Florida

One of Florida’s most unusual and misunderstood places, Cassadaga, isn’t a city or a town but a 57‑acre Spiritualist camp. Many of the 55 homes in the camp remain occupied by mediums who offer readings from their living rooms. In Cassadaga, mediums are the norm, and communicating with your loved ones who have passed on is an everyday event.

Howey‑in‑the‑Hills may be the best‑kept secret in Lake County, Florida. It’s tiny, but its story is anything but. In these rolling hills, yes, Florida really does have hills, the state’s citrus industry found its footing.

Yolanda ‘Yollie’ Copeland is a woman with a mission. The retired sheriff’s deputy, who moved to Jacksonville, Florida in 2013, is committed to making sure that the city’s rich Black history isn’t erased. She does it by tooling around town in an advertising-covered, low-speed electric vehicle, wearing a bright yellow shirt, shoes, and hat, and sharing her love for the area and the people who shaped it.

Many people know the story of the African American town Rosewood from the movie about the massacre, but how many of us have heard of Goldsboro, Florida, the second black incorporated city in the United States, which also thrived and was subsequently destroyed?

The Lunar New Year is celebrated across Asia by gathering with family, decorating the house with red couplets and giving red envelopes with money to friends and colleagues. Also known as Spring Festival in China, this 15-day celebration starts on January 22nd and ends with the Lantern Festival on February 5th.

Amelia Island is a blend of cultures that lived under eight flags. It was a haven for pirates, con men, and hardworking settlers from many countries. From the Timucuans who met the first French and later Spanish settlers, to the Jim Crow era and the founding of American Beach, where African Americans could frolic freely, it has a unique history and offers a perfect vacation spot with fewer crowds than better known Florida beach towns. 

If you’re heading to the Orlando area, I’m sure you’ve given a lot of thought to your itinerary. You’ve probably booked a hotel, made theme park reservations, and maybe even though about which restaurants to visits. But did you know there are coffee shops and bistros in Central Florida where your visit could literally save lives?

Don Vicente Martinez Ybor, a Spaniard, came to Florida from Cuba. He first set up his cigar-making factory in Key West but found his mostly Cuban workers often left to return home.

Dade Battlefield is a small state park in Bushnell, Florida that tells a big story of one of America’s most forgotten wars. The Second

What once was old is now new in Florida’s Marion County. One of the “newest” attractions in the city of Ocala, has roots going back nearly 100 years, commemorating an epic FBI shootout with a notorious gang that ended the era of gangsters in the United States.

Conch Republic was founded on April 23, 1982. Drug smuggling and illegal immigration during the early 1980's were prevalent in southern Florida. The United States Border Patrol set up roadblocks and an inspection point in Key West in order to search vehicles.  Traffic delays inconvenienced both locals and tourists and the Key West City Council's complaints fell on deaf ears.

The City of Miami was officially incorporated on July 28, 1896, marking a pivotal moment in the development of southern Florida.