Fall in Orlando is our favorite season. We may not get the fall foliage our pals up north are enjoying right about now, but we also don’t have to rake endless piles of leaves off our lawns for the next six weeks. We can finally leave the house without perspiring buckets. But best of all, we get to explore all of the temperate wonders awaiting us this season. Though its first show doesn’t happen until late November, the much-anticipated ribbon cutting for the Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center in Orlando takes place Nov. 6. The 30th anniversary of Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense concert documentary brings a special screening of the film to the Enzian on Oct. 20. Orlando Weekly’s Orlando Zombie Ball returns for 2014 on Oct. 22. You can – you must – go out and vote on Nov. 4. Every band you ever wanted to see is playing our local clubs, our local arts organizations are creating more art than your brain could possibly consume and our best fall sports are in full swing. There’s a reason Orlando is fantastic in the fall. And, like an arrow on a map in a mall, you are here. Let’s do this. – Erin Sullivan

Read our Fall Guide coverage of these events:
Events Music Performing Arts Visual Arts Film Civics

Comedian Kyle Kinane performs at Cap City Comedy Club this weekend.
Events: Saturday, Sept. 27 Artlando If you’re anything like us, you’ve probably looked around at the wealth of talent in Orlando from time to time and thought: Wouldn’t it be cool if we could gather all of our favorite artists, performers and arts organizations in one place and get them to take part in the biggest, most interactive display of Orlando artistic talent ever? Well, we’re doing it. Read more.
Events:Saturday, Sept. 272014 Orlando OktoberfestAre you ready to be a part of the largest festival to ever hit Germany? While you may not be able to make it to Munich this year, there’s no need to fret. Read more.Photo by Larry Gilbreath
Civics: Saturday, Sept. 27 BarktoberfestOrange County Animal Services sponsors this massive animal rescue event, which features dogs for adoption from local rescues and shelters all around the region. Read more.Image via Barktoberfest
Visual Arts: Saturday, Sept. 27 – Sunday, Jan. 4 David Rathman: Stand by Your Accidents and Lamar Peterson: Suburbia SublimeOMA’s fall show is a double-barreled look at American symbology. In ink, oils and watercolor, Rathman takes on iconic emblems of masculinity – boxing, football, cars – capturing crucial moments of action. Read more.Image via David Rathman
Film: Monday, Sept. 29 Manhattan Short Film Festival We love that the Enzian plays host to this global film festival, in which 10 short films, selected from 589 submissions from independent filmmakers around the world, are screened at 250 cinemas, museums and universities on different continents. Read more.
Visual Arts: Friday, Oct. 3 – Sunday, Jan. 4The Taos Society of Artists If you’ve ever spent time out West, you’re familiar with the shimmering golden clarity of the desert light. The Taos Society of Artists, a group of American artists who established an art colony in New Mexico between 1915 and 1927, set out to capture the colors, motifs and landscapes of the American West – and that marvelous solar illumination. Read more.
Performing Arts: Friday, Oct. 3 – Sunday, Oct. 5The Trayvon Martin Project, Part 1: A TributeAs part of a yearlong collaborative project, theatrical producer Beth Marshall commissioned a series of short plays exploring the larger societal issues that made the killing of Trayvon Martin possible – from Stand Your Ground laws to 21st-century parenting to that old shibboleth, race-based fear. Read more.
Civics: Monday, Oct. 6 – Sunday, Oct. 12Come Out With Pride CelebrationLike Gay Days before it, the annual Come Out With Pride celebration has exploded into more than one parade in one afternoon – the full schedule of ancillary events actually stretches from Oct. 6 through Oct. 12. Read more.
Music: Tuesday, Oct. 7 St. Vincent With fans like Steve Albini and David Byrne, St. Vincent stands valiantly as one of the most creative forces in popular music today, so it’s fitting to see her perched upon a deserved throne on the cover of last year’s critically acclaimed self-titled release. Read more.
Music: Thursday, Oct. 9Flying Lotus Turns out Flying Lotus’ newest album title is pretty apt for how his Orlando fans must feel about his upcoming show – You’re Dead only increases the critical acclaim that the avant-garde producer has received over the course of five studio albums. Read more.Photo courtesy of Windish Agency
Visual Arts: Friday, Oct. 10 – Sunday, Dec. 28 The Paintings of John MellencampA little ditty, ’bout painting in oils …. Look, it’s inevitable that some people are going to snicker at the idea of a rock star deciding to be a painter, but the truth is that Mellencamp has been painting all along – in fact, he attended the Art Students League in the ’80s, before that whole Johnny Cougar thing took off. Read more.
Events: Friday, Oct. 10 and Friday, Nov. 7Greenwood Cemetery Moonlight Walking Tour Orlando’s favorite unofficial dog-park-abutting-a-graveyard is home to one of the coolest historic walking tours around. Read more.Image via ghostsandhaunts.com
Performing Arts: Saturday, Oct. 11Cirque De Symphonie We would have made the Phil’s 2014-15 opening night our pick (music director contender Alondra de la Parra conducting Mahler, Mozart and a piece by Arturo Marquez), but that happened the week before this guide went to press. So we might as well bow to the popularity and sheer Spectacular-Spectacular!-ness of Cirque de la Symphonie. Read more.
Film: Saturday, Oct. 11 – Sunday, Oct. 12 South Asian Film FestivalBollywood is both a blessing and a curse for South Asian film – the over-the-top glitzy Bollywood film put the region on the radar, as far as the filmmaking industry goes, but it also created a ridiculous stereotype of what a South Asian film looks like. Read more.
