Selections: Our picks for the best things to do in Orlando this week

The Amazing Acro-Cats

THEATER

Herding cats is no big deal for Samantha Martin, the trainer and animal welfare advocate behind the Amazing Acro-Cats. She's been teaching cats to jump hurdles, balance on balls and play in their own rock band (The Rock-Cats) for more than a decade, striving to keep the furballs mentally sharp between their day gigs in TV, film and advertising. The result is an adorable live show that somehow blends a kitty playing a cowbell with information on cat training and animal rescue. One of Martin's cats even broke the Guinness Wozrld Record for longest jump by a domestic cat, leaving us saying "meow wow!" and "they have a category for what?" The cats might not always do exactly what Martin asks, but that just lends credibility to the Acro-Cats as a rock band and proves, once again, that cats don't need our approval – but they'll be damned if you don't take the time to appreciate them. If this is what everyone means when they talk about crazy cat ladies, hand over the kitties and sign us up. – Abby Stassen

3 p.m. and 7 p.m. | Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center, 201 S. Magnolia Ave., Sanford | 407-321-8111 | wdpac.com | $21-$40

Taste of Soul

EVENTS

Beach bod season is at long last upon us, but dream on if you think that means you've got to completely sidestep the soulful temptations put out by dishes like on-the-bone ribs, hoppin' john, fried okra, ham hocks, and biscuits and gravy. If you pair such dishes with a serving of classic disco and a Soul Train line, then those quickly accrued calories will fall right off in a boogie-inspired sweat. If this scene piques your interest, then do yourself a solid and snag a ticket before booking it over to the Taste of Soul this weekend where prime examples of Southern cuisine, classic board games, and arts and crafts are available from local vendors and restaurants. Musical acts play unforgettables from Soul Train legends like Marvin Gaye, Chic, Cameo, and Earth Wind and Fire, which we assume you can dig if you're still breathing. Those hesitant to commit should remember that the beach bod is only protected from soul food via disco once a year, so failing to miss this funky park outing would be the wise cat's move. – Nick Wills

11 a.m.-7 p.m. | Festival Park, 2911 E. Robinson St. | 407-907-8162 | gopartylive.com/tasteofsoul | $5-$35

Standard Sideshow

EVENTS

The parking-lot market scene has received a real boost locally by turning what used to be pop-up crunchy flea markets into parties with the addition of live music, food trucks and beer. Standard Motorcycle Co., a co-op garage for creative gearheads, throws their quarterly party this weekend. It's kind of like the also-quarterly Will's A Faire on Mills Avenue, but with a little more of a biker vibe. Browse goods from local vintage clothing dealers, record collectors and artisans while listening to live tunes from the Getbye, Gary Lazer Eyes and Ancient Sun. Test the power of your ride by hooking it up to a mobile dynamometer. You can even tweak your style a bit by getting a haircut or tattoo from Alchemy Salon or Lowbrow Art Productions while you're there. Afterward, wristband-wearing attendees can head downtown for a private party at the brand-new Ace Café. And if you don't have a motorcycle yet, we're sure you'll find someone who can hook you up. – Thaddeus McCollum

noon-6 p.m. | Standard Motorcycle Co., 2545 Industrial Blvd. | 407-720-3995 | standardmotorcycleco.com | free

Don't Pitch It, Fix It

LEARNING

So many things that used to be classed as old-fashioned drudgery are now trendy – milling flour, sewing clothing, hand-writing letters. Add to the list of useful skills that have fallen by the wayside fixing your broken crap. The modern mindset of "throw it away and buy a new one" has become so embedded that it actually costs less to buy a new toaster than to have a broken one repaired, even if it's a simple fix. The cost may be low in dollars, but we say it's way too high in self-respect. This workshop is full of mighty people who have the wherewithal to darn that sock, de-fuzz that radio, mend that wobbly chair leg, and they'll do it for you and show you how on Saturday. Don't be that lame lightweight who throws away a vintage turntable because it spins unevenly. Use your own two hands to replace the belt and while you're at it, flip double birds at rampant overconsumption and the culture of waste. – Jessica Bryce Young

noon-4 p.m. | Winter Park Public Library, 460 E. New England Ave., Winter Park | 407-623-3300 | wppl.org | free

