Growing up, Julie Stokes remembers crossing Kennard Street to enter a wonderland of live music, food and endless booths and vendors.
The Annual Waldo Railroad Day was the talk of the town for the children who grew up there. It’s what they waited for all year. The event, which began in 1987, celebrated the history of the railroad and brought vendors lined up from the city park to the train station.
Stokes, now 46 years old, sees that excitement again — this time, with a new town tradition.
Inspired by the town’s now-discontinued Railroad Day, the Annual Waldo Homecoming began in 2023.
The homecoming festivities borrowed ideas from Railroad Day, like vendor booths, and added a weekend parade and a festival. This year, a car show was the newest addition, displaying vintage vehicles like a 1929 Dodge Coupe and a 1966 Chevrolet CD.
“We just want to bring it back, because it always brought the community together,” Stokes said.
Stokes, who is now president of Waldo Community New Vision Coalition, helped organize the event through the nonprofit. Her focus this year was to bring businesses to Waldo, she said.
This year, Waldo weathered some rain, but that didn’t deter community involvement. Although the parade was canceled, residents still celebrated their city. The sun eventually joined in.
Waldo is historically known as a hidden Florida gem with locally owned businesses and a historic theatre. But a train stop that brought most visitors into the town permanently closed in 2004. A halt in business prosperity followed.
Waldo has continued celebrations like the Waldo Farmers and Flea Market, but Stokes wants more opportunities to bring businesses into the town. She hopes to “put the spotlight on it in a positive manner” by inviting businesses from outside the town to sell products at homecoming.
Jacksonville resident Lawanda Marion travels south with her mobile business, Flip ‘r’ Sip Frozen Drinks, every year for Waldo’s homecoming.
She heard about the event from someone located in Waldo shortly before the first event. After reaching out to Stokes, she came down to give it a chance. The first year, she said, “gave the people a feel of what was to come.”
Marion has watched the homecoming’s participation bloom over the last three years and expressed her excitement to Stokes over the liveliness in the air.
She works year-round in Jacksonville and makes one annual exception for Waldo.
“I love the people here,” Marion said. “I’ll continue to come here.”
Freddie Allen, a member of Freedom Community Ministries, has been a part of community engagement in Waldo for years. The Allen family has attended all three homecomings, and about seven participated in the Annual Railroad Day.
“It’s even more diverse now, because there’s different people that have come in from the outside and have made this their home,” Allen said.
This Waldo event was special to the family. They planned to honor a family member who passed in the parade, but the rain altered their plans. The Allens still gathered and celebrated her life at the festival.
“The people, look at the people — they still showed up,” Eva McNeal-Allen said.
Contact Teia Williams at twilliams@alligator.org Follow her on X @teia_williams.
Teia is a general assignment reporter for Metro. She is also a second semester journalism transfer student from Daytona State College and served as Editor-in-Chief for In Motion, DSC's student newspaper. When she's not writing, Teia can be found reading, going to concerts, at the beach and talking about her favorite artists.
