by: Capers Gay
On May 6, 2025, the Lake Wales City Commission had several special events on the docket that needed their permits approved. These permits passed the committee’s consent agenda without any controversy or comment from the public.
Deputy Mayor Robin Gibson commented on the consent agenda saying, “I worry sometimes about the rubber-stamp accusation when we do these things, especially when there’s thirteen on there; and those are thirteen non-controversial issues and nobody has any questions about them, and there shouldn’t be any doubt in the constituency that we have studied them all.”
The Lake Wales Care Center will be celebrating its 40th anniversary during a block party recently approved by the City Commission. The event will take place on May 30, 2025 from 4pm to 7pm and will close Market Plaza and Park Avenue between Market Street and 1st Street from 9am to 9pm.
The Care Center is a faith-based organization that focuses on community-building and helping those in need with programs like a community kitchen, free clinic, and Meals on Wheels. The party will include tents, a stage, music, food, and a program. The event will not have a fiscal impact on the city as it is funded by the Lake Wales Care Center, which will also fully reimburse the police and public services cost.
An event called Beers and Pioneers was approved by the Lake Wales City Commission. It will take place at the Lake Wales History Museum on October 24, 2025 from 6pm to 9pm. No streets are expected to be closed, though police will be present.
The idea of the event is for attendees to enjoy alcoholic beverages while perusing the museum and downtown area, or as the city agenda calls it, a “wine walk”. Just like the Care Center’s event, Beers and Pioneers is estimated to have no fiscal impact on the city as it is fully paid for by the museum itself, including the cost of police services.
