Randy Noles

Florida

Editor and Publisher at Winter Park Magazine

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winterparkmag.com

Articles

YES, WE’D PREFER TO SIT OUTDOORS

3 weeks ago | winterparkmag.com | Randy Noles

Hannibal Square wasn’t always a trendy hangout. But the ambiance began to change in the ’90s as redevelopment took hold. Today the commercial district is jumping with offices, boutiques and such popular restaurants as Pepe’s Cantina on West New England Avenue. “I’m drawn to outdoor café scenes,” says Heather Nagy, this issue’s cover artist, who was drawn to the vibe at Pepe’s. “I love the idea of spending time with friends and family with good food and fun scenery.
HE WAS THE ORACLE OF OKLAWAHA

3 weeks ago | winterparkmag.com | Randy Noles

Gamble Rogers was known as the Oracle of Oklawaha. Maybe a better nickname would have been the Poet of Park Avenue—although that moniker would not have embodied the rustic Old Florida flair that Rogers embraced. The life and music of Rogers, the state’s most enduring troubadour, will be celebrated Friday, Saturday and Sunday, April 11, 12 and 13 during the annual Gamble Rogers Folk Festival at the St. Johns County Fairgrounds near St. Augustine.
REEL LIFE - Winter Park Magazine

3 weeks ago | winterparkmag.com | Randy Noles

If you’re into movies that don’t necessarily feature costumed comic-book superheroes and exploding galaxies—that is, sometimes under-the-radar flicks that tell compelling stories about real human beings—then chances are you’ve visited Enzian. Maybe you’ve also attended the prestigious Florida Film Festival, held in partnership with Full Sail University, which the Maitland arthouse cinema hosts each spring.
AGITATOR - Winter Park Magazine

3 weeks ago | winterparkmag.com | Randy Noles

During its 139 years of existence, Rollins College has employed its share of controversial faculty members. But none could match John Andrew Rice Jr., a pugnacious professor of classics who offended the community, divided the campus and enraged President Hamilton Holt.
BAD MONKEY, GOOD ROLE

Dec 27, 2024 | winterparkmag.com | Randy Noles

Tom Nowicki is accustomed to being recognized in public: “Hey, aren’t you that guy who was in that thing?” Such indeterminate familiarity is to be expected by any actor who has spent the past 50-plus years appearing in films and television programs playing supporting (albeit often showy) character parts. Likewise, Nowicki has frequently been mistaken for Kris Kristofferson (with whom he appeared, alongside Harry Connick Jr., Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman, in 2011’s Dolphin Tale).
ARTIST’S ENCORE ON PARK AVENUE

Sep 26, 2024 | winterparkmag.com | Randy Noles

At Winter Park Magazine, we’ve never used the same artist for consecutive covers—until now. Don Sondag, whose vivid image of rowers on Lake Maitland graced the summer issue and created a sensation among readers, is back for the fall issue with an untitled view of Park Avenue. In fact, this painting—which was sold at the 2024 Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival—marks the seventh time since 2014 that we’ve selected a cover by Sondag, one of the most respected artists in Winter Park.
AN UNLIKEY ADVENTURE IN IMPROV

Sep 26, 2024 | winterparkmag.com | Randy Noles

Everyone who has performed in a play, whether they’re still actors or not, at least occasionally suffers through some version of what’s commonly known as “the actor’s dream.”I still have the dream every once in a while, more than 50 years after achieving the pinnacle of my thespian success: portraying Uncle Sid in the 1973 Winter Park High School Senior Class Play, Ah! Wilderness.
AFTER THE FAIR - Winter Park Magazine

Sep 26, 2024 | winterparkmag.com | Randy Noles

The 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago—also knownas the Chicago World’s Fair—saw the debut of the Ferris wheel. Less over-the-top (but not by much) was a small jewel-box of a Byzantine-inspired chapel interior designed by an artist named Louis Comfort Tiffany.
AMERICAN GOTHIC - Winter Park Magazine

Jun 24, 2024 | winterparkmag.com | Randy Noles |Maurice O’Sullivan

Jonathan Rich and Phil Eschbach are cradle Episcopalians. After both men retired from their respective careers — Rich as a corporate attorney and Eschbach as a commercial photographer — they began spending more time than ever in church. Neither had become more devout but they had, by any definition, become evangelists. Rather than saving souls, however, they became obsessed with saving historic Carpenter Gothic-style Episcopal churches.
LESSONS HER MAMA STILL TEACHES

Jun 24, 2024 | winterparkmag.com | Randy Noles

It’s natural, perhaps, to try and minimize past traumatic events. It’s that very tendency (infected by politics, unfortunately) that has caused collective amnesia about the worst days of COVID-19. It was no worse than the flu (wrong). Deaths were overstated (wrong). Lockdowns were an overreaction (debatable; transmission was slowed, but at a high social and economic price). I contracted COVID-19 twice, by the way, and can report that drinking bleach only made me feel worse.