Top 10 things to do in Orlando this week: Aug. 28-Sept. 3

UCF Knights vs. Akron Zips

Thursday, Aug. 29

7 p.m.

Bright House Networks Stadium, University of Central Florida

407-823-1000

ucfathletics.com

$10-$60

We feel like we say this every year, but this year really could be the year for the UCF Knights football team to prove something. Most would consider it a year for evolution, but this season the Knights join the American Athletic Conference riding on the momentum of last year’s 10-4 overall record and a Beef O’Brady’s Bowl victory. Not to mention the nearly decade-long coaching chops of George O’Leary, plus on-the-field leadership under returning quarterback Blake Bortles. But shiny new conference and stacked roster aside, the Knights have some high non-conference hurdles ahead of them, including a home game rendezvous with UCF’s most anticipated and daunting opponent, Steve Spurrier’s South Carolina Gamecocks (ranked No. 6 in the AP Top 25 preseason poll). Fans can only hope the Knights won’t be daydreaming too far into the future, and instead will kick off the season on the right foot this week by focusing on a win over Akron. – Aimee Vitek

Dining for a Cause: Guest Chef Night

Thursday, Aug. 29

6:30 p.m.

Second Harvest Food Bank, 411 Mercy Drive

407-514-1048

foodbankcentralflorida.org

$50

For the first night of what’s sure to be a very popular monthly event, Second Harvest Food Bank has brought on Hari and Jenneffer Pulapaka, chef-owners of DeLand’s award-winning Cress Restaurant. Second Harvest is one of the worthiest causes around, with a mission to stamp out hunger among needy Floridians, so you can feel completely justified as you enjoy an exquisite multi-course dinner – the proceeds of the dinner go straight back into Second Harvest’s programs. The Cress team plans to serve baba ghanoush (made from locally grown eggplants) with fried chickpeas and garlic naan; chilled seasonal gazpacho; herb-crusted local fresh fish and grits with andouille and Creole sauce; jerk-spiced wagyu beef with Stilton alfredo and potato puree; and a dark chocolate-espresso tart. Sound good? Just one catch: Their dinner is sold out. But you can call Second Harvest up to noon on the day of event to try to catch a cancellation; and if you don’t get one, the next dinner is Sept. 19. Eat well, do good. – Jessica Bryce Young

The Great Irish Hooley

Friday-Monday, Aug. 30-Sept. 2

Raglan Road Irish Pub & Restaurant, Downtown Disney, 1640 E. Buena Vista Drive, Lake Buena Vista

407-938-0300

raglanroad.com

free

Labor Day weekend is all about that “work hard, play hard” mentality, and the folks at Downtown Disney’s resident pub, Raglan Road, are fully on board. They had so much fun at last year’s inaugural Great Irish Hooley that they’re bringing it back again this year. It’s four days full of Irish shenanigans, where patrons not only gorge themselves on traditional Irish fare, but also work off that corned beef and cabbage with interactive Irish dance workshops led by choreographer Ronan McCormack, plus Irish music sessions with Dublin-born Declan Masterson. A stacked lineup of live bands, such as Scythian, Creel and the Farrell Brothers, adds a folk and rock twist to traditional Irish music, while guests céilí (Irish line dance) their way through the weekend. Grab a pint of dark, Irish stout and lace up your ghillies – you’ve worked hard all year for this. – Aimee Vitek

MC Chris

Friday, Aug. 30

with Dr. Awkward, Jesse Dangerously, Tribe One

8 p.m.

The Social, 54 N. Orange Ave.

407-246-1419

thesocial.org

$13-$15

MC Chris didn’t invent nerdcore, but he’s certainly proliferating it, and by extension, raising lifelong awareness for niche nerdness. But what casual fans might not realize – although he’s been doing this for years – is MC Chris is interested in raising awareness and funds for a bigger cause than geekdom, and that’s cystic fibrosis. He frequently sells desirable items from his eclectic toy collection at shows, alongside his merch, and the money from those sales is donated to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. He’s raised $112,800 since 2008 – if you’re a collector, he seems motivated to sell, so you might unlock a bonus item at the show. Touring with him is Dr. Awkward, whose hip-hop commonly explores the themes of The Legend of Zelda, but whose latest album, Blank Pages, covers a broader extent of ’90s nostalgia. It features MC Chris on the track “Cartoons,” which we imagine, if performed, will be a highlight of the night. – Ashley Belanger

Morgan Wilson:The Holy and Obscene

Saturday, Aug. 31

8 p.m.

The Falcon, 819 E. Washington St.

