Winter Park to kick off Autumn Art Festival weekend with new Central Park Main Stage ribbon-cutting

The City of Winter Park and Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the city’s new Central Park Main Stage on Saturday to kick off to the 49th Annual Winter Park Autumn Art Festival. 

The celebration is scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m. and will include remarks from city officials and project participants. The Autumn Art Festival runs Saturday and Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

The new stage's craftsman-style design is intended to complement and enhance the existing design of Winter Park, including the SunRail/Amtrak Winter Park Train Station. It features tapered columns, latticework, a bead board ceiling, and a roof with standing seam metal, finials, and eyebrow vents. 

"Located where the previous stage was, it has been gently turned, so the view is improved from Park Avenue while maintaining its strong presence for performances in Central Park," the city said.

The original main stage was constructed in the 1980s with the only significant improvement made since then was a refitting of the canopy due to the 2004 hurricanes.