Festival of Fine Arts
Date: Tuesday, October 8 & Thursday, October 10
Venue: Florida Southern College, Lakeland
- The Theatre Arts Department will open its season with Tom Stoppard’s play, “On the Razzle,” in Buckner Theatre.
- Directed by Paul Bawek, this production is a fast-paced farce characterized by slapstick shenanigans, mistaken identities, and romantic complications.
Haines City Farmers Market
Date: Wednesday, October 9
Venue: Haines City
- You can’t beat the fresh taste of produce that the growers and produce resellers have to offer at the Haines City Farmers Market.
- Open year-round, the Haines City Farmers Market is free and will always provide you with the freshest produce in Central Florida.
Downtown Lakeland Food Truck Rally
Date: Thursday, October 10
Venue: Lakeland
- Find food trucks in Munn Park every second Thursday monthly to enjoy a variety of delicious cuisine in Lakeland.
Winter Haven Farmers Market
Date: Thursday, October 10
Venue: Winter Haven
- Join various vendors in Downtown Winter Haven for a traditional farmers market with a multitude of produce, plants, jams and jellies, nuts, honey, and syrup.
Ghost Stories
Date: Friday, October 11
Venue: Bartow Public Library
- Kids and adults alike can enjoy a spooky night of ghost stories at the Bartow Public Library presented by Polk County Parks and Recreation.
Halloween Film Festival
Date: Friday, October 11
Venue: Medulla Resource Center, Lakeland
- Join Polk County Parks and Recreation for a free movie with refreshments (Epic, rated PG), contests (costume and coloring), arts & crafts, and a trick-or-treat village.
Oktoberfest
Date: Friday, October 11
Venue: Central Park, Winter Haven
- Celebrate Oktoberfest at the annual Main Street Winter Haven event featuring beer, bratwurst and live music.
Paintings of the Space Age
Date: Friday, October 11
Venue: Polk Museum of Art, Lakeland
- With help from the Smithsonian’s Affiliations Program, Polk Museum of Art will exhibit a sampling of artworks produced in the 1960s after James Webb, administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, suggested that artists be enlisted to document the historic effort to send the first human beings to the moon.
reGeneration2: Tomorrow’s Photographers Today
Date: Friday, October 11
Venue: Polk Museum of Art, Lakeland
- Join Polk Museum of Art for an opening reception for this exhibition coming to PMoA from the Aperture Foundation in New York.
- Following the success of the 2005 book and exhibition, which traveled to 10 different cities across North America, Europe and Asia, this second edition turns the spotlight on new, up-and-coming talents from 31 countries.
Cracker Storytelling Festival
Date: Friday, October 11 – Saturday, October 12
Venue: Homeland Heritage Park
- Polk County Parks and Recreation presents the Cracker Storytelling Festival featuring local and national storytellers along with an antique appraisal and whip cracking contest on Saturday.
Fine Swine at the Pit
Date: Friday, October 11 – Saturday, October 12
Venue: American Legion Mulberry Memorial Post #72
- Mulberry’s annual Bar-B-Que festival, a state championship and Jack Daniels Qualifier, returns with delicious barbecue, entertainment and awards.
Bartow Farmers Market
Date: Saturday, October 12
Venue: Bartow
- The Bartow Farmers Market is home to a variety of vendors with different fresh produce, plants, preserves, pickles, and artisans every weekend.
Downtown Lakeland Farmers Curb Market
Date: Saturday, October 12
Venue: Downtown Lakeland
- The Downtown Lakeland Farmers Curb Market returns with a variety of items from freshly picked produce to beautiful plants every Saturday.
Downtown Lakeland ZombieFest
Date: Saturday, October 12
Venue: Munn Park, Lakeland
- Downtown Lakeland welcomes you to the second annual ZombieFest with live music, food vendors, a costume contest, pub crawl, and zombie walk.
Good Health Fresh Goods & Crafts Market
Date: Saturday, October 12
Venue: Winter Haven
- A free community event with fresh goods and arts and crafts on the first, second, and third Saturday of each month.
Halloween Spooktacular
Date: Saturday, October 12
Venue: Wabash Community Center, Lakeland
- Join Polk County Parks and Recreation for a free family event with a movie (ParaNorman, rated PG), arts & crafts, and a trick-or-treat village.
Lake Wales Farmers Market
Date: Saturday, October 12
Venue: Lake Wales
- The Lake Wales Farmers Market offers produce, handcrafted food, and other decorative items every second and fourth Saturday monthly in Downtown Lake Wales.
Lunch & Learn Lecture Series
Date: Tuesday, October 15
Venue: Polk County History Center, Bartow
- The museum invites guests to bring lunch and listen to a guest speaker on the third Tuesday every month.
- The October speaker and topic is: Dr. Paul Dosal on Cuba on Florida Connection.
RECURRING EVENTS:
Saturday Night Rodeo – Every Saturday night (Westgate River Ranch Resort, River Ranch)
Fiddler on the Roof –Through October 13 (Theatre Winter Haven)
Traditions: The Members Exhibition – Through October 13 (Ridge Art Association, Winter Haven)
BeFly Bike Ghost Tours – Weekends through October 27 (Lakeland)
Brick-or-Treat – Weekends through October 27 ( LEGOLAND® Florida, Winter Haven)
CornFusion Corn Maze & Zombie Paintball – Weekends through October 27 (The Smith Family Ranch, Lakeland)
Sculptor Kelly Boehmer at The Loft Art Gallery – Through October 31 ((The Loft Art Gallery, Lakeland)
Have Lens Will Travel: Photographs by Tom Mack – Through November 23 (Polk Museum of Art, Lakeland)
Paintings of the Space Age – Through December 7 (Polk Museum of Art, Lakeland)
reGeneration2: Tomorrow’s Photographers Today – Through December 7 (Polk Museum of Art, Lakeland)
Explorations V Children’s Museum daily programming – Monday through Friday weekly (Explorations V, Lakeland)
For this week’s sporting events, check out “What’s Happening in Central Florida Sports” on CatchCentralFlorida.com.