Changes Coming To Downtown Sebring Events

There will soon be more reasons than ever to visit downtown Sebring.

Several new events are planned, others are under consideration and several old favorites are back and improved.

The following is a list of some upcoming downtown events, with both possible and probable changes and improvements:

Event organizers are invited to meet Aug. 4 at the Sam'ich Place, on the Circle, at 6 p.m. Organizers hope to share information.

•Heartland Idol will be back again.

Founder Diana Walker was inspired by her late grandfather, and this year she will take over control from previous sponsor, the Sebring Chamber of Commerce.

All ages will qualify for the regular weekly Thursday night Idol shows, starting on Sept. 4.

Sarah Pallone, interim president and CEO at the Sebring Chamber of Commerce, said on Thursday the chamber will continue to fully promote the event.

The primarily volunteer-run chamber chose not to commit the time and resources necessary to run the event.

•Gallery Walk is "on hiatus" until at least the fall. A move is on to incorporate the monthly Thursday-night activity with a proposal to start monthly downtown First Friday celebrations.

•The Saturday Night Cruise will continue to attract cars and gawkers on the second Saturday of each month at the Circle.

Car lover and Realtor Dawn Dell said the event harkens back to the past when cars were banned from motoring in what became a temporary pedestrian-friendly gathering spot, with music and other entertainment at the Circle.

Preliminary plans call for the Saturday Night Cruise to feature hot dog eating and marsh mellow stuffing contests, "Stuff the (VW) Bug" contests, rollerblading and roller skating, and possibly even bed pushing contests.

•Outdoor movies might become a downtown reality, thanks to a partnership between the Sebring Library and the Highlands County Art League.

Mary Myers, library director, applied for a Community Libraries in Caring grant to help finance a 16-by-9-foot outdoor screen and projection system. The event, with family flicks, would also include free popcorn.

If outdoor movie shows become a reality, the theater under the stars might occur following Gallery Walks, and during First Friday celebrations, at the Highlands County Art League Courtyard.

•The Fine Arts and Crafts Festival, which lasted 41 years, will no longer occur. Alice Stroppel, of the art league, said employees and volunteers set new priorities.

The good news is a similar festival will take its place. The 2nd annual historic Downtown Sebring Craft Festival will take place in March. The event again will be controlled by Howard Alan of American Crafts Endeavors.

"We're still having a festival, but we don't have to do the ground work and paperwork, which will free our volunteers and board members to concentrate on expanding our programs, exhibits and events," said Stroppel.

•The work of a Cuban artist will be featured at the soon-to-be-christened Museum of the Arts (MOTA), organized through the Highlands Art League.

•Patrons of the arts will be able to buy and design a folding metal chair at a Labor Day weekend event at the art league. Paint and brushes will be provided.

•Substantial physical changes to the Circle are slated for next year as part of the city's ongoing streetscapes projects. New sidewalk and landscaping will contribute to a "lighter" Circle, according to Pete Pollard, of the Community Redevelopment Agency.

During 2010, the driving surface at the Circle is scheduled for a mill down and repaving.

•The Carousel of Lights will benefit from upgraded electrical work at Circle Park. The holiday display will be bigger and better than ever.

•Good news for everybody who visits the downtown during events and otherwise. The Highlands County Genealogical Society is keeping open the doors of the former chamber office on the Circle from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays and during downtown events. Brochures and downtown maps are available, plus public bathrooms.

Friendly genealogists are on hand to chat with the curious and the library is open to the public.