Jimmy Buffett

MUSIC

The old saying goes that the only sure things in life are death and taxes, but if you grow up in Florida, there's one more inevitability: Jimmy Buffett. From tiki bars to beachside cafés to a Margaritaville-themed retirement community (coming soon to Daytona Beach, natch), the 70-year-old Alabama native's discography has become the de facto soundtrack for the Sunshine State. And it's easy to hear why: Yes, the songs often mention things like boats and margaritas, but beneath that, there's a weariness – an impulse to say "fuck it" and go grab a drink – that resonates with the Floridian mindset. Take the wistful subject of "A Pirate Looks at Forty," who spends the song recapping his life as an "over-40 victim of fate," then concludes with the desperate line "I feel like I've drowned, gonna head uptown." Though his output has ventured dangerously close to self-parody in recent years (see his 2013 duet with Toby Keith, "Too Drunk to Karaoke"), Parrotheads across the state – each masking their inner sadness with a deceptive shell of Hawaiian shirts, leis and nautical hats – are expected to make the journey to see Buffett and his Coral Reefer Band take the stage at Amway Center. Give in. Unwindulax. – TM

6:30 p.m. | Amway Center, 400 W. Church St. | 407-440-7000 | amwaycenter.com | $33-$132.50

Mother's Day at Leu Gardens

EVENTS

Before you go buy the largest bottle of Japanese cherry blossom body lotion from the nearest Bath & Body Works and ruin another Mother's Day, think about the possibilities. You could disappoint your mom with the same gift you got her last year, or, for 10 bucks, you could spend a nice afternoon with the person who puts up with your shit by strolling through the beautiful pathways of Harry P. Leu Gardens. You'd only have to pay for yourself because admission for mothers is free this weekend. Take your mamá on a tour of the historic Leu House or explore Florida's largest rose garden. You can bring your own food for a picnic on the patio, but save room for dessert – Sugarbuzz Dezert Company and Peak Season Pops are setting up to sell sweet deliciousness. – Monivette Cordeiro

9 a.m.-5 p.m. | Harry P. Leu Gardens, 1920 N. Forest Ave. | 407-246-2620 | leugardens.org | free-$10

Bishop Briggs

MUSIC

Los Angeles via Hong Kong via Tokyo via London singer Bishop Briggs, in a head-spinningly short span of time, has already racked up an incredible musical CV that includes a stint opening for Coldplay (don't hold that against her), a performance on The Tonight Show and a headlining slot at SXSW – but this meteoric rise is not just the hollow zombie machinations of the internet hype machine; the focus is squarely where it should be, on Briggs' earthy and 10-ton voice, married to state-of-the-groove electronics and beats – or even married to a Cold War Kids song (the "So Tied Up" collab). On this, her first solo headlining tour, expect powerhouse versions of singles "The River" and "Wild Horses," and material from her eponymous debut EP. One to watch. Oh wait, you can do just that, in person. – Matthew Moyer

with Shaed, Manatee Commune | 7 p.m. | The Social, 54 N. Orange Ave. | 407-246-1419 | thesocial.org | $18-$20

Tuesday, 16

The Casket Girls

MUSIC<

Mysterious dreamwave trio the Casket Girls hail from Savannah, Georgia, itself a mysterious repository of Deep South secrets and curses and desires, and also some of the best and most forbidding cemeteries in the South. The project is an unholy alliance between witchy and chameleonic siblings Phaedra and Elsa Greene and Ryan Graveface (he of Graveface Records, a taxidermy shop/record store and label that has released the likes of Xiu Xiu and Black Moth Super Rainbow), crafting Southern gothic electro-pop, all baroque and tuneful whistling past the graveyard. New album The Night Machines is humid, twilit and disorienting, slightly and pleasingly out of phase with the present moment. Live, everything becomes bigger: the personnel, the songs, the performance gestures. Casket Girls are fresh from a series of dates supporting shoegaze legends Slowdive on a short run of heart-stopping U.S. shows; expect an even higher level of incandescence. – Matthew Moyer

with Dogs in Reverse | 7 p.m. | Will's Pub, 1042 N. Mills Ave. | willspub.org | $8-$10