Citra’s Orange-A-Fair made a comeback on Saturday after a six year pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic with a goal this time of raising money to renovate the community center and to turn the community’s old bank, built in the 1920s, into a museum of local history.
Citra is a community in Marion County between Ocala and Gainesville with fewer than 10,000 residents. It is known for the propagation of pineapple oranges, also known as Hickory oranges, in the mid-to-late 1800s. The groves lasted until the 1980s, when consecutive historic freezes killed the trees.
The Orange-A-Fair, hosted at Citra’s community center, highlighted events such as a cake auction, ugly truck contest, bounce house and pictures with “unicorns”. Vendors like Racks ‘N’ Rhinestones displayed jewelry and hats, while Florida Blue informed guests of health care and insurance products.
Long-time residents like Altha Wimberly, 83, have watched Orange-A-Fair grow over the years. Wimberly moved to Citra in 1961 when she married her husband, Wallace. She said the Orange-A-Fair was originally started in the early 2000s as a way for community members to get to know each other, and wasn’t an event with a goal to raise money.
The Ocala Kidney Group sponsored the event this year and invited Mondeson “Mr. Cool Beans” Mondesir, a former schoolteacher with stage four chronic kidney disease, to share his story about how chronic illness impacts his life.
Mondesir is also the host of a podcast called “The Chronic Brew”, where he speaks with doctors, authors and experts about kidney disease, chronic illnesses and mental health.
Mondesir grew up in Miami, where he described the scenery as a concrete jungle. Now living in Ocala, he has been able to appreciate nature and the community more.
"So far, I see it's very tight knit community-wise," Mondesir said. "It's a good vibe, it's a warm welcoming."
Sylvia Pons Leitner, 80, grew up in Citra and said the community has a very interesting history and that it was once larger than Ocala.
“It was a wonderful little town to grow up in,” Leitner said. “It’s grown a lot now. We don’t know as many people.”
Wanda Lasher, vice chair for the Citra Improvement Society and Wimberly’s daughter, was born and raised in Citra and is currently running for Marion County District 4 Commissioner.
“We don’t want to see things like this die off; we want to bring people together, have fun, talk with our neighbors,” Lasher said.
Though there are no orange groves left in Citra, members of the improvement society enjoy using the Orange-A-Fair to reflect on memories of when there were.
“When I was a little girl, I used to go with my dad to the orange groves and light the smoke pots. When it would freeze, unfortunately, they all froze out,” Lasher said.
For the event, Lasher said the society was hoping for about 500 people to attend, but estimated 200 came. Brayton said one of the difficulties this year was confirming if vendors would even show up.
“Because it’s the first time back, sometimes you have to prove yourself to vendors in the community,” Brayton said.
Leitner said the Orange-A-Fair used to be larger before the COVID-19 pandemic, but with the return of the annual event, they anticipate it becoming larger each year. This weekend, $1,042.40 was raised, getting Citra closer to a renovated space for next year’s celebration.