The Youth Task Force voted to hold its winter Holiday Festival on Saturday, Dec. 13, starting at 6 p.m., with a movie scheduled to begin around 6:30 p.m., food trucks, a Santa appearance and a light display sponsored in part by a private donor.

The vote to place the festival on the town calendar came after a discussion about coordinating with other December events and the availability of tents and light towers. The festival was described repeatedly as a “holiday” or “winter” festival rather than a religious observance; a member emphasized it is intended to “welcome the holidays” rather than be a Christmas-only event.

Why it matters: The festival is a major year-end community event for Miami Lakes and involves logistics (vendors, tents, lighting and police presence) that the Youth Task Force said must be coordinated with town staff and sponsors. Committee members asked staff to ensure public notices and ticketing or registration links are posted well in advance.

Details and logistics
- Date and time: Saturday, Dec. 13. The committee approved a 6 p.m. start time with the film beginning around 6:30 p.m.; running time will determine the event end.
- Program elements: movie screening, food trucks, Santa and Mrs. Claus, vendors and a light display. The committee plans to replicate last year’s format (movie plus food trucks) and add more lights this year.
- Sponsorship and budget: A committee member said sponsor Oscar has committed to support lighting; Kiki from World Class Gymnastics volunteered to provide pizza and beverages for volunteers. Committee members discussed confirming additional sponsor commitments and a formal budget allocation.
- Safety and staffing: The committee voted to invite the Town’s public safety committee to participate in the event and to request police presence for crowd control and lost-and-found assistance.

Committee direction and next steps
The committee asked staff and volunteers to finalize the vendor list, secure the sponsorships, confirm tents and light towers, and post Eventbrite or other registration pages (several members raised concerns that prior event listings were missing or links were broken). Organizers also asked volunteers to wear committee shirts so attendees could identify event staff.

A committee member noted that the town sends a long welcome packet to new volunteers that covers Robert’s Rules and Sunshine Law, and encouraged new members to read it before future meetings.

Ending
Organizers said they will continue planning and reconvene at the next Youth Task Force meeting to finalize movie selection, vendor confirmations and volunteer assignments. The committee asked staff to post clear event information on town channels and to circulate volunteer sign-up details to the group.