(L-R) Amanda Nethero, South Lake Chamber of Commerce; City Staff, Jennifer MacNeil, Maritza Rivera, Chris Dudeck.

The City of Clermont won 1st place for the Clermont Sips & Salsa Festival in the category of Multi-Agency Collaborative Program and 2nd place for Light Up Clermont in the category of Promotional Mailer.

SUNsational Awards winners were announced at the Florida Festivals and Events Association’s annual convention on August 21 in Naples. A presentation is being planned at a future Clermont City Council meeting for an undetermined. This is the fourth consecutive year that the city has been recognized by the organization for its outstanding events, totaling a dozen awards.

“The Parks and Recreation Department takes great pride in producing the best special events for Clermont,” Parks and Recreation Director Scott Davidoff said. “While we continue to receive overwhelming support from the community for our events, it says a lot when we receive recognition from the Florida Festival and Events Association for being the best at what we do. Our staff is dedicated to not just creating great events, but great experiences for everyone.”Sips and Salsa 2018 was a collaboration with the South Lake Chamber of Commerce in Downtown Clermont.

About 5,000 people participated. Coined as “a celebration of our community and all things salsa,” the event included free admission, salsa dancing, a salsa-making competition, domino tournament, cigar demonstrations, Chihuahua races, a kids zone and other activities for the whole family.

The second annual event will be Saturday, September 14, in Downtown Clermont (For further details, click the link “SIPS & SALSA”)

Light Up Clermont, the city’s biggest event of the year with about 35,000 participants, also takes place in Downtown Clermont. The annual multi-day holiday celebration includes a tree lighting, parade, concert and more. In 2018, for the 30thannual event, the city’s promotional mailer reflected the theme “Holidays Around the World.” The circular cutout featured ornaments with flags from different countries.