 863-519-0508.
Nov. 28, Fri. - "Elf," free Movies on the Lawn, grassy lot at Main and Wilson, refreshments available from BHS Band, at dark, about 6 p.m.
December
Dec. 6, Sat. - Bartow Municipal Airport Open House and Fly-in, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., aircraft displays, open cockpit biplane rides, helicopter rides, avionics seminars, pictures with Santa Claus, family fun, free parking and free admission. Pappy's Canteen, the new restaurant, is open; also Bartow Air Base Historical Museum. Call 863-533-1195, email [email protected] or visit www.bartow-airport.com.
Dec. 12, Fri. - Magical Illumination Christmas Parade, starts at Mosaic Park at 6 p.m., heads north on Broadway to Main Street, then east on Main to First Avenue, where it ends. Followed by entertainment, food vendors and open restaurants, pictures with Santa; Vintage Christmas Market open in Fort Blount Park from 4-9 p.m.
Dec. 13, Sat. - Spirit of the Season Christmas Market, 9 a.m.-8 p.m.; ornament making at Polk History Center 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; horse-drawn carriage rides; live entertainment; cake walk; Santa Stroll; Festival of Wreaths ends at Polk County History Center.
Dec. 13, Sat. - Monthly Antique Fair, 8 a.m.-2 p.m., along East Main Street. For further info call Main Street Bartow at 863-519-0508 or Irene at 863-646-0644.
Dec. 20, Sat. - Uptown Community Yard Sale, 8 a.m.-1 p.m., Guardian Ad Litem parking lot, 205 East Main St. Set-up begins at 7 a.m. Vendors will be charged $10; no preregistration is necessary. For further info call Main Street Bartow at 863-519-0508 or Irene at 863-646-0644.
For more information on any Main Street Bartow events or to volunteer, please call our office at 863-519-0508. If you know someone who would like to receive our newsletter please call the Main Street office or email us at [email protected] or merely forward your copy via the link below.
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STAY CONNECTED 
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