Visual Arts: Thursday, Oct. 16CityArts Dia de los Muertos and Monster Factory Exhibit We’ve always preferred the Mexican celebration of the dead to a typical American Halloween, with its scary vampires and grotesque zombies – on Dia de los Muertos, all the skeletons are grinning and all the ghosts are your own beloved departed ones. Read more. Image by Michael Gavin
Events:Friday, Oct. 17Pechakucha Night V.14Twenty slides and 20 seconds are all the speakers get at this event to spin their stories. Read more.
Civics: Friday, Oct. 17Our Roaring TwentiesLast year, ‘Roe v. Wade’ turned 40. Now, with reproductive rights still being tossed around legislative offices like so many other wedge issues, Planned Parenthood of Greater Orlando is celebrating 20 years of health care and education in Central Florida with a flapper-themed 1920s gala. Read more.Image via Wikispaces
Performing Arts: Saturday, Oct. 18 Peter and the Wolf Sure, it’s a little weird for us to be singling out a “family” ballet as our Fall Guide pick, but Sergei Prokofiev’s score is irresistibly nostalgic, and – sorry, Vampire’s Ball – we aren’t so into vampires these days. Read more.
Film: Monday, Oct. 20’Stop Making Sense’It’s the 30th anniversary of the Talking Heads concert film ‘Stop Making Sense.’ We’re simply reeling that it’s been so long since the release of the Jonathan Demme-directed concert film, often called the best concert movie of all time. Read more. Image courtesy of Palm Pictures
Events:Wednesday, Oct. 22Orlando Zombie BallLast year’s inaugural Zombie Ball was such a killer time that Orlando Weekly has decided to have another one – it was a no-brainer! Read more.
Film:Friday, Oct. 24 – Sunday, Oct. 26Freak Show Film FestJust in time for Halloween, Spooky Empire hosts its annual Ultimate Horror Weekend, which is one of the most celebrated spooktaculars in the country. Read more.
Events: Saturday, Oct. 25 Central Florida Veg Fest Brought to us by the same team that produces Central Florida Earth Day, this annual celebration is the Mecca of all things veg. Read more.
Music: Wednesday, Oct. 29 Judas Priest The bludgeoning discography of Judas Priest spans 40 years and comprises some of the most influential metal ever cut. Read more.Image via Wikipedia
Music: Friday, Oct. 31’Pulp Fiction’ Live Quentin Tarantino’s cult classic has been fodder for Halloween costumes since it was released 20 years ago, and now it’s Mills Avenue’s turn to play dress-up with Pulp Fiction. Read more. Photo via moviepilot.com
Performing Arts: Saturday, Nov. 1 Creative City Project It’s difficult to know how to categorize this multi-location, multi-practice art explosion, but promoter Cole NeSmith says the word to keep in mind is “immersion.” Read more.
American flag background – shot and lit in studio
Music:Tuesday, Nov. 4MelvinsA force to be reckoned with in doom-grunge, Melvins rip unrelentingly whether they’re pulsing through songs from knockout originals on earlier releases like ‘Houdini’ or ‘Stoner Witch’ or destroying Bowie and Queen on covers from 2013’s ‘Everybody Loves Sausage.’ Read more.Photo by Mackie Osborne
Performing Arts: Thursday, Nov. 6 – Sunday, Nov. 9Mary Lynn RajskubRajskub steals scenes in films like ‘Sweet Home Alabama,’ ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ and ‘Julie & Julia,’ where she’s inevitably cast as the lead actress’ quirky sidekick. But her devastatingly deadpan turns on ‘Mr. Show’ and ‘The Larry Sanders Show’ are what basically makes her comedy royalty. Read more.Image via Super Serious Show
Music: Friday, Nov. 14 Juicy J Twerk or Die TourDistinctive Three 6 Mafia producer and MC Juicy J invites Orlando to ‘Stay Trippy,’ touring on newly dropped hip-hop thrillers from ‘Pure THC: The Hustle Continues,’ like the Nicki Minaj-tinged single “Low.” Read more.Image via Wikipedia
Civics: Friday, Nov. 14Equality Florida Greater Orlando GalaWith all eyes currently set on Florida and its multiple marriage-equality cases clogging court dockets, it’s a good time to celebrate the people waging the gay marriage war behind the scenes. Read more.
Through Dec. 8 Festival of Trees Watch the museum transform into a glittering wonderland filled with sparkling trees, vignettes and stunning décor for visitors of all ages. 10 am-4 pm; Orlando Museum of Art, 2416 N. Mills Ave.; $15; 407.896.4231; omart.org. Photo via Orlando Museum of Art/Facebook
Performing Arts: Saturday, Nov. 15Functionally LiterateWhether you prefer to call it sci-fi, speculative fiction or, like master of the genre China Miéville, the “New Weird,” fantastic stories are having a moment. Read more.Image by Eric Nyquist
Visual Arts: Through Sunday, Jan. 4 Fractured NarrativesA group show by established and emerging contemporary artists who address social issues such as privacy, warfare and freedom of expression, Fractured Narratives seeks to inform and incite visitors’ consideration of the rapidly changing political and cultural climate of the past 10 years and its effects on the global psyche. Read more.
Sports:Various datesOrlando MagicPhoto by Jeremy Reper
Sports:Various datesUCF Knights FootballPhoto by Jeremy Reper
Sports:Various datesOrlando Solar BearsPhoto by Jeremy Reper