After a year off due to the COVID-19 pandemic, VIVA Osceola, the largest Hispanic festival in Central Florida, was back in style on October 9 at Kissimmee Lakefront Park. For almost three decades VIVA Osceola has celebrated Hispanic heritage, arts, and culture, as well as Osceola’s business community. The Kissimmee/Osceola Chamber has hosted this event for over 20 years and this year was one of the best yet.
The highlight of the festival was by far the entertainment. Before the event had even officially kicked off at noon, spectators were camped out to make sure they had an ideal spot for the day’s entertainment. Attendees caught lengthy sets from Orchestra Fuego, Edwin El Calvito Reyes, and the headliner, the “Original Canary of Salsa” Lalo Rodriguez. The concert was emceed by Epi Colon and Bebo from Exitos 96.5. Thanks to our partnership with AdventHealth, for the first time ever we were able to offer a livestream of the entire show, which is still available on the Kissimmee/Osceola Chamber website.
AdventHealth also sponsored an awesome free photo booth complete with props. Attendees were able to take home a souvenir photo strip with the VIVA logo and three different poses. Kissimmee Utility Authority was back this year too with their popular Kids’ Power Zone. Kids could have safe fun with inflatable bounce houses and slides and festival-goers of all ages cooled off with free snow cones.
As always, there were plenty of food and drink options at VIVA. From Puerto Rican favorites to an Oktoberfest-themed biergarten, there was plenty to sample. The festival even had its own drink this year, the VIVA Blue.” This rum, blue curacao, and sprite concoction was a glowing treat!
Kissimmee/Osceola Chamber named Florida's 2021 Chamber of the Year for outstanding achievement.In September, members of the Chamber staff attended the Florida Association of Chamber Professionals’ (FACP) Annual Conference, held September 22-24, 2021 at the Wyndham Grand Jupiter at Harbourside in Jupiter, Florida. Awards were presented at the conference to recognize Florida’s top chambers of commerce throughout the state for their outstanding achievement and dedication to the industry.
The Kissimmee/Osceola County Chamber of Commerce was was named the 2021 Chamber of the Year for the state of Florida. This marks the third time the Kissimmee/Osceola Chamber has claimed this award, having previously won in 2001 and 2017. Following an extensive application process, which included assessment of the Chamber’s financial stability, use of communications, membership recruitment and retention, special events, strategic planning, use of technology, and innovation, the Kissimmee/Osceola County Chamber was chosen by a group of fellow Chamber professionals from around Florida.
“The Kissimmee/Osceola County Chamber has much to be proud of and have demonstrated a high caliber of service to their community and the members that they represent,” noted Tammy C. Bracewell, President of FACP. “Their list of accomplishments was exceptional and demonstrated excellence in all areas of chamber operations,” she added.
Accomplishments of your Chamber over the past three years that helped secure the award include successfully pivoting to utilize technology to engage with its members during the pandemic, successfully transitioning from fair-share dues to a tiered dues structure, nominating and receiving two FACP Professionals of the Year Awards, and contributing thousands of dollars in scholarships to graduating seniors in Osceola County.
In addition to Chamber of the Year, the chamber also won a Communications Award in the Public Relations category for their COVID-19 Rebound and Recovery email communications and COVID-19 resources webpage.
“The team here at the Chamber works hard,” said Chamber President & CEO John Newstreet, “but the story we tell is made by our members.”
FACP is a statewide organization whose mission is “Advancing excellence in chamber management” and whose vision is “Enhancing Florida’s business communities by cultivating successful chamber professionals.” They previously named Kissimmee/Osceola Chamber Executive Vice President Cindy Lewis and Director of Business Development Robin Hughes Chamber Professional of the Year in 2018 and 2020 respectively. Serving Osceola County since the early 20th Century, the mission of the Kissimmee/Osceola County Chamber of Commerce is to be champions for business and community.
While at the conference, Chamber staff had time to meet and compare notes with Chamber professionals across the state of Florida, and attended presentations and panels on everything from diversity, equity, & inclusion to engaging volunteers.
On occasion a few of our area councils will join together to present an update on topics that are relevant to all of them. This year, our Celebration Area Council, Four Corners Area Council, and Hospitality and Tourism Council decided to make a strong return to in-person lunchtime presentations with a Joint Council Luncheon hosted at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort on Friday, September 17. Presented by Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, the luncheon included updates on topics important to our tourism industry and region.
The Four Corners Area Council kicked off the lunch with a presentation on the Four Corners, One Vision initiative. 2021 4CAC Chairman Steve Silcock of Bardell Real Estate introduced Rafael Montalvo of The Consensus Center, who for the last four years has consulted with the 4CAC Board and a team of precisely assembled steering and technical committees to create and advance the One Vision initiative and bring unity to the Four Corners. These committees are each focused on one of three
After a short break for lunch (including an adorable and delicious Mickey Mousse!), the program resumed as Osceola Resort Area Council Chairman Thearon Scurlock of Old Town introduced Experience Kissimmee‘s Research Manager Jonas Onkelinx. Jonas shared the latest industry trends that point toward positive improvements for post-pandemic tourism in Central Florida. For example, traffic at Orlando International Airport was only down 7% from July of 2019 (and up 219% from July of 2020!), and that was without most international travel. Traffic for the recently-passed Labor Day weekend is projected to be up 7% over that weekend in 2019. Tourist Development Tax collections in Osceola County were on par with 2018 and 2019 in the month of July following a steady rise since the beginning of the year. Interestingly, in Osceola County, TDT collections from vacation homes has significantly increased since March of 2020. While hotel occupancy is again on the rise after a rough year in both Orlando and Osceola County, the higher percentage of stays in Osceola are in vacation homes. It is great to see this major industry for Osceola County growing and thriving.
Finally, Celebration Area Council Chairman Charles Castellon of Widerman Malek introduced 2021 Walt Disney World Ambassador Alexandra “Ali” Manion who previewed “The World’s Most Magical Celebration,” Disney’s 18-month 50th Birthday Party that officially kicks off on October 1. Ali presented the new “Beacons of Magic,” sparkling enhancements to each of the four parks’ signature icons: Cinderella Castle, Spaceship Earth, Tower of Terror, and The Tree of Life. She also shared that Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Pluto, Chip, and Dale will be known as the “EARidescent Eight,” and each has received brand new themed costumes. The parks are also debuting a Fab 50 character collection, and statues of these “fab” Disney favorites can be found around each of the four parks. As part of the celebration, both Magic Kingdom Park and Epcot will also debut new fireworks spectaculars on October 1. Other enhancements at Epcot include new ride Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, new restaurant Space 220, and new retail locations Creations Shop and a revamped Club Cool. Meanwhile, Animal Kingdom will present daytime air show Disney’s Kite Tails, and the Resort looks forward to the debut of the new Star Wars Galactic Star Cruiser 2-night stay adventure. There is so much to look forward to and keep us busy at Disney for the next 18 months!
The Joint Council Luncheon was a great opportunity to get together after so many months apart, and attendees truly appreciated and update on and sneak peek at some of the most exciting aspects of tourism here in Osceola County and our surrounding areas.
