JoEllen Stranger-Thorsen, Lake County, FL

Central Florida top growers will be on the lakefront in downtown Mount Dora this weekend to present the 14^th Annual Mount Dora Plant and Garden Fair.

In addition to plants and trees the Fair offers garden antiques, festive flags, unusual containers and a wealth of free advice on gardening in Central Florida.

The event features orchids, native plants, butterfly-attracting perennials, herbs, roses, camellias, begonias and a wide variety of rare and unusual tropical plants.

At last year's fair I picked up a pinwheel jasmine, cat whiskers, penta and firebush for my garden. (All still thriving thanks to the expert advice I received from the growers.) This year I'm on the lookout for some bromeliads and orchids. I also hope to pick up some more pinwheel jasmine.

The fair runs today until 5:00 and tomorrow from 9:00 to 5:00.

Interested in buying or selling a home in northeast Lake County Florida, including Eustis, Mount Dora, Howey-in-the-Hills, Tavares and Sorrento contact JoEllen E. Stranger-Thorsen, REALTOR® for all your real estate needs. Visit my website.

The First Lake County Green Fair presented by the Lake County Green Team will be Saturday, Nov. 1, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Wooton Park in Tavares, FL. The Fair will feature educational programs and displays that highlight best practices in environmental issues.

Fair exhibitors will offer sustainable choices or information about reducing adverse environmental impacts in several categories, including health, transportation, residential construction, landscaping, energy and household products.

The Green Fair will offer live entertainment by The Forefathers, Won-Ta-Nara and the Ruth King Band in addition to a children's scavenger hunt, a dragon boat mini-regatta and vehicle displays. You will also be able to drop off items for Lake County's Household Hazardous Waste Mobile Unit and recycling service.

There will be several teams trying their paddles at commanding the sleek and powerful dragon boats in preparation for the Annual Central Florida Dragon Boat Festival on April 3 and 4, 2009, The Rotary Club of Tavares is inviting existing teams or anyone wanting to try the sport for the first time to sign up for a Mini-Race Regatta at the Green Fair. Registration for the dragon boat race will begin at 8:30 a.m. with races from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Everyone must register. Registration is $3 for pre-registration or $5 the day of the event

The Lake County Green Fair will offer several services courtesy of the Lake County Department of Environmental Utilities that participants can use to dispose of recyclables and household hazardous waste. Free, recycled paint will also be available in limited quantities.

Recycling bins will be available for all fairgoers. Items accepted for recycling include:

• Newspaper or magazines
• Plastic beverage containers - Recycle plastic bottles with any number 1-7 and any color.
• Clear, brown and green glass
• Aluminum beverage cans
• Steel cans
• Household batteries

Lake County Household Hazardous Waste Mobile Unit
The Household Hazardous Waste Mobile Unit will give fairgoers an opportunity to conveniently dispose of household hazardous waste. Items accepted by the mobile unit include:

• Poisons, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, fertilizers and insecticides
• Used motor oil, brake fluid, transmission fluid, gasoline, diesel fuel, antifreeze, Freon, kerosene, one-pound propane bottles and automobile batteries
• Paint, paint thinners, paint strippers and wood preservatives
• Aerosols cans and fire extinguishers
• Rechargeable household batteries including button batteries
• Swimming pool and spa chemicals
• Fluorescent light bulbs, thermostat switches, smoke detectors and other mercury-containing devices
• Household chemicals and cleaners

Household hazardous waste is collected at the Lake County Household Chemical Collection Center, located at 13130 County Landfill Road in Tavares, Monday-Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Recycled paint
The Lake County Paint Reuse and Redistribution Program will provide fairgoers access to unwanted and unused latex paint. While colors are limited and subject to availability, the paint is free.

The Paint Reuse and Redistribution Program helps to reduce the amount of latex paint that is typically sent to the landfill as waste by recycling the paint and repackaging for reuse.

Mercury disposal
Fairgoers that dispose of mercury-containing thermometers and thermostats at the Green Fair will receive gift cards, courtesy of Covanta Energy. Thermostats will get a $10 gift card and thermometers will receive a $5 gift card. In addition, the first 10 individuals to drop off a mercury-containing thermostat will receive a new digital thermostat. Covanta is also giving away 350 light-switch covers with mercury-free wall thermometers.

For more information about any of these programs, call the Lake County Department of Environmental Utilities at (352) 343-3776.

Festival season in Lake County officially kicks off this weekend with the 24^th Mount Dora Crafts Festival held along the downtown streets of Mount Dora. The Crafts Festival is a nationally ranked juried event with over 330 artisans and vendors.

The rainy weather should be clearing by late morning and a crowd topping last year's 200,000 is expected.

The festival offers a wide variety of crafted items including categories in jewelry, clay, fiber, leather, metal, wood, and glass. The festival also offers photography and floral. One of the most popular items every year is the pussy willow and dried florals.

The Craft Festival is organized by the Mount Dora Village Merchants Association which earmarks the money raised for advertising the city.

I will be attending the festival with my family today to officially start my holiday shopping; just as I have the last eleven years.

Interested in buying or selling a home in northeast Lake County Florida, including Eustis, Mount Dora, Howey-in-the-Hills, Tavares and Sorrento contact JoEllen E. Stranger-Thorsen, REALTOR® for all your real estate needs. Visit my website.

The Bay Street Players opens the 34th Season September 26, 2008

The Bay Street Players will open their 34^th Season this weekend with a four week run of the Pulitzer Prize winning play Driving Miss Daisy at the beautifully restored 1922 historic State Theatre in downtown Eustis.

Rounding out the 2008-2009 season is:

Nuncrackers (The Nunsense Christmas Musical)

The Full Monty

A Man For All Seasons

and Oklahoma!

Enjoy an evening out with the Bay Street Players.

For more information contact the box office at 352-357-7777 or visit their website by clicking here.

Interested in buying or selling a home in northeast Lake County Florida, including Eustis, Mount Dora, Howey-in-the-Hills, Tavares and Sorrento contact JoEllen E. Stranger-Thorsen, REALTOR® for all your real estate needs. Visit my website.

The Ice House Theatre located in Mount Dora, FL opened its 2008-2009 season September 12 with Crimes of The Heart by Beth Henley, winner of a 1981 Pulitzer Prize and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. The play centers around the three Magrath sisters; Lenny, Meg and Babe. Lenny is almost thirty with diminishing marital prospects, Meg is back in town after a failed singing career and Babe, the youngest is out on bond after shooting her husband because she doesn't "like his face."

Crimes of the Heart runs from September 12 thru October 5, 2008.

See The Orlando Sentinel Article.

The Ice House Theatre rounds out its 2008-2009 season with A wonderful Life (a musical adaptation of Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life.) The Underpants by Steve Martin, The Honky Tonk Angels, and On Golden Pond.

Get more information on the Ice House Theatre and its 2008-2009 season

Interested in buying or selling a home in northeast Lake County Florida, including Eustis, Mount Dora, Howey-in-the-Hills, Tavares and Sorrento contact JoEllen E. Stranger-Thorsen, REALTOR® for all your real estate needs. Visit my website.