- Shrink your big adult responsibilities in favor of oversized yard beer pong.
- Vocal Locals: See what our vocal locals had to say this month.
- One man continues—and deepens—a quality pasta legacy.
- Lake Apopka’s waters used to attract many northerners to Winter Garden in the early 1900s.
- There is always good news in the garden.
- An estimated 12.7% of Orange County residents live in poverty.
Big Game
Derek and Ashley Anderson are on a giant-sized mission to bring fun back to the backyard. This dynamic duo originally hail from the Midwest where yard games play a bigger role in entertainment.
“I can’t remember a time growing up where we didn’t have some kind of game going on in the back yard,” says Ashley. “Croquet, horseshoes, ring toss, cornhole … you name it. Even in the winter, we had games going on, and as we got older, bars and restaurants always had games available. It was just part of the lifestyle.”
“So we were both kind of surprised that when we moved to Horizon West, games weren’t as popular,” adds Derek. “We quickly became known for bringing the games to our friends’ houses. And during quarantine, when we all started to get a bit stir crazy, that just ramped up even more. So we just starting thinking, ‘What if we could bring that same playful energy to our community?’ And that’s where the idea of Giant Yard Games originally began.”
The concept is simple enough: All games are available as a rental for at least two days. Ashley and Derek deliver and set up the games, as well as break them down and pick them up.“Renting takes the hassle out of buying and storing a bunch of yard games that may not get used often enough,” Derek says.
“As far as games, we have all the classic favorites along with some brand new, trendy games; adult friendly, kid friendly, or both. With close to 25 options, and more on the way, we are sure to have something for everyone at your next get together,” Ashley says. “We’d love to make this our full-time business, but right now … we just like to have fun and we want to make it easy for everyone else to have fun, too.”
Vocal Locals
Starting middle school and learning new things.
Starting senior year by painting our parking spots, struggling to make them look like famous works of art.
Getting ready for the school year and meeting people at West Orange’s Warrior Welcome.
I’m excited to play volleyball in high school with my friends.
Finishing the music album I’ve been working on during the summer.
Market Watch
Orlando City Pasta
One man continues—and deepens— a quality pasta legacy.
Semolina flour, water, and eggs—all the core ingredients to make pasta from scratch. In 2010, a first-generation Italian-American used this simple three-ingredient recipe to start Orlando City Pasta and serve the central Florida area with fresh pasta for more than a decade. In 2020, the original owners decided to sell the company, but who better to continue the Orlando City Pasta legacy than a former employee?
Harry Herzig, a pasta and food enthusiast who worked for the company in high school, eagerly bought the business that once sparked his love for Italy and its great food. Even though it had been years since he worked for the company, Harry says “that passion never went away for making pasta and just food as a whole, good quality, wholesome food. And I jumped at the opportunity to make it my own.”
Introducing new flavors to a once traditional pasta has helped Orlando City Pasta stand out from your basic grocery store options. The brisket ravioli, garlic fettuccine, and a truffle pecorino cheese ravioli are house favorites, but there are options for any pasta lover and occasion. While continuing their journey in the Winter Garden Farmers Market, Harry and Orlando City Pasta are expanding into local retail and restaurants so that more people in central Florida can get a taste of their cuisine. —Mackenzie Hancock
Local History
Casting Calls
Baiting a hook … casting a line … and waiting hours for something to bite was a planned retreat for many northerners flocking to Winter Garden in the early 1900s. Today, this expedition would be unnerving, as venturing into the polluted waters of Lake Apopka deter most people.
So what happened exactly? With the rise of tourism, fishing lodges and hotels were constructed to house the influx of fishermen catching, selling, and eating fish. The establishment of pop-up fishing communities and the growth of the fishing industry businesses excelled quickly. But Winter Garden was not just a fishing destination.
By 1941, the Largemouth Bass Capital of the World, as the community was affectionately known, saw a exponential rise in farming and agriculture. Portions of the lake were drained, uncovering 21,000 acres to accommodate farming. To preserve the lucrative crops, pesticides were used as a safeguard. But the runoff of these chemicals into the lake caused irrevocable damage to the viability of Lake Apopka. As pollution and algae grew, the fishing industry came to an abrupt and disastrous stop, destroying the livelihood of an entire community forever.
It’s not all bad news, however. Since the Lake Apopka Restoration Act of 1996 was passed, Lake Apopka’s waters has undergone extensive repair. While commercial fishing may never support the community again, it’s largely considered one of the most successful water restoration projects in Florida’s history. —Kelsi-Ann Bailey
News
Summer’s A-New
Love it or hate it, summer is coming to an end, which only means one thing—Back to School! That cheer you hear? Parents of littles ready for relief! More than a few will be headed to the newly opened Hand & Stone location in Winter Garden (@handandstonewintergarden). Le sigh.
It’s also been a busy month for eateries in the Garden. Möge Tee is boba-ing people over with their refreshing sips. Chicago Stop (@chicagostop) at Plant Street Market has been a welcome suprise, serving up Chicago style Hot Dogs & Italian Beef. Shout out to Piesanos in Horizon West, celebrating their one year anniversary, and to Home State Brewery on being nominated in the Orlando Weekly 2022 Best of Orlando Readers Poll! And more than a few people are anxiously preparing for Blizzard Season at the new Dairy Queen on S.R. 50.
But there’s also a few new faces around town this month. Justin Inabnet, Derek Pruim and Andrew Davis took the oath of office at Winter Garden PD. Thanks for your service, officers! And Fiorella Perlloni joined the West Orange Chamber of Commerce as the coordinator of marketing and communications. Speaking of the Chamber, put August 31 on your calendar for State of West Orange Luncheon.
Last, in keeping with the issue theme, we’re inviting you to download some new tunes to your PLAYlists. Jordan Mohr (@ jordanmohrmusic) dropped her new single, “Summer Vacation Auditions” and Open Late (@open_late_band) is streaming their latest single, “Strange Town.” P.S. Catch them live August 26 at Bynx Cafe in Orlando.
Charitable Spotlight
Eight Waves
An estimated 12.7% of Orange County residents live in poverty. That is approximately 180,000 people. Even though Winter Garden continues to develop, there are still under-resourced communities in need of assistance. In 2019, Eight Waves was founded to provide support and advocate for vulnerable at-risk children, families, and schools in these underprivileged communities.
The Eight Waves Organization primarily focuses on eight initiatives dedicated to bringing “waves of opportunities” to both children and their families. By providing the following eight programs: reading intervention, mentorship, birthday parties, life experiences, a single mom program, family stability, hygiene help, and a books for babies community project, Eight Waves provides service to families throughout East Winter Garden.
“Ultimately, we would like to stay very focused because each child comes with such a case for support, that we don’t want to be one of those programs where we just keep kids safe for a few hours. We want to intentionally step into their lives and make a positive impact,” says Sarah Meyer, Executive Director of Eight Waves.
Lending helping hands and being advocates for children and families is a major focus of Eight Waves. With funds and needed volunteers, they hope to expand their now limited reach so that they can do more to improve the lives of the children and families they have grown to love as their own. —Kelsi-Ann Bailey
Get Involved! eightwaves.org
