Come Out With Pride Orlando through Oct. 6 various locations 321-800-3944 comeoutwithpride.com various prices This weeklong LGBT-leaning celebration packs in pool parties, a film event featuring John Waters, comedy shows, a Church Street block party and finishes up with a massive parade and festival around Lake Eola.
Yogurt Smoothness Tour Kickoff Thursday, Oct. 3 with Portals, Caribou King, Grey Market, Marky and the Sharks 9 p.m. Will’s Pub, 1042 N. Mills Ave. willspub.org $3 Heading out on their third tour, Yogurt Smoothness commands a room with their experimental breed of stoner rock, which never sours – and apparently neither does their penchant for milking dairy puns. They’re at the teat again with their new EP, Heavy Cream, a mellow shredder with plenty of Nirvana-esque guitar lunges that can only be acquired by attending shows on this tour. Curiously, their latest music video for new cut “Glazed” (awesomely executed by Ryan Reese of experimental St. Cloud band Disasteroids) reminds us, in concept, more of a different prominent ’90s-era figure, Raphael Saadiq, and his video for R&B hit “Get Involved,” featuring a populace with TVs for heads. Of course, the experimental Orlando band gets a little trippier with what’s shown on their TV screens. Show up early for Marky and the Sharks if you don’t wanna be a pinhead no more. – Ashley Belanger
Lady Raven’s Cotillion Friday, Oct. 4 8 p.m. Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 1603 E. Winter Park Road 407-212-7321 audubonparkgardens.com $75-$99 The folks in Audubon Park Garden District are taking it back to the Victorian era for the inaugural Lady Raven’s Cotillion this week. The evening costume ball takes place the night before the neighborhood’s annual Zombietoberfest, escorting in the Halloween season in less of an undead fashion and more of a “dark posh style.” Your $75 ticket gains you not just admission but also includes two glasses of wine, beer or absinthe cocktails, plus an array of tastes provided by Chef Jamie McFadden of Cuisiniers and Blue Bird Bake Shop. Don’t be surprised to see firebreathers and stiltwalkers roaming around the courtyard throughout the night, along with the macabre cabaret of the Phantasmagoria troupe; and be sure to arrive in high fashion – perhaps top hats for the gentlemen and black lace corsets for the ladies. (Those in need of gothic style tips should visit darkposhstyle.tumblr.com – or you could probably just step into any Hot Topic store.) Either way, costumes are strongly encouraged to fully get the feel of Lady Raven’s nest. – Aimee Vitek
Art & Algorithms Festival Friday, Oct. 4 various times daily through Sunday, Oct. 13 Julia Street and Hopkins Avenue South, downtown Titusville artandalgorithms.com $5-$25 Titusville is about an hour away, but some things are worth the travel time – and we’re betting that this is one of them. The inaugural Art & Algorithms Festival brings digital arts in varied forms to the Space Coast for a 10-day stretch: 3-D projections and digital graffiti walls will take over buildings and structures in downtown Titusville; a festival of short films from all over the world screens every night at the Titusville Playhouse, and holographic and lenticular art exhibits pop up throughout the town. Most celebrated is Martin Richardson’s exhibit Dystopia; Richardson is known for his holograms of Martin Scorsese and Will Self, and for his 3-D promotional work on David Bowie’s album Hours. (Also on hand will be Orlando artist Nathan Selikoff and his whimsically animated cardboard stickpeople.) So yeah, it’s a bit of a drive, but we think it’s fitting that Art & Algorithms is sited on the Space Coast: After all, the men and women of the aeronautics industry have plenty of appreciation for the process of creating beauty from math. – Jessica Bryce Young
Saves the Day Friday, Oct. 4 with Into It. Over It, Hostage Calm 7 p.m. The Social, 54 N. Orange Ave. thesocial.org $15-$18 One of emo’s most beloved bands, likely first introduced to crowds by way of Weezer, Saves the Day tinkered with their sound in recent years, unfortunately mishandling the moodiness that won our hearts to begin with. But that’s all changed this year, when Saves the Day released their self-titled debut to a sea of relieved sighs from fans who basically begged the band to stay what they are for their crowd-funded release that brought them back to the power-pop basics fans fell for in the early 2000s. It gets a little sweet at times, which can get old on tracks like “Beyond All of Time,” but definitely succeeds on tracks like “Ring Pop,” which will make you nostalgic for debut title track “Through Being Cool,” for sure. Well, here we are, don’t know how to say this; only thing we know-oh is … that we’re kind of excited to sing along. – Ashley Belanger
