Best of Orlando Party 2013 Wednesday, July 31 7-11 p.m. The Beacham and the Social, 46 N. Orange Ave. 407-377-0400 facebook.com/orlandoweekly free (invite only) Every year we promise ourselves that we’re not going to overindulge on a school night, swirling in a mingle-blackout-crumble while wearing a ridiculous outfit. Every year we break that promise and make out with a politician. With good reason! The Best of Orlando party is notorious for its rivers of free libations and mountains of free food, for the air-kisses flying between local bigwigs and the general conviviality of a city keyed up on self-celebration. This year, expect free Stella, Bud Light, Tanqueray, Ciroc, Don Julio and Crown Royal (what the what!) as well as nibbly bits from local favorites Hash House a Go Go, That One Spot, Maxine’s on Shine and B&B Junction. There will be the obligatory and awesome ambient noise from DJs Diddles, BMF and Q-Burns straddling the wobbly party axis between the Beacham and the Social, and there will be plenty of opportunities to craft new regrets that smell like candied armpits. Hopefully, you’ve already secured an invite, because this bitch is gonna be packed and there are no invites left. See you there? – Billy Manes
1st Thursdays: Florida Artists Registry Member Exhibition Thursday, Aug. 1 6-9 p.m. Orlando Museum of Art, 2416 N. Mills Ave. 407-896-4231 omart.org $10 Art party with works on display, live music by Luis Garcia and Humberto Velez, performances by the cast of Disenchanted, food by Maxine’s on Shine and more.
KEN Mode Thursday, Aug. 1 with Howl, Lord Dying, Inter Arma 9 p.m. Will’s Pub, 1042 N. Mills Ave. willspub.org $10 Canadian noise-metal band KEN Mode has been roundly praised by everyone from Pitchfork to the freaking Juno Awards as being one of the best and most groundbreaking heavy acts around today. And you know what? This band totally deserves it, delivering an aggressive, thudding and deceptively complex attack that’s as rooted in (good) metalcore as it is in progressive-minded sludge. And their live approach, burnished by years of road-slogging with everyone from Kylesa and Pelican to Atlas Moth and Deafheaven, is one that continues to evolve, upping the ante on their already impressive studio endeavors. Oh, and you know what else? This critically acclaimed and unarguably respected band had to find a bass player a couple of years ago and ended up settling on Orlando’s very own Andrew LaCour, who’s been in the band ever since. So yeah, that means this club show will be extra-special. – Jason Ferguson
Havok Friday, Aug. 2 with Hot Graves, Chernobyl, Dissident Aggressort 7 p.m. Backbooth, 37 W. Pine St. 407-999-2570 backbooth.com $10-$13 Maybe some folks can’t truly appreciate the technical difficulty of playing metal music, but surely everyone can appreciate this: Just one particular sub-genre, thrash metal, alone has five huge regional scenes spanning the globe, each of which has spawned some of the biggest bands in metal’s entire history. It’s kind of hard to ignore and so is their output. And one of the most notable bands doing it today, Havok, is gracing our humble metal-loving scene this week at the gates to our Juggernaut kingdom, Backbooth. With a new album that glows with what seems like a form of Cherenkov radiation, Unnatural Selection, featuring a mad scientist about to drive a stake through our planet, you can bet the new music will be as aggressive as you expect, and its message will likely hit close to home in more ways than one. – Ashley Belanger
Ed Schrader’s Music Beat Friday, Aug. 2 with Ceremony, Give, Eavesdropper 7 p.m. Will’s Pub, 1042 N. Mills Ave. willspub.org $8-$11 Ed Schrader’s Music Beat is as apt a name for the Baltimore psych-punk duo as you could ask for, since the foundation of nearly every song is pounding percussion, and the band originally started as a drum-and-vocals project. But while their beat is absolutely danceable, it’s more in the way of “She’s Lost Control” than “Bangarang.” With a voice that gravels like Joe Strummer at times and also drags dramatically like Jello Biafra, Ed Schrader’s Music Beat comes across a lot more hardcore than dance-floor in your ear-holes. It certainly makes a lot more sense for the lineup for this night, which includes one of Matador’s most essential hardcore punk bands, Ceremony. It’s a seriously solid show, and one that will explode Will’s Pub, so make sure to check in to the crappy bathroom one last time while you still can. – Ashley Belanger
