UCF area
The University of Central Florida’s distinguished reputation does not just stem from the fact that it’s one of the most affordable colleges in the country or that it’s the second-largest university in the nation. It’s also, at least in part, due to the pride the students take in being part of their community. For instance,…
Four Orlando escape rooms worth checking out
Escape room attractions, in which groups of people are locked in a room and must solve puzzles, riddles and challenges in order to get out, are popping up all over Orlando. If you’re the sort who likes your entertaining diversions with a side of brain-teasing mystery, here are four challenging escape rooms you need to…
Winter Park
Winter Park is like Paris. If anything changes too much, the locals throw a hissy. It’s a good thing most of the time; all the great stuff stays put, and all the not-so-great stuff sticks around long enough to see a rebirth. From the corner of Orange and Fairbanks to Aloma and Semoran’s mammoth intersection,…
Listings: Arts and Culture
Here you’ll find all the museums, galleries, theaters and cultural spaces of Orlando that we can fit in one place. Check out our calendar at orlandoweekly.com every day to keep up with your city’s many enlightening, edifying and educational events. GALLERIES AND MUSEUMS Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Gardens 633 Osceola Ave., Winter Park, 407-647-6294,…
Eight cool shops in Orlando you need to know about
People often make the mistake of assuming that the best shopping in Orlando happens in the outlets and shopping malls. That’s simply not true. Here are eight local stores that prove that when it comes to shopping in this town, local is lovely. Dear Prudence Shoppe 2912 Corrine Drive, 407-894-4941, dresssweet.com Adorable jewelry, jewelry-making supplies,…
Listings: Theater groups and dance companies
Some vital performing arts groups around town that don’t have a fixed address. Baggy Pants Theater baggypantstheater.com Community theater group with a focus on social outreach. Beth Marshall Presents bethmarshallpresents.wordpress.com The longtime Fringe Festival producer has formed her own company, producing an ambitious slate of plays and events. Center for Contemporary Dance thecenterfordance.org Home to…
Five essential Orlando vintage stores
In a city that’s as mixed-and-matched as a thrifter’s closet, rooting out good vintage stores can be a challenge without a little guidance. From authentic garments dating back to the ’20s to unique bright fashions from the ’80s and ’90s, Orlando’s vintage stores quite literally have your back if you’re looking to stand out in…
Listings: music and nightlife
In the heart of Orlando, those in the know snicker at the fools who believe theme parks are our city’s main draw. With bars, clubs and live music venues that go above and beyond the moment the sun goes down, locals know the truly treasurable Orlando experiences are encountered in more genuinely fun spots –…
Wine walks and pub crawls
Stumble your way through Orlando’s burgeoning bar scene with suds or vino. WINE WALKS Thornton Park 2nd Thursday Wine & Art Walk Second Thursday of each month, 6:30-9:30 p.m., 712 E. Washington St., $10, thorntonparkdistrict.com Audubon Park “May the Fourth Be With You” Sip & Stroll May 3, 2-5 p.m., 2810 Corrine Drive, $15, audubonparkgardens.com…
Listings: Orlando indie venues 101
Improving your Orlando concert experience only takes a little familiarity and a dash of foresight, so here are some tips to get the most out of seeing shows at five of Orlando’s independent venues. Backbooth 37 W. Pine St., 407-999-2570, backbooth.com Visibility can be an issue at Backbooth if you get stuck by the front…
10 spots to satisfy munchies after midnight
There’s really no reason to sit on the curb outside 7-Eleven with a microwave burrito, or to go home and order Domino’s. Not anymore, anyway – Orlando restaurants serving past midnight, even on weekdays, are slowly but surely on the rise. Beth’s Burger Bar open until 3 a.m. Wednesday-Saturday, 24 E. Washington St., 407-650-4950, bethsburgerbar.com…
Listings: sports and recreation
Central Florida was made for the sports enthusiasts – during most of the year, the weather is perfect for hiking, running, biking and kayaking, and when it’s not, we have plenty of sports teams you can cheer on as a spectator. Root for your home team: Teams that call Orlando home Orlando City Soccer Club…
Six tips for making the most of your trip to Walt Disney World
Whether you’re a lifelong local or a first-time tourist, at some point everyone in Orlando enters Mickey’s magical mousetrap. The key to emerging alive is to go in with an attack plan, a realistic budget and (our preference) a hidden flask. 1. GET YOUR TICKETS IN ADVANCE The best-case scenario is to make friends with…
Annual Orlando events you don’t want to miss
MARCH Great Orlando Mixer The swinging-est party in town, featuring 1920s-themed costumes and music, and drinks from the best mixologists in Orlando. March 26, Cheyenne Saloon, 128 W. Church St., thegreatorlandomixer.com APRIL Florida Film Festival Whether you’re a fan of dramas, comedies, documentaries or shorts, the Florida Film Festival has it all. April 10-19, Enzian…
Six tips for exploring Universal Orlando
Once an also-ran to Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando now has the hottest attractions in town, thanks to Harry Potter. A visit to Universal requires less advance planning than a Disney vacation, but a little preparation will help you master Universal Studios Florida or Islands of Adventure like a wizard. 1. INVEST IN AN ANNUAL…
College Park
It was one of the last neighborhoods to resist the call of the developer, but even College Park’s shady streets of tidy bungalows are feeling the incursion of five- and six-story condo buildings. For the time being, however, the small-town feeling remains strong, with local-owned businesses lining Edgewater Drive and kids walking to and from…