Orlando Mini Maker Faire Saturday, Oct. 5 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Orlando Science Center, 777 E. Princeton St. 407-514-2000 osc.org $19 “Makers,” as the current crop of technology-ruled artist-inventors are known, are the ultimate evolution of the DIY ethos. The “do it yourself” philosophy may have been born in three-chord punk bands and hand-stapled zines, but these folks have moved it forward, using their own ingenuity (and a lot of 3-D printers and late-night coding sessions) to make robots, rockets, mini-drones and even a human-powered snow-cone machine. (Invention comes in many flavors, apparently including blue raspberry.) Last year’s Mini Maker Faire, the first one in Orlando, hosted almost 100 inventor-creators showing off their work at the Central Florida Fairgrounds. This year’s family-friendly techstravaganza takes over the Orlando Science Center with projects, workshops, interactive exhibits, a Frisbee-throwing robot, and an appearance by Dog Powered Robot. An extra bonus is Doug Rhodehamel’s parallel art takeover of the OSC, with Something Doug on Every Floor, a sampling of his greatest hits. Paradoxically, we think Rhodehamel’s lo-fi creations and the Dog Powered Robot will fit in perfectly with the techy innovations of the Maker Faire – whether it’s a Pomeranian-powered cardboard robot, a school of laundry-bottle fish or an Android tablet-controlled terrain rover, the same creative mental flexibility is required to bring it to life. – Jessica Bryce Young
Oktoberfest Saturday, Oct. 5 2-11 p.m. also on Oct. 26 German-American Society of Central Florida, 381 Orange Lane, Casselberry 407-834-0574 gasocf.com $5 The arrival of October means many things: the weather grows colder, the days are getting shorter, and the signature drink of fall finally has a chance to shine. No, we’re not talking about coffee. Move over, pumpkin spice latte, it’s time for Oktoberfest – meaning beer and more beer. And we can’t think of a better way to celebrate Bavarian culture than with the German-American Society of Central Florida at their annual Oktoberfest blowout. Of course there’ll be the live oom-pa-pa music from bands like Sonnenschein Express and the Bavarians, plus plenty of opportunity to participate in folk dancing. Add to that a biergarten stocked abundantly with Warsteiner beer and loads of homemade traditional Bavarian treats, and you have one heck of a rousing way to toast in what some consider beer’s greatest season. Prost! – James Austin
Rottenness Saturday, Oct. 5 with Destronomicon, Ad Nauseum 9 p.m. The Peacock Room, 1321 N. Mills Ave. 407-228-0048 thepeacockroom.com $6 Mexican death-metal band Rottenness first sprung up in Cancun to fill the grindcore void in the area, and they have since traveled the world, touring Europe and the United States. This week, they’ll stop by to see us all the way down here in Orlando. Brutality is the name of their game, and with guttural vocals and aggressively fast guitars, they clearly have a plan for winning over area metal aficionados. Welcoming our amigos from the south are Destronomicon, kickass local thrash punk, and Ad Nauseum, local sludge shamers. Though we’re not sure if the Peacock Room will be decked out for its traditional Halloween makeover, this show also doubles as a seasonally appropriate costume party. So if you show up in your typical duds, as Orlandooom founder Jared Oates so likes to say: You are doing it wrong. – Ashley Belanger
Festival of Bacon Saturday, Oct. 5 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Festival Park, 2911 E. Robinson St. festivalofbacon.com $25-$35 This is the first official go-round for this outdoor pig-inspired fete, and hungry festgoers get the chance to sample a multitude of bacon-inspired dishes created by more than 30 local restaurants – OLV, Porkie’s Original BBQ and the Hammered Lamb, among others. The buck doesn’t stop there, either, because you can wash down that salty, greasy pork with bacon beer and bacon cocktails (yes, you heard that right) and listen to live music provided by local standbys, including songstress Kaleigh Baker, one-man band Ben Prestage, country trio Good Luck Penny and more. With a paid ticket, you receive $10 in “bacon bucks” to spend on samples, which range from $2-$5. – Aimee Vitek
Eden’s Elixir Mixer Saturday, Oct. 5 2-4 p.m. Eden Bar at Enzian Theater, 1300 S. Orlando Ave., Maitland 407-629-0054 enzian.org free Some might say the craft cocktail trend has hit its peak, especially locally, as Main Street districts all over Orlando host cocktail competitions this month and Orlando Weekly throws its own Old Fashioned battle this week. But with such a storied and longstanding history, we’d argue that there are a few classic cocktails that will never go out of style, no matter how long they’ve been around. And as you’ll discover while sipping on free drink samples at Eden’s Elixir Mixer, some of the finest mixologists in our area continue to add their own twist (sometimes literally) to timeless concoctions. Joining the crew at Eden Bar, who will serve up fall-inspired cocktails, nearly a dozen other bartenders also mix up boozy creations at this afternoon affair – anything from Cask & Larder’s Winter Park Mule to the Matador’s Bitter Ruby to the Courtesy Bar’s signature Pom Pom and downtown bar the Woods’ house creation, the Great White Hype. – Aimee Vitek