Spring is blooming and our Special Events team has brought some incredible events for Villagers and their families to enjoy this spring!
Kicking off the season, dogs of all shapes and sizes marched around Lake Sumter Landing Market Square for our second annual Mardi Paw March. Each bar hut was decked out in a different bayou theme to celebrate the holiday. Jammin Jambalaya took to the stage while living statues, stilt walkers, and other street performers entertained guests around the square.
Only a few days after Mardi Gras, pallets upon pallets of strawberries were brought into Brownwood Paddock Square by vendors for the annual Strawberry Festival. Hayfire and Greg Warren Band played the stage and Villagers could peruse strawberry vendors, the Paul Bunyan Lumberjack Show, and even enter in a pie eating contest!
Villagers continued to sham-rock out with two St. Patrick’s Day festivals at Lake Sumter Landing and Spanish Springs Town Square. Attendees could look forward to Recreation’s golf car parade, the Celtic sounds of Cleghorn and The Byrne Brothers on the square stages, as well as green beer at bar huts.
For the first time ever, we debuted the Acoustic Series, a week full of acoustic trios performing at the brunch and lunch hours for the crowds in Spanish Springs. Featuring Jeff Whitfield Trio, Slickwood Trio, Stellacoustic Trio, Acoustic Blue, and L&G Trio, these acoustic groups offered the perfectly relaxed setting for grabbing a bite to eat from local restaurants on the square and a bloody mary or mimosa from a bar hut.
Our Special Events kept on rolling along with entertainment at Rock-In The Square: Rocky and The Rollers Anniversary Party. To celebrate the momentous occasion, Rocky shared the stage with friends for the night, including Al Morse, Clark Barrios, Kathleen Kane, Dawn DiNome, Mary Jo Vitale, and Uncle Bob’s Rock Shop. Rocky and his crew have been partying with The Villages for 24 years and we look forward to many more!
