Make it a summer of adventure

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Make it a summer of adventure

Opinions

Friday, 29 June 2012 12:17

Donna Sines
Community Vision

Community Vision signed on with the County to organize Osceola’s 125th Birthday party last month.

The multi-location festivities showcased Osceola’s Shingle Creek Regional Park assets right off the busy 192 corridor. Participants traveled to Babb’s Landing, the Historical Society site, Steffee Homestead and even the Buddhist Temple. Over 6,000 enjoyed a little taste of the past in natural settings, canoed, met re-enactors from the times gone by, tasted Barbecue prepared outdoors, learned how to better care for our fragile environment and a host of other family-friendly activities. In a community as rapidly changing and challenged it is not a bad idea to be reminded of another time in Osceola’s history when the struggles were different and the people laid the foundation for the community we call home. As part of the county’s Star Spangled Celebration a group of middle school art students entered their historical interpretations in a competition component of the event. The results were inspiring and imaginative but more importantly determining these depictions helped budding artists do research on the past.
Every year schools close all over Osceola County for rodeo day. Thanks to KUA many kids get a free ticket to enjoy the County fair and midway. It is a fun day off to be sure but I have always wondered how many of our 50,000-plus students even know the connection between rodeo and our rich heritage.
In 1969, when our family moved to Osceola County, the rodeo was a magnet drawing the community together. As newcomers to the county (whose population was only 36,000) from Connecticut we were intrigued. Cattle outnumbered people, at the time, and the whole rodeo scene was a culture shock for us “Yankees”. We ventured downtown Kissimmee for the big parade where Jaycees clad in cowboy attire and sporting large sheriff badges, shot off cap rifles and arrested those who weren’t of similar fashion.
Well soon it will be rodeo time again and I encourage local families to find ways to connect to Osceola proud past. The Osceola Historical Society has great exhibits, activities and big plans for the future. Its website is www.osceolahistory.com. University of Florida’s local Extension Services, www.osceolaifas.ufl.edu provide a wealth of programs to connect to the land and 4H has changed a great deal, over the years, offering more current and diverse options teaching valuable life lessons for young people. Adults can learn gardening and benefit from a myriad of other classes. Scouting is invaluable in inspiring our youth to leave the electronics at home, camp under the stars and work communally for the common good.
My son, Derrick, was in scouting for most of his growing up years and scouting reinforced positive character lessons taught at home. There are Boy and Girl Scout troops in every corner of the County. Our local Osceola Center for the Arts, www.ocfta.com, allows novices to look at nature with an artist’s eye and translate to canvas. And, the Osceola Environmental Center provides a swamp immersion through Swamp Girl Adventures, along with a bevy of other programs and exhibits. Even the Osceola Sheriff Department organizes an affordable week long camp on Lake X in St. Cloud for young boys. Don’t forget to check out what the city Of Kissimmee and St. Cloud Parks and Recreation Departments offer as well. Make this a Summer of Adventure for your family and discover what makes our community special, with a past as exciting as our future.
Donna Sines is executive director of Community Vision.