The Weekend Adventures of Renniger's (of Mount Dora), Chapter Three

Chapter Three: The Art Village

This chapter is different because its not about what the space offers, but instead its about what the space’s potential can be. During my visit to the behemoth flea market, I noticed that there is a pretty good amount of land that splits in between the major buildings, and it almost seemed abandoned and underdeveloped. It’s a bit of an uphill climb from the antique market to the flea market, as it appears that the flea section is built on slightly higher ground. But besides plenty of native Florida grass and a few sandy parking lots, there’s really nothing much happening in between, which is a shame.

Then I came across a couple ladies who have their personal flea market stands in the edges of the grassy spaces, rather separated from the rest of the flea market. The nice ladies had told me the space between used to be part of an art village that became abandoned over the years. I assume the coronavirus era hit this region particularly hard, and now what’s left are abandoned fragments of art displays, other pieces of construction being taken over by nature, and a nice stream that actually uses natural spring water. They mentioned that under new ownership of all the land between the markets, the goal is to build a butterfly garden and a space for art and events for students.

Construction hasn’t started it appears because they have been slowly cleaning up the space and trying to preserve some of the native Florida plants that can be found in the area. The beautiful open space is (mostly) open to roam and explore, and also to help clean if you have time on your hands. They are relying on volunteers to pick up the weeds and abandoned debris. They had said they aren’t sure if Mount Dora’s local government had gotten involved in any capacity, so it appears to be a communal labor of love project with the purpose of providing an inviting green space for others to relax and enjoy.

The potential of this space is immense, as it can become a relaxing getaway from the madness of the markets, it can be a spot to take a short break to take a deep breath and appreciate Florida’s natural beauty. On top of that, with its unique placement as a space between two very popular markets, they can even build some nice bridges or passageways to make it easier for people to traverse between areas instead of having to climb or go downhill alongside moving vehicular traffic. By my Google estimates, it appears to be between 15-25 acres, which is plenty of space to create something special.

With time and effort, the art village can indeed rise again into something wonderful for the citizens of Mount Dora as well as those visiting from out of town. You can have a miniature farm with a few animals to feed and watch, a few scattered gardens or a botanical garden with native Florida plants and crops to grow, a small abortorium to have better varieties of trees in the region, and art displays and stands scattered throughout to help raise funds to maintain the space. Mount Dora is already blessed with a lot of nice parks, trails, waterways, lakes, and other natural secrets, but its always beneficial to add to that environmental number.

I write this to spread awareness of what is being proposed and considered to make up for the unused natural space between two great markets. So as you make your way through the market monsters, be sure to stop by the space in between, take a break, make a donation, and appreciate a piece of Florida nature with a potentially awesome future.