407-423-3060

facebook.com/thefalconbar

free

Local painter Morgan Wilson has a preferred focus, and she’s sticking to it. “My work is meant to create a meeting place for the elevated and degraded, the holy and obscene. My most recognizable theme, through all mediums, is a pervasive sexuality,” Wilson says in her artist’s statement for this solo show at Thornton Park’s Falcon art bar. Frankly – and frank is a good word to keep in mind, when viewing Wilson’s work – we haven’t ever seen anything by Wilson that didn’t play on the NSFW end of the scale, verging from a bit spicy to superbly kinky; in our review of her November 2012 show at Twelve21 Gallery we said her paintings “tick off a laundry list of stock fetishes and obsessions.” This show promises to turn it out just that bit more, with a stated goal to “mirror every dark velvety desire,” which ought to please her slavish collectors. Get there early if you plan to buy. – Jessica Bryce Young

The Reunion: The O-Town Edition

Saturday, Aug. 31

9 p.m.

Firestone Live, 578 N. Orange Ave.

407-872-0066

firestonelive.net

$30-$50

Back in the ’90s, every club kid and raver thought people would reflect on the decade as fondly as hippies referred to the ’60s, and we were right. It was a special time, full of great music, positive vibes and wild and colorful characters – many of whom will be in attendance (and/or on stage performing) at the Reunion presented by Future Sound of Breaks, which serves as Firestone’s 20th anniversary party. Headliners DJ Icey, David Christophere and AK1200 are slated to do exclusive sets of old-school music, with Dubtribe and Monk headlining with special performances of their own. A stellar lineup of supporting artists who helped create the magic of the ’90s, including Andy Hughes, Sandy, Rob-E, Security, Eric Berretta, Cliff T, Si-Dog, Jason Brown, Jeffee, Circle K & Collaborator and Jungleboy will keep that feeling alive all night in three different rooms of explosive sound. – Ed Chapkowski

Mel's Bad Girls Club 7th Annual Prom

Saturday, Aug. 31

8:30 p.m.

The Abbey, 100 S. Eola Drive

407-704-6261

melsbgc.org

$25-$30

This semi-formal adult charity event for B.A.S.E. Camp Children's Cancer Foundation offers dancing, DJ music, costume contests, silent auction items and plenty of cocktails.

8th Annual Central Florida Film Festival

Saturday-Sunday, Aug. 31-Sept. 1

10 a.m.-9:30 p.m.

West Orange 5, 1575 Maguire Road

407-877-8111

centralfloridafilmfestival.com

$10-$25

Screenings of more than 70 shorts, features and documentary films from around the globe.

Post-Bummer Show

Sunday, Sept. 1

with Zenas Fisk, Moon Jelly, Emily Reo, Bois & Peace Arrow, Cuddle Formation

5-10 p.m.

The Acre Orlando, 4421 Edgewater Drive

407-704-5161

theacreorlando.com

free-$5

Total Bummer is, of course, the total opposite – its benevolent forces momentarily draw back artists like Emily Reo who started out locally but were driven elsewhere, and are even so powerful as to persuade select touring bands to stay on after the festival to play an additional night. The Post-Bummer show will feature close neighbors like Gainesville’s Peace Arrow as well as fine talents from New York City like Cuddle Formation. They also intend to debut local artist Jack Field’s film Happy Memories, which features a soundtrack by Moon Jelly member Steven Head; Head is also one of the Total Bummer organizers. Admission is on a sliding scale, so pay what you can afford (up to $5) or walk in free if you just don’t have the money. As well, this is Orlando’s latest opportunity to check out the experimental cellphone band Zenas Fisk. It seems a suitable way to extend the actual bummer of the festival’s end for another day. – Ashley Belanger

Prostitutes, Threesomes and Male Lovers in Attic Vase Iconography

Tuesday, Sept. 3

6:30 p.m.

SunTrust Auditorium, Rollins College, 1000 Holt Ave., Winter Park

407-646-2158

rollins.edu

free

First things first: “Attic vases” here refers to ancient Greek pottery, not some old flowerpot your grandma stuck up in the eaves. Most of us don’t think much about Greek vases and the racy illustrations upon them, at least not after that one high-school English class that focuses on John Keats’ famous “Ode on a Grecian Urn.” You know, “O Attic shape! Fair attitude! with braid/Of marble men and maidens overwrought,” and then he winds up with the only part you remember: “‘Beauty is truth, truth beauty’ – that is all/Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.” Well, if you actually study Greek vases (as has Konstantinos Kapparis, associate professor of classics and director of the Center for Greek Studies at University of Florida), you’ll notice that there are a lot more men than maidens getting overwrought on those things. Greece not being known as, perhaps, the most advanced country in terms of enlightened gender relations (just ask any blonde female tourist), you might find it odd to see such advanced goings-on pictured on such old-fashioned decorative art. Dr. Kapparis aims to strip away the modern take on B.C.-era homosexuality and place it in its proper context, proving that these relationships were neither “a cruel power game” nor “an elitist practice among the corrupt upper classes.” Pride backed up by scholarship? We like it. – Jessica Bryce Young