HARLEM — A historic milestone was reached in Hendry County as the community celebrated the grand opening of its first amphitheater at the Janet B. Taylor Community Tree Park in Harlem.
The new venue addresses a long-standing need in the community, where residents previously had to provide their own stage or travel elsewhere for large performances and celebrations.
Watch Fox 4's Allie Kaiser speak with community members about the need for an amphitheater:
"To see the growth of this community, I am more than proud," said Wilehelmenia Jacobs, who was born and raised in Harlem.
Jacobs emphasized the importance of having local resources for community gatherings.
"As a community, there are resources that we need to celebrate within our own community," she said.
The amphitheater was made possible by the vision of Janet Taylor, a Hendry and Glades County community advocate for whom the park is named.
"We're hoping that this amphitheater brings some events to the community to enlighten and empower our people," Taylor said.
She brought her idea to US Sugar, which fully funded the amphitheater project.
"It's just another way of answering some of the needs that the different community partners have reached out and let us know about," said Brannan Thomas, the community relations director at US Sugar.
For longtime residents like Jacobs, the amphitheater represents the realization of a community dream.
"It was a dream for a long time, but our dream has manifested into a reality," Jacobs said.
The celebration marked not only the opening of a new venue but also a significant investment in the Harlem community's cultural and social infrastructure.
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