🛑 Safe Stop

🎓 Polk Together

📍 Rezoning is coming

• First Day of School Special | Monday, Aug. 12 | 10 a.m.-8 p.m. | Picassoz Art Cafe | Price of purchase | Mark the first day of school by creating a mosaic, then the team will grout it for free.
• Brew Crew, Music Bingo & Gin Khao | Monday, Aug. 12 | 6-9 p.m. | Swan Brewing | Free entry | Run for your beer with the Lakeland Runners Club, then play live music bingo with SG Wood.

• Tasty Tuesday with Our Noire Kitchen | Tuesday, Aug. 13 | 11 a.m.-2 p.m. | Catapult | Price of purchase | Leave your lunch at home and see what Our Noire Kitchen is cooking up in its new food trailer.
• “Make Your Mark” Art Show Receiving | Tuesday, Aug. 13 + Wednesday, Aug. 14 | Times vary | RP Funding Center | $30-$40 | Drop off your art to enter the Lakeland Arts Association’s juried show.

• Line Dancing & Karaoke | Wednesday, Aug. 14 | 5-11:45 p.m. | Union Hall | Free entry | Cut loose with line dancing starting at 5 p.m., followed by karaoke at 8 p.m.

• Muffins with Moms Playdate | Thursday, Aug. 15 | 9 a.m. | Ax-Caliber | $6 | Find community over freshly brewed coffee + muffins for mother figures and inflatable axe throwing for the kids.

• Classic Albums Live: AC/DC, “Highway to Hell” | Friday, Aug. 16 | 7:30 p.m. | RP Funding Center | $34-$44 | Hear this album’s hits and deep cuts performed note for note, just as AC/DC recorded it.

• City officials are monitoring three Lakeland waterways after more than 30,000 gallons of untreated wastewater were spilled last week. Heavy rains from Hurricane Debby overwhelmed city sewer lines, sending wastewater into the Lake Hunter ditch, Lake Parker, and Lake Bonny. (LkldNow)

• NOAA updated its Hurricane Season Outlook, still expecting above-normal activity with even more storms. Get prepared and remember: hurricane season doesn’t end until Nov. 30.

• The inaugural Savor Central Florida event is set for Saturday, Oct. 19 at Bonnet Springs Park. Visit Central Florida and BSP are teaming up to highlight local food + bev spots in this ticketed event — keep an eye out for the ticket drop soon.

• “Growth is going to continue to be our largest challenge,” said PCPS Superintendent Fred Heid in an interview with ABC Action News. Watch the full Q+A for an inside look at what to expect this school year. (WFTS)

• Polk’s own Monae’ Nichols competed in the long jump finals of the Paris 2024 Olympics last week, coming in at No. 6 after jumping 6.67 meters. We’re no long jumpers, but if “hitting curbs on South Florida Avenue” becomes an Olympic event, we’re in.

• 1 million+. That’s how many animals have been adopted as part of the nationwide Clear the Shelters campaign. Local shelters are participating through Sept. 30, including SPCA Florida and the Humane Society of Polk County. (WFLA)

• Neil Roddenberry, a retired judge in the 10th Judicial Circuit, died recently after battling dementia. Roddenberry’s family requests donations be made to the Alzheimer’s Association in his honor. (The Ledger)

• Raise a glass. Keel & Curley Winery is a finalist for GrowFL’s Florida Companies to Watch. The Plant City winery is one of 95 growing companies chosen out of 500 statewide nominees. Winners will be announced in February.

• Legoland Florida will introduce “Monster Skytacular,” its first aerial drone show, this fall during the Brick-or-Treat Halloween event. The popular annual event kicks off on Friday, Sept. 13 and runs through the end of October. (Florida Today)

• What year did “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” first premiere? The correct answer to last week’s quiz was 20 years ago in 2004. If you volunteered for the show’s revival in Auburndale, we’d love your photos + videos.

• Pop quiz. What’s the body’s most abundant protein? The answer: collagen. Get it from a grass-fed, pasture-raised source (with 18 grams of protein per serving).*

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