Audubon Park
One of Orlando’s most organic neighborhoods has suddenly become one of its hottest. With the arrival of local food hub East End Market, the sleepy little enclave centered at the corner of Corrine Drive and Winter Park Road hit critical mass. Stardust Video and Coffee is the pioneer here – they’ve been holding it down…
Ivanhoe Village
After a few years of unprecedented growth from humble strip mall attractions and antique shops (this particular stretch of North Orange Avenue is colloquially known as Antique Row) into something of a hip, drinky, artsy free-for-all, even more change lies on the horizon for Ivanhoe Village. In the coming years, new mixed-use development is expected…
Six of the best stops if you’re spending a day on International Drive
Long considered just a low-rent alternative to Orlando’s major attractions, International Drive is becoming a destination in its own right. There’s enough to do on I-Drive to occupy you for a full day, provided you can endure the traffic. 1. FIND AN OUTLET FOR YOUR SHOPPING ADDICTION Every tourist town in America has its outlet…
Downtown
Can we just take a moment to give three cheers for the Downtown Orlando Development Board? In the past couple of years, Orlando’s downtown has been transformed from just the place you go to watch fireworks on July Fourth to somewhere people actually want to be, and not just between the hours of 11 p.m.…
Orlando area farmers markets you need to visit
Stock up on fresh produce, bright blooms and local art at O-town’s outdoor farmers markets. Orlando Farmers Market Sundays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., East Central Boulevard and North Eola Drive, orlandofarmersmarket.com Local art and artisans, cheeses, baked goods, produce. Dog-friendly. Beer and wine garden. Winter Park Farmers Market Saturdays, 7 a.m.-1 p.m., 200 W. New England…
Milk District
The Milk District is deceptive – at first glance, it seems like a sleepy strip of storefronts, but once you spend a little time in the area, you’ll find that the eclectic character of the Robinson Street strip across the street from the T.G. Lee dairy plant is the hub of a wider area of…
Five of our favorite boozy brunches in Orlando
As any occupant of the Facebook hive mind knows, Sunday Funday is the greatest opportunity to boast about last night’s walk of shame, somebody’s endowment, a weird dance, a dark alley or whatever else made Saturday night so memorable – there are always stories to be told the morning after. Here are some places to…
Sanford
Now that you can take the SunRail to Sanford (at least during the week), our northern neighbor and its enticing historic district has become even more attractive as a little Orlando escape – or even as a place to which we wouldn’t mind relocating. The fast-growing strip in downtown Sanford has nabbed some of Orlando’s…
Orlando’s three most walkable neighborhoods
No car? No problem. Not everyone wants life to revolve around the car. We checked out how our local ‘hoods ranked on WalkScore, which rates neighborhoods in terms of walkability and bikeability. Turns out, Orlando may be leaving behind its reputation as a car-centric place where you can’t get anything done on foot or by bike.…
Mills 50
Mills 50 is fast becoming one of Orlando’s most urban, walkable neighborhoods. Within the confines of a couple of miles, you’ll find two grocery stores (a Publix on Colonial Drive and a Fresh Market on Mills, just above Virginia), upscale dining (the Strand), quirky casual (Pig Floyd’s Urban Barbakoa), live music joints (Will’s Pub, Lil…
Meeting people is easy: places to make new friends in Orlando
Whether you’re new in town and need to make friends, or just want some new ones, these meet-ups are just the place to strike up a convo. Orlando Conductor Crawl Speed Dating Monthly, Church Street SunRail Station, $3.25, facebook.com/orlandoconductorcrawl Starting at the Church Street SunRail station and continuing up and down the track, switch cars…
SoDo
SoDo – short for south of downtown – is still sort of an amorphous region of town. Technically, it’s the area along Orange Avenue near the intersection of Grant Street, but those who live there know that there’s a thriving and tight-knit community that extends along the Michigan Street and Curry Ford Road corridors, right…
The sharing economy: five Orlando co-working spaces
Small business owners often face an early stumbling block: At a certain point, a table at Starbucks or the corner of the couch just won’t cut it anymore. When you need a desk, a printer/copier/scanner, a conference room – and the absence of distracting TV and pets – it’s time to step up and join…
Thornton Park
The rows of pastel bungalows and wrap-around porches might speak to Key West more than Central Florida, but this “neighborhood for locals” is one of Orlando’s best-kept secrets (and we hope it stays that way). With new brunch spots, art galleries and its own micro-downtown shopping district, Thornton Park has all the walkable charm Orlando…
17 cool attractions worth your tourist dollar
Theme parks? Yeah, we’ve got ’em. But Orlando is also home to a host of other attractions that have an appeal all their own – from escape rooms to indoor go-kart racing to a park dedicated to gators, here are some of the diversions worth checking out when you’re visiting our tourist corridor. 17 MORE…
Welcome to Annual Manual 2015
Week to week, headlines are dominated by gripes: Complaints about Congress, healthcare, taxes, questionable decisions made at City Hall meetings, crime. Sometimes, though, we like to remind ourselves that we like our city and we enjoy living in a place where it’s sunny and beautiful nine months out of the year, where arts and culture…
