Just as spring begins and breathes life into Florida's flora, the sounds of jazz and blues fill the air around the Frances Langford Promenade.
The fifth annual Lakeland Rotary Club Child of the Sun Music Festival and 5K takes place Saturday with a lineup of diverse musicians.
"We change up the lineup every year and this year we've got a really nice verity of music genres," Michelle Ledford, club president, said. "We have jazz, of course, and we have Americana and we also have kind of a funk-rock-blues band that's our headliner at the end of the night, which is going to be really fun."
The music festival is free and draws from 4,000 to 6,000 attendees every year. In addition to performances, the event also includes a 5K around Lakeland.
"It goes through downtown a little bit, around Lake Morton and back around toward Lake Mirror where the finish line will be," Ledford said. "It's a challenging course, it's a good 5K and different than a lot of the ones held in this area."
Ledford ran the 5K herself a few times and said experienced runners will appreciate the course.
Advance online registration is $25 for adults and $20 for ages 5 to 18. The entry fee on Saturday is $30 for all ages.
Proceeds from Child of the Sun benefit a different project each year. This year, it is the construction of a new playground at Lake Parker Park.
"This year is a really unique project. Proceeds from our Child of the Sun event will go toward the Rotary Playground in Hernando's Landing," Ledford said. "This is actually a project that all four Rotary clubs in Lakeland are supporting. We've partnered with the city of Lakeland Parks and Rec. to fund the building of a new destination playground in the Lake Parker Park area."
Pam Page, Lakeland parks and recreations deputy director, said some of the money to build the playground will come from the city, but the more Lakeland's Rotary clubs raise, the nicer it will be.
"Ten years ago we put in the capital improvement plan to replace the playground equipment and the city has $200,000," Page said. "When we came up with a concept plan we talked to Rotary and asked them if they would raise $350,000."
Early plans for the playground, drawn by Littlejohn Engineering Associates in Orlando, show a wooden ship, treehouse and zip line.
"We have supported other playgrounds in the community before," Ledford said. "We were with other Lakeland Rotary clubs with the Common Ground Park. But the Rotary playground in Hernando's Landing is a completely new playground that really allows us to have a playground that's themed around a historical event, themed around exploration and discovery.
"We keep talking about it as a destination playground because it's going to attract people within Lakeland, of course, but others outside the community are going to want to come and experience it. "
Lakeland Christina Rotary Club, Lakeland North Rotary Club, The Lakeland Rotary Club and Lakeland South Rotary Club have partnered to raise an additional $350,000 for the playground.
Ledford said the fundraising goal for Child of the Sun is $30,000, which she expects to make this weekend.
The biggest fundraising boost is expected to come from a benefit concert by the Beach Boys at Joker Marchant Stadium on May 2.
But one of the most important parts of the festival to Ledford is still the music.
"One of the main reasons why we started doing this event is because we wanted to provide a free cultural event to our community so the music festival is actually a free event," she said. "Anyone can come down, bring their chairs and blankets and enjoy the variety of musicians that we have."