The overall forecast for the movie theater sector is one of unrelenting grimness, but Maitland indie cinema Enzian is swimming defiantly against the tide of prevailing wisdom and maybe even flourishing. And you noticed, voting it as your fave spot to catch a flick locally — even over the big cineplexes. Orlando's mainstay arthouse proves handily that bigger isn't always better (although we were saddened when their plans to expand to three screens were shot down by the neighbors). With an adventurous bill of cinematic fare — both streaming and in-person, the proverbial different strokes for different folks — as well as a crackerjack menu that goes way behind popcorn and Milk Duds, and the Eden Bar on site serving up craft cocktail creativity, it's an all-around pleasure to meet a friend and/or watch a film there. Special mention as well must be made of their various ongoing film series: the Peanut Butter Matinee films for kids, Music Mondays rock-docs, Cult Classics dredging up overlooked masterpieces, the Film Slams that spotlight local up-and-comers, and the jewel in the crown, the Florida Film Festival (which the Enzian pulled off safely back in 2020). See you at the pictures. (enzian.org)
First: Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival, orlandofringe.org
Second (tie): Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, disneyworld.disney.go.com
Second (tie): Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival, wpsaf.org
Third: Mount Dora Arts Festival, mountdoraartsfestival.org
First: Thornton Park 2nd Thursday Wine & Art Walk, thorntonparkdistrict.com
Second: 1st Thursdays at Orlando Museum of Art, omart.org
Third: Sanford Art Walk, third Saturday of every month, historicdowntownsanford.com
First: SAK Comedy Lab, sakcomedylab.com
Second: The Improv, theimprovorlando.com
Third: April Fresh's Comedy Brunch at Southern Nights, facebook.com/southernnightsorlando
First: Florida Film Festival, floridafilmfestival.com
Second: Orlando Film Festival, offvirtual.com
Third: Central Florida Film Festival, centralfloridafilmfestival.com
First: Orlando Story Club, facebook.com/orlandostoryclub
Second: African American Read In at OCLS, ocls.info
First: Orlando Ballet, orlandoballet.org
Second: Phantasmagoria, phantasmagoriaorlando.com
Third: Central Florida Irish Dance, centralfloridairishdance.com
First: Benjamin Ptashinsky
Second: Carlos Navarro
Third: Dewayne Williams
First: John Green, johngreenbooks.com
Second: David James Poissant, davidjamespoissant.com
Third: Owl Goingback, owlgoingback.com
First: Benjamin Ptashinsky, instagram.com/equityben
Second (tie): Ben Brainard, benbrainard.com
Second (tie): Ryan Holmes, facebook.com/ryanholmescomedy
Third: Ginger Minj, twitter.com/thegingerminj