Florida Small Farms And Alternative Enterprises Conference Friday-Sunday, Aug. 2-4 various times through Aug. 4 Osceola Heritage Park, 1875 Silver Spur Lane, Kissimmee 321-697-3333 conference.ifas.ufl.edu/smallfarms $115-$230 Huffington Post named her the “Cutest Organic Farmer” back in 2010, but underneath the good looks, Annie Novak’s got some strong roots in the field-to-fork movement. Not only is she the founder and director of food education program Growing Chefs, Novak’s urban agricultural work gained praise from other notable foodie outlets the likes of Edible Brooklyn and the Cooking Channel. This week, she lands on our side of the field as the keynote speaker for the Florida Small Farms and Alternative Enterprises Conference, a three-day farm-to-table experience comprising farm tours, workshops and food tastings. Novak presents on Saturday night, but for the rest of the weekend, guests partake in a host of educational sessions – on topics ranging from food safety to social networking to insect pest management and renewable energy. There’ll also be a “Celebration of Local Food” luncheon midday Saturday, not to mention a weekend-long vendor showcase, including Orlando-based standouts Simple Living Institute and reps from Valencia College’s Landscape and Horticulture Tech program. – Aimee Vitek
9th Annual Arnold Day Saturday, Aug. 3 noon-3 a.m. Lazy Moon Pizza, 11551 University Blvd. 407-658-2396 arnoldday.com free It’s that time of year again when the guys over at Lazy Moon Pizza hold a day of tribute to “the greatest man to walk the Earth.” That’s right: It’s Arnold Day 9, the annual birthday celebration of Arnold Schwarzenegger, and this year promises to be the biggest Governator extravaganza Orlando has yet to see. Guests are welcome to show up dressed as their favorite Arnold character, participate in Arnold trivia, watch the lineup of a whopping eight Arnold classics (with audio!), chant Arnold quotes across the restaurant, and indulge in dollar beer specials every time Arnold kicks a bad guy’s ass onscreen. And as if we didn’t have reason enough already to go HAM, proceeds on selected food and drink items will support the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central and Northern Florida. See you at the party, Richter. – Lauren Killer
Margarita Fest 4 Saturday, Aug. 3 5-8 p.m. Wall Street Plaza, Wall and Court streets 407-849-0471 wallstplaza.net $20-$25 Grab your flip-flops and bikini tops for some bottomless margaritas and tequila tasting. Now in its fourth year, Wall Street Plaza throws its annual Margarita Fest to beat the mind-numbing heat of the Central Florida sun. Cooling down should be easy with more than 20 different flavors of margaritas and muchas shots of tequila. With more than three hours of unlimited sampling, you will definitely get your 10 rounds with Jose Cuervo. And to keep you in the mood, reggae band the 506 Crew and reggae-rock group Kayavibe play sweet tropical tunes while you lick the salt, suck the lime and throw another one back. If you still can’t beat the heat, for an extra $10 you can upgrade to the air-conditioned Tequila Terrace at the Monkey Bar where you can enjoy snacks, high-end tequila tasting and free Coronaritas. It’s not exactly Jimmy Buffett’s version of Margaritaville, but it’s close enough. – Kelly Chambers
Indie BookFest 2013 Saturday, Aug. 3 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Buena Vista Palace, 1900 E. Buena Vista Drive, Lake Buena Vista indiebookfest.blogspot.com free When the New York Times ran a profile of surprise millionaire and “unsigned” author Amanda Hocking in 2011, it lifted the lid on a trend that most readers and writers are already well aware of: the explosion of self-publishing. (You guys, young writers are bypassing the traditional publishing model, and the NYT is on it.) Orlando’s Indie BookFest is a daylong celebration of the do-it-yourself ethos embodied by these writers. Many (most?) authors in this segment of the book market focus on young adult and/or supernatural themes, so you can expect plenty of troll talk and dystopian teens. Dozens of published authors will be here leading panel discussions and workshops and also available for direct questioning at the 1:30-3:30 p.m. book signing, including Isaac Marion, author of zombie romcom Warm Bodies (which was just made into a movie), and Shelly Crane, NYT best-selling author of no less than four multi-volume series. Come soak up some inspiration. – Jessica Bryce Young
Shogun Saturday, Aug. 3 10 p.m. Firestone Live, 578 N. Orange Ave. 407-872-0066 firestonelive.net $10-$20 Live set by the DJ and producer.