The unofficial start of summer took place last Friday night in the Winter Park Art District as several hundred locals and visitors came out for First Friday. The event was hosted by Uptripping and WP Framewerx, with live music provided by Eagle Wind Sound. The Spot Food Truck was on hand with a broad array of menu options and wandering boutique, Adrift, sold boutique thrift store finds.

Uptripping owner, Jeremy Henn, sponsored and served free wine and beer to the happy crowd.

The next First Friday event is set for Friday, July 5th from 6 – 8:30 pm.

 

Festival Artwork Unveiled

At last week’s First Friday event in the Winter Park Arts District, local artist, Shannon Foley Henn, unveiled this season’s Summer Art Series paintings. Shannon’s colorful, whimsical creations will grace the Winter Park & Fraser Chamber’s 2019 summer event posters, from next weekend’s Switchback Festival all the way through FallFest.

This is Shannon’s second year of making the artwork for the event series. “The inspiration just comes to me, and I go with it”, she said. This year, her artwork is comprised mostly of movie-based themes, but with a twist specific to each event. You’ll find Maria from the Sound of Music on her toes, holding a red solo cup, promoting the High-Note Thursday concert series, and Indiana Jones grasping a microphone, instead of his trademark whip, for Country in the Park. There’s simply no end to her creativity and vision.

This summer’s event posters are for sale at the Chamber’s Visitor Center, and the original oil paintings are up for auction through August 25. To bid on the paintings, download the Handbid app and search for Grand Foundation to find the page.