SUMMER IS THE best season to be a child. It’s a time of sidewalk chalk drawings, camps and endless days in the pool. Sure, there’s summer schoolwork that can muck everything up—but the majority of days are worry free and filled with creativity and friends.
I loved making mud pies down by the creek (well, my family said “crick”) and sitting on a swing under my favorite shade tree feeling the breeze and playing checkers, which my mom would never let me win. “A win is only a win if you earn it,” she would always say. There were no trophies for just showing up in my family. (My mom didn’t let her grandchildren win either.) Of course, as adults, we now appreciate those memories far more than we did at the time.
At the end of the day, we’d get “cleaned up” and go to our favorite ice-cream shop where the line was around the corner, but no one seemed to mind waiting.
In this issue, you’ll find suggestions for a few “adulting” summer activities, like the Happy Hour Tours at the Alfond Inn and Nashville Nights at Judson’s Live. We also check in with the 34th Annual Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival—a fun time for adults with plenty of kid-appropriate diversions as well.
We highlight the beautiful Mead Botanical Garden, which is turning 85 this year. Encompassing 48 shady acres in Winter Park, the garden features hiking trails, a greenhouse, butterfly gardens, a variety of wildlife and workshops for those who want to create their own oasis.
Embrace the summer heat and hopefully make time for family vacations and a good ol’ checkers game under the branches of your favorite oak tree. There’s so much to celebrate in our very own neighborhood. Oh, and don’t forget the ice cream—the ice cream is essential.
Cheers,
CINDY BOWMAN LAFRONZ
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, ARTISTRY
