Maitland celebrated its 130th birthday Saturday with a bang!
Music was provided by the "Licorice Sticks" and "Maitland Stage Band." There were also stilt walkers, carnival games, jugglers and hands-on exhibits.
“It is really nice here. I come to Lake Lilly a lot just to walk around. They have awesome things here," said Debbie Taczli, who attended the event.
“It is kind of surprising at times. They have all these games and prizes. I like it,” said 8-year-old Brooke Snyder.
Organizations like the Art & History Museums-Maitland, Performing Arts of Maitland, Maitland Public Library, Maitland Area Chamber of Commerce, Maitland Men's Club, Maitland Rotary Club, Maitland Women's Club and Venue on the Lake helped make the celebration happen.
The groups did face obstacles along the way.
“We had to go out and take the stage down in the rain and bring it back into the civics center so the Venue on the Lake has been very accommodating because they weren’t planning on this either," said Jeff Flowers, Performing Arts of Maitland.
Flowers is glad Maitland is starting to get recognized for its culture and recreation. The city is home to the Maitland Art Center, the Maitland Historical Museum and much more .
“I think what you are seeing is people are beginning to realize we have a lot of cultural events in Maitland. The Art and History museum was recently nationally recognized and people are beginning to take notice of that and of the many events. For instance, Maitland has a symphony orchestra,” said Flowers.
Saturday night’s celebration ended with a fireworks finale.