#MUSTDO

Dish

• Free Cookout | Mon., May 31 | 11 a.m.-2 p.m. | Lakeland Harley-Davidson, 4202 Lakeland Hills Blvd. | Free | Celebrate Memorial Day with free food and beer, plus live entertainment from DJ Scotty B. 
• Top Dog at Kissimmee South RV Resort | Mon., May 31 | 11 a.m.-2 p.m. | Top Dog at Kissimmee South RV Resort, 3700 US Hwy. 17 92 N. | Free | Take a jaunt over to Davenport for pulled pork, hot dogs, and burgers, all cooked to order.

Drink

• Memorial Day Weekend at Swan Brewing! | Fri., May 28-Mon., May 31 | 12-9 p.m. | Swan Brewing | Free | Come on out to Swan Brewing’s downtown location for music by Keith Robinette at 2 p.m. and Mary Jane’s Burgers starting at 12 p.m.

Deal

• Memorial Day Weekend FUN | Mon., May 31 | 10 a.m.-9 p.m. | The Family Fun Center | $12 | Purchase 2 games of laser tag and get the third game free in honor of Memorial Day.
•  2021 Florida Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday | Fri, May 28-Sun, June 6 | All day | Virtual | Free | Hurricane season starts tomorrow, so stock up on tax-free preparedness items now through June 6.

TryThis.

• Pokémon tournament | Mon., May 31 | 5-7 p.m. | FireBunny Games, 359 Havendale Blvd. | $5 | Be sure to bring your own 60-card deck + participate to win a prize.

ForKids

• Summer Camps at Brick City Bricks | Mon., May 31 | 9 a.m.-4 p.m. | Brick City Bricks, 107 E. Reynolds St. | $225 | Send the kiddos to this week-long camp featuring all things LEGO.

#LALTODAY

NEWS NOTES

Weather

• 91º | Scattered T-Storms | 30% chance of rain

Announced

• Up Up and Away Florida is back next year. Taking place on May 6-8, 2022 at SUN ‘n FUN, the event is Lakeland’s hot air balloon festival. Tickets are not on sale yet but are expected to go live soon.  🎈

TodayIs

• Memorial Day. Memorial Day is observed on the last Monday in May every year to honor the brave men + women who have died while serving our country in the US Military. To read about local closures today in honor of the holiday, click here. 🇺🇸

ForKids

• LEGOLAND Florida Resort is temporarily reopening MINILAND USA beginning Fri., May 28. Presently, it’s unclear how long this section of the park will be open. 

ComingSoon

• Remember when we mentioned a new independent bookstore and coffee shop? Pressed, the new addition to downtown Lakeland has a tentative opening date sometime this July in the previous location where TwentySeven once stood (213 E. Bay St.). ☕ (LkldNow)

FeelGood

• Elbert Elementary School fifth grade teacher Derek Hall was named Polk County Teacher of the Year by the Air Force Association. The award recognizes Derek’s noteworthiness as a STEM educator and received the award after a nomination from his principal. (Polk County Public Schools)

Coronavirus

• Universal Orlando Resort announced over the weekend that masks are no longer mandatory both indoors and outdoors and went into effect on Sat., May 29. The update comes for vaccinated park goers. (WDW News Today)

Outdoors

• A deadly virus transmitted via mosquitoes was detected in 5 Tampa Bay area counties including Polk. The flying vampires in question? Mosquitos carrying Eastern Equine Encephalitis. So far, the disease has been diagnosed in animals such as chickens and horses and is found most commonly in swampy areas. 🦟 (WQYK)

Digs

• So, it’s your first time buying a house with your significant other. The local pros at S&D Real Estate break down the questions you should ask your partner before you embark on the process to make sure you’re both on the same page. 🏡 Ⓟ

NowOpen

• MIDFLORIDA Credit Union recently opened a new branch at 611 E. Interlake Blvd. in Lake Placid. The new branch features 7 a.m.-7 p.m. drive-thru hours, full-service Saturdays + instant-issue debit and credit cards. Explore the branch here. Ⓟ 

THE WRAP

Wondering how Rilee and Katelyn answered today's poll? While we wish we could say we soak in the sun, both of us burn like there's no tomorrow, so sadly, we'll have to choose "B, soaking in the salt water."

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