Hey St. Cloud,

The pickleball courts at Godwin Park just reopened, Earth Day is right around the corner, and want to shed some light on the downtown BBQ spot that has been quietly winning awards for years. Here's your week.

Movie in the Park: Happy Feet | St. Cloud Lakefront Park, 1104 Lakeshore Blvd | 6:30pm

Tonight. Games and giveaways starting at 6:30pm, then Happy Feet on the big screen at 8pm. Free for the whole family. Bring a blanket and a chair. Sponsored by Toho Water Authority, AdventHealth, and the City of St. Cloud.

Wild Nights at Amazing Animals | 4235 Rambler Ave | 5–8pm

Adults only. Amazing Animals Wildlife Preserve opens after dark for their annual fundraiser gala. Live music, unlimited food, and up-close encounters with sloths and capybaras. If you haven't been out to Amazing Animals before, this is a fun reason to finally go. $100 per person.

Tickets at amazinganimalsinc.org

St. Cloud Lakefront | 1104 Lakeshore Blvd | Sunrise onward

Late April is the sweet spot before Florida summer arrives and reminds you why air conditioning was invented. The new Bandshell shade structure is open, the splash pad is running for the kids, and the view across East Lake Toho on a clear spring morning is hard to beat. Bring a chair, grab something from downtown first, and enjoy it while the weather is still on your side. Free, no agenda required.

Historic Downtown Mural Trail | Historic Downtown St. Cloud | Anytime

St. Cloud has 14 murals scattered through Historic Downtown, each one part of the Florida Mural Trail and each one telling a piece of the city's story. Civil War veterans, the women who built the library, the architects who designed the buildings you walk past every week. It's a self-guided walking route you can finish in under an hour. Start on Pennsylvania Ave. Most people who've lived here for years haven't done it. Worth fixing that this weekend.

Good news for pickleball players. The six courts at Godwin Park at 317 Delaware Ave reopened Sunday after nearly three weeks of resurfacing. Free to play, lighted, and no reservations needed. If you've been waiting, they're ready.

Orlando Health St. Cloud showed up for the community last week. As part of the hospital system's annual 407 Day on April 7, the St. Cloud team spent the day packing school supply kits for the Education Foundation of Osceola County. Over 2,000 Orlando Health volunteers across the region put in more than 2,600 hours in a single day.

Hopkins Park is getting a serious makeover but there's a catch for families who rely on it. Construction begins soon on a $10–12 million renovation bringing a new community center, upgraded sports facilities, a community garden, and expanded parking to the park at 620 E. 17th Street. The free summer camp that has served neighborhood kids at no cost for 25 years won't run this year while the park is closed. City Council is working through alternatives to help affected families through the Civic Center camp. Once it's done, Hopkins Park is expected to be one of the best community facilities in the city.

If you ask most St. Cloud locals where to get BBQ, they'll all say the same thing. Granny's Southern Smokehouse on Pennsylvania Ave has been voted best BBQ in Osceola County twice and named best BBQ in all of Central Florida by the Orlando Sentinel Foodie Awards.

The story behind it is worth knowing. Owner and pitmaster Jay Brown grew up right here in St. Cloud watching his grandmother Elizabeth cook. She never got to open her own restaurant before she passed at 95, but her recipes from the 1950s are on every plate Jay puts out today. Everything smoked over hickory and oak for 12 hours.

Open Tuesday through Saturday 11am–8pm, Sunday noon–5pm, closed Mondays. 818 Pennsylvania Ave, downtown St. Cloud. grannyssouthernsmokehousefl.com

Got a place to nominate? Reply to this email and tell us who and why.

When Union Army veterans settled St. Cloud in 1909, they found the downtown grid already named after Northern states. New York, Ohio, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania. Most people assume the veterans named the streets themselves. But according to St. Cloud historian Robert Fisk, the Seminole Land and Investment Company pre-platted and named the streets before a single veteran arrived. The soldiers showed up to a city that already had their home states written into the map.

Sources: St. Cloud historian Robert Fisk, Osceola County Historical Society (osceolahistory.org)

Your roof takes a beating in a Florida summer. CTR Roofing has been serving St. Cloud homeowners with inspections, repairs, and full replacements and they make the process easy from first call to final nail.

“Every Roof Is Our Reputation”

Get a free inspection today at stcloudrooferctr.com

We're looking for a few St. Cloud businesses to come on as founding partners. Want your business in front of St. Cloud homeowners every Thursday? Apply here today to get your business in front of locals!

St. Cloud's biggest night of the summer is Friday July 4 at the Lakefront. Live music from the Derek Mack Band, a classic car show, food trucks, a kids bike parade, and fireworks over East Lake Toho at 9:15pm. Free to attend. It's one of those nights that reminds you exactly why you live here. Put it on the calendar now before summer fills up.

If you missed Issue 5, here's what you need to know. The 43rd Annual Rotary Spring Fling packed the lakefront, the Crossprairie Heritage development broke ground news with names like Publix, Starbucks, and Chipotle in talks as tenants, and we covered how St. Cloud became the first city in America to offer free citywide WiFi back in 2006. Catch the full issue at thecloudlocal.com

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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.

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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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