Events

At Wild Acres, whether a casual birthday party, corporate meeting, private party, or formal affair our venue has the flexibility to accomodate virtually any event. We have caterers we work with, entertainers and can set up dramatic lighting and effects for the occasion as required. So let us know your needs and we will help you put together an event that will be the talk of the town.

Weddings

At Wild Acres weddings are our specialty. Whether indoor in elegant, Mediterranean or medieval rooms, outdoor lakeside or in a variety of garden locations, we are sure to have a setting that will make your occasion unique and one
you will never forget.
Our grounds lighting and optional lighting packages will give your night time reception a magical touch that can be nothing short of spectacular.
We can help with as much or a little as you would like. We are full service and offer catering, floral, photography, decorating, horse and carriage, tents, fireworks and coordination. Just let us know which of our services you need and we will put a package together for you.So let us help make your wedding that once in a lifetime occasion that will be a magical event not to be forgotten.

History

Once upon a time, way back in the 50s I remember chopping my way through the woods with my father, Dr L A Dunton, to see this beautiful lake. As it happened he bought that 160 acres, once a Girl Scout Camp, and began the arduous process of transforming it into what it is today. With the untiring help of his blessed father, Rev L W Dunton, a retired Christian Church minister, this process began with, of course, much land clearing. I remember hundreds upon hundreds of hours of picking up roots, piling and burning of such summer after summer at let's see, $.50/hr. The benefits of course was an "indian-like tan" and the privelege of seeing the transformation of many acres of Florida scrub into beautiful pasture. The object was to develop the property into a working cattle ranch and private "get-a-way" from my fathers busy medical practice. Until recently I could not understand why all of his afternoons and days off were spent slugging it out on the farm. This he called relaxation? As a child it made no sense; but now being emersed in the stress of my businesses I see the wisdom in such a diversion - quite the stress relief. The exilaration of hard work. Being a man of many talents and a surgeon being good with his hands, he took delight in all aspects of this development process, from the construction of the original "A-frame", shop and barns to the eventual creation of much of the frurniture and eventual renovation of the existing building to contain all of the many design elements stored in the back of his brain over the years. I can remember seeing him make scetches on napkins in restaurants, on programs during church, collecting ideas from magazines and from his trips to Europe. And as i walk through the house and see the product of these scetches and ideas finally a reality it does my heart good. There just wasn't anything he couldn't do proficiently if he put his mind to it from ceramics and jewelry fabrication to weldiing and woodworking - truly a talented man.  And of course there is no way that the farm would have been developed as we know it without the many years of tireless labor by Grandpa, Rev L W Dunton. He was a man of men, only wanting the best for everyone. After semi-retiring from the ministry he gave up an agrressive home building venture when his son needed his help with the farm. He too good with his hands, and possessing many "farm skills" devoted the remainder of his life to making Wild Acres into a working cattle ranch and much more. His daily smiles and jokes were an inspiration for working and for the soul. The Exalted Seasqueeze as he called himself at times was a driving force that not only changed this property but changed hudrreds of peoples' lives. Being raised on a farm as a boy, he was no stranger to farm life. Working with him was a joy from cutting and stacking loose hay (even though we had a baler) to working with him in his vegetable garden. He lived and worked on the farm for more than 20 years until his 90s when it just was physically impossible. I remember as a college boy i could barely keep up with him in his 80s. Memories of his morning and afternoon watermelon breaks, tales of his childhood and spiritual lessons of life I cherrish to this day. . Never to pass a hitchhiker, he would analyze their soul, acquaint them with Christ and often give them a temporary home on the farm. Every man and woman should have known this man and would have loved him.

The Farm

Wild Acres Farms was originally developed by Dr L. A. Dunton in the 50s and was over 1000 acres. Angus cattle was its first commodity and logically hay production of Alicia Bermuda and Coast Cross Bermuda became apart of the operation. Entreprernurial in nature, Doc at one point actually did commercial hay baling in various parts of Florida. In addition he with the help of his father Rev L.W. Dunton he took on state highway beautification contracts during the Johnson administration.

With many changes over the years, including volatile cattle prices and the sale of much of the farm he decided to establish a woody ornamentals nursery. Before his passing in 2007 he and his family decided that the beauty of his creation needed to be shared and hopefully generate additional income to support the farm. After several family weddings there, he had much encouragement to offer the facility for weddings to the public. With the support of the Florida Department of Agriculture "agritourism" efforts this could be a good way to offer to the public a facility for recreational, entertainment, or educational purposes, and to view or enjoy rural activities, including farming, ranching, historical, cultural, harvest-your-own, or nature-based activities and attractions.  With the many gardens on the property we are now encouraging groups or individuals to come and tour the property and enjoy the hundreds of native and semi-tropical plants there. We are in the process of creating an online database of these plants to help in educating the general public regarding these plants and some of their attributes. This will also give "city-folks" and opportunity to see a working farm in operation.

We are also beginning some research and testing on Hydroponic cultivation of vegetables. In a time where land is in short supply due to aggressive development in Florida this seems to be a logical way to produce food where large tracts of land are diminishing.  We encourage those interested in a peaceful hour or two to contact us for an appointment to come out and enjoy what we are so priveledged to have. Tour the gardens and grounds lakeside, bring your lunch and fishing pole if you like and enjoy what our wedding guests rave about.  As we progress, hopefully, with the cooperation of Lake County and the University of Florida extension service we can expand the educational effort to include seminars of various types at the facility.  We also encourage other small farmers (or big) to contact us with regards to the Department of Agriculture's agritourism efforts.

Special Event Insurance may be required for weddings or events of $1,000,000 per occurence and $2,000,000 aggregate.