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A day in Winter Park
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I was fortunate enough to be a volunteer at the 50th Winter Park Sidewalk Art's Festival in Central Park. My position was to be in the Children's Workshop Village section at the Mennello Museum of American Art tent. I arrived at a few minutes until my expected time of noon; however, unable to pay for parking I was forced to drive in circles behind hundreds of cars until finally following two womana to their car. I hurried across the street, through the thick sea of people, and had to ask a man at a kettle corn booth where the Children's Village was; he pointed me across the railroad tracks. I ran passed a fountain flowing with white foam and as I reached the tracks I heard the deafening blow of the train coming. To my surprise it stopped directly in front of me; I rushed to join the lines of people running behind it across the tracks in order to make it to my tent.
I reached the Mennello's booth at ten til one, almost an hour late, so much for being early. The other volunteers were busy with about ten kids, Nicole only pointed me to the spot where I was to relieve one of the volunteers. "Just hand the kids whatever color paper they want, put it in a box, and send them to the next table," said the new volunteer I had not yet met. He and another new female left and for the next hour and a half I was helping kids with their papers and sending them to pick out three colors to dip their three marbles in before they placed them on the paper in the box, closed the lid, and started shaking it like mad girls/boys.
At about 2:30pm we ran out of paper and had to start closing up. Nicole talked with the director and received permission to leave the marble paintings that were drying and awaiting pick-up by their young creators. I walked around admiring the other children's tents, like the Zora Neale Hurston beading (I also majored in Anthropology and remembered learning about her).
As I was walking passed the other, more adult oriented artwork, I noticed across the street a sign reading "Model Open." I decided to drop in and see what this builder had to offer at the Douglas Grand at Winter Park. I followed the signs directing me to the third floor and finally to room 306. I was blown away by this massive townhome, especially the price of $1,350,000. I know curious minds are wondering what the three models looked like, but let's just say they were lavish penthouses that I will never be able to afford.
At the end of my visit I spent fifteen minutes sitting in traffic trying to get out of the park area, but I would love to be able to go back one day to spend a peaceful afternoon strolling through the many shops that that charming area has to offer.
