​​​​Arts, Recreation and Learning
Cultivating community culture, arts, recreation and lifelong learning help Broward County achieve its goal of a HEALTHY COMMUNITY. 40x40_Healthy_Community.png

Top Achievements in FY2025

Cultural Division

  • Provided $7.2 million in grants to 116 arts organizations, and an additional $400,000 was awarded to 74 artists.
  • Launched a landmark Arts and Cultural Festival sponsorship program allocating $1 million to support municipal, community, and neighborhood arts and cultural festivals.
  • Hosted the 4th Annual IGNITE Broward art and light festival, February 14-23, featuring more than 25 art installations in three cities (Hollywood, Dania Beach, Fort Lauderdale), with more than 80,000 people attended.
  • Launched the inaugural Arts Launch Broward event, a community and family-oriented event featuring more than 70 Broward artists and arts organizations, at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts with more than 1,600 community members in attendance to learn about the arts in Broward County.
  • Partnered with the Fort Lauderdale Downtown Development Authority to unveil Tropical Solace, a large-scale mural by artist MUTA Vision, on the Governmental Center East parking garage, honoring the surrounding Everglades ecology and community spirit, replacing a mural that had been in place for more than 40 years.
  • Preparing to unveil the County's newest public artwork, Flora and Fauna by artist Martin Donlin, at the ground-level terrazzo floor at the Broward County Convention Center in the new East expansion.
  • Collaborated with Port Everglades to produce "Tidal School," a new public art installation by Project One, located in the Port featuring 320 fish, including 95 blue fish which standout as a nod to the Port's 95th anniversary last year. 

Learn more at Broward.org/Arts. 

Parks and Recreation Division

  • Awarded five grants totaling approximately $1.2 million for Florida Inland Navigation District: Waterway Assistance Programs; Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services: Urban and Community Forestry – Planting and Invasive Control; and Broward Boating Improvement Program.
  • Opened the first Mooring Field in the Broward County Park system at Loggerhead Park in Hollywood. This $6.9 project received more than $2.8 million in grant funding.
  • Opened the Boulevard Gardens Community Center in the Broward Municipal Service District (BMSD), converting a former residential building to a park service building with costs totaling $986,000.
  • Collaborated with the United Way of Broward County for the Born Learning Trail at Plantation Heritage Park, providing a trail with STEAM-inspired learning and observational activities with eight educational experiences. The United Way provided all materials, posts, and signage, investing $3,981 into the project.
  • Hosted Major League Cricket at Central Broward Park & Broward County Stadium in Lauderhill with more than 8,000 spectators at nine games played in six days. Also hosted Cricket West Indies vs Pakistan over three days with more than 7,000 spectators
  • Reopened the 50-acre Deerfield Island Park with $1 million worth of improvements including the removal of invasive plants, improved accessibility, updates to the Mangrove Boardwalk and a new butterfly garden.
  • Collaborated with Film Lauderdale by providing backdrop locations on 117 projects, a $6.5 million impact on the local economy, for still photography, short films, music videos, documentaries, web content, commercials and advertising, and feature films.

Learn more at Broward.org/Parks.

Broward County Library

  • Library's 37 branches welcomed more than 5 million visitors, received 100,000 new library card registrations, hosted half a million attendees with 47,000 volunteer to assist.
  • Partnered with the City of Hollywood creating a Pop Up Library location at David Park Community Center during the unanticipated temporary closure of the Hollywood Branch Library.
  • Reopened the newly refreshed Hallandale Branch Library featuring a new look, lighting, flooring, family restroom, shelving and furnishings.
  • Raised more than $700K with the Non-Resident eCard initiative program extending digital service to paying non-resident customers and offering free service for the first 30 days.
  • Partnered with the Westside Gazette to digitize more than 15 years of the first newspaper in Broward County focusing on the African American community available online.
  • The Summer Learning program had 16,000 summer challenge registrations with 5.7 million minutes read by kids, teens and adults; 53,000 books read to early learners (ages 0-5); and more than 61,000 participants in the program.
  • Collected 530 pounds of crayons as part of the national Crayon Initiative that provides crayons to hundreds of children hospitals nationally. More than 40 community partners and businesses contributed to the local effort.
  • Preparing to launch the ASPIRE (Achieve, Support, Prepare, Innovate, Reach, and Excel) Academy, a college-readiness initiative focused on underserved high school students in Broward County, providing them with one-on-one advising, SAT/ACT preparation, FAFSA assistance, and scholarship mentoring. 
  • Served as a collection site for the Greater Fort Lauderdale Diaper Bank and collected nearly 25,000 diapers to support Broward's families.  ​

Learn more at Broward.org/Library.

​ ​​

​​​