Hey St. Cloud -

Mother's Day is Sunday and downtown is rolling out the welcome mat for Mom starting Saturday morning. There's brunch on the water, mocktails in the streets, a brand new community market launching this weekend, and a history celebration Tuesday night worth knowing about. Here's your week.

Moms, Mocktails & Mimosas | Historic Downtown St. Cloud | 10am–2pm

Downtown St. Cloud businesses are dedicating Saturday to Mom. Sip, shop, and stroll through the district with mocktails and mimosas at participating shops, live music, and a full morning of downtown exploring. Free to attend. Check downtown businesses and @downtownmonthlymarket on Instagram for participating spots.

Soldier City Market — First Saturday | Veterans Park, 1201 13th St | 11am–2pm

Big news for the market. Soldier City Market is moving to Saturdays starting this weekend, running on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of every month at Veterans Park. Local vendors, food trucks, live music, family activities, and veteran resources. All free. Come check out the new Saturday home.

A Spring Soiree | Pioneer Village at Shingle Creek, 2491 Babb Rd, Kissimmee | 10am–4pm

Worth the short drive. The Osceola County Historical Society is celebrating the county's 139th birthday with a step back into the 1800s at Pioneer Village. Dress in spring florals, sip tea in the Pioneer Tea Garden, play historic yard games, and shop the town. Presented by Experience Kissimmee and Toho Water Authority. Free to attend.

Mother's Day Brunch Cruise | Old Florida Riverboat Company, St. Cloud Marina, 1402 Lakeshore Blvd | Noon–2pm

Take Mom out on East Lake Toho for Mother's Day. Brunch aboard The Lillie with seasonal favorites, special chocolates, fresh flowers, and live music. $80 per person, bottomless mimosas available for $14.99.

Reservations were due May 3 but call now and see if there's still availability. oldfloridariverboatcompany.com

Tue May 12 · Historic Preservation Awards & Celebration | G.A.R. Memorial Hall, 1101 Massachusetts Ave | 6–8pm

St. Cloud Main Street is celebrating Historic Preservation Month with an evening dedicated to the people and places keeping the city's history alive. Special presentation by Melissa Wylie, CEO of the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation. Light refreshments served. Tickets $10 in advance, $15 at the door at zeffy.com - search "Historic Preservation Awards St. Cloud."

A quick correction from last week. We reported the Hopkins Park Summer Camp would run at the St. Cloud Civic Center. The camp will actually be held at Hopkins Park itself. The free federally-funded camp runs June 1 through August 7 for eligible St. Cloud residents ages 5–12. Remaining spots opened May 5 for new applicants. Proof of residency and income documentation required. Full details at stcloudfl.gov/summercamp

Good news for local business owners. The city is hosting a free business growth workshop this Tuesday May 12 at the Cannery Park Building, 901 Virginia Ave, from 10am–noon. The CONNECT workshop covers how to find and bid on public contracting opportunities, register for solicitations, and network with local entrepreneurs. Free to attend but RSVP required at Eventbrite — search "Doing Business with LYNX."

The Citywide Garage Sale is one week out. May 15–17, no permit needed for city residents. Set up anytime from 7am May 15 through 6pm May 17. Start pulling stuff out of the garage now.

It opened quietly in early April and the ribbon cutting went fast. Texas Roadhouse is officially in St. Cloud at 2500 Partin Settlement Road. If you haven't been yet, you already know what you're getting. Fresh-baked rolls before your food arrives, hand-cut steaks, and a volume level that says everyone around you is having a good time. It's a chain, yes. But it's also the kind of place that fills up with St. Cloud families on a Friday night and becomes part of the community fabric. Worth knowing it's here.

Got a business to nominate for a future spotlight? Reply and tell us who and why.

The G.A.R. Memorial Hall at 1101 Massachusetts Ave, where Tuesday's Historic Preservation Awards are being held, is one of the last remaining structures associated with the Grand Army of the Republic in the entire United States. Built in 1914 by Union veterans using $8,000 in stock certificates, it became the meeting place of the Lucius L. Mitchell Post No. 34, named for the first veteran to die in the St. Cloud colony. At its height, St. Cloud's GAR post was the largest in Florida and the second largest in the country. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. If you've never been inside, Tuesday night is a good excuse to go.

Sources: National Register of Historic Places, Wikipedia (GAR Memorial Hall St. Cloud), St. Cloud Main Street (stcloudmainstreet.org)

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If you missed Issue 8, here's what you need to know. The Building Safety Month Family Event brought Paw Patrol and a real fire engine to the Home Depot on 13th Street, the Hopkins Park summer camp registration opened May 5 for eligible residents, and we spotlighted 3 Beez Honey Farm on New York Ave, a veteran-owned fourth-generation beekeeping family that's been in St. Cloud since the 1920s. Catch the full issue at thecloudlocal.com

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Three days, no permit required for city residents. If you've been stacking stuff in the garage all winter this is your window.

More details at stcloudfl.gov

Every Memorial Day, St. Cloud holds a ceremony at Mount Peace Cemetery honoring the 427 Union veterans buried there. One of the largest concentrations of Union soldiers buried outside a battlefield in the country, right here in your city. More details in the next issue.

Want to help at city events or parks? St. Cloud has an ongoing volunteer program with opportunities across departments - one simple online form gets you started.

Know a person or business doing something good in St. Cloud? Hit reply with “SPOTLIGHT” and a sentence about them; we pull future features straight from reader suggestions.

Keep showing up for St. Cloud, keep cheering on local people and businesses, and enjoy your weekend.

Your Cloud Local Team

P.S.

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