Excellent venue for an Independence Day celebration and fireworks display. I like how they closed…read moreBroad Street and set it up with all kinds of vendors, especially military oriented, and veteran service vendors. They did a lovely job closing out the roundabout at the end of the street and making it into a beer garden and stage for a live band to perform on. There was a roll of the food trucks set up, which my wife and I really enjoyed it. Also a lovely touch for the kiddies, there were some amusement rides set up for them. Lovely viewing site Lakeside for the fireworks display at 9 PM. They did a fabulous job. Looking forward to attending this event again next year.

Every major city has a "ChinaTown". This is the West sides'…read moreanswer to "little Nom". There are plenty of spots in the shopping center to eat and explore. I usually go to the boba spot here, and one of the restaurants. I miss Sapporo ramen, but they were replaced by a nice Dim Sum spot. I also want to eventually check out Tofu House and Walala Noodles. When I was in college, I would make coming here a whole day trip! Plenty to do! There's an Asian grocery store in the plaza too!

Out standing service. Every one very friendly. I do plan.on making appointment for a massage. My…read moreprimary style is Lena.

5 stars because Orlando Soup is a great way help different community projects in Orlando. For a…read moredonation of $10 you receive bread, salad and a bowl of soup. How it works, you listen to 4 different presentations about things happening in and around the Orlando area and how hey will use the funds for their projects if the win the final vote. That evening we had the pleasure of listening to 4 great projects: - Game changer: helping kids break out of their shells through gaming and educational curriculum - the dinner party project:bringing people from Orlando from different backgrounds around the dinner table for great conversations - source codeb46 foundation: building children self confidence through software coding and story telling - explore theater and dance company: allowing community members to participate in the creative production process. The presentations were not very long giving us the audience a chance to ask questions on what they will do with the donation. It was very moving to see how every presenter was passionate about their project. After listening to the presentation we cast a vote on the project we think can benefit from the donation. Basically, a percentage of your $10.00 will go to the project that gets the most votes. This was an overall very inspiring evening and would urge people of Orlando to attend Orlando Soup so they can find out what is going on in our community.

This is what community is about and why I adore Orlando so much…read more Ask yourself: What project could you do with $500-800 to make your community better? That is what these presenters answer while you sit back and decide where your donation for the evening should go! How cool? That's right. For a donation of $10, attendees receive soup, salad and bread and then choose where most of their donation goes! So this is not a profit maker for Orlando SOUP, the profits go to feeding everyone during the event and then to the ideas! Even the planning team for the event is donating their time. How cool? What a beautiful concept. I am so happy I got to attend an Orlando SOUP night last evening. It was the 3rd installment of the fabulous series that is based off the successful Detroit SOUP: a micro-granting dinner celebrating and supporting creative community improvement projects for the city. Before dinner is served, attendees will listen to four short community project proposals covering a range of topics such as art, urban agriculture, social justice, social entrepreneurship, education, technology, and more. What is a city improvement project? We last night it consisted of: - Buy Local Orlando: Food Edition - guide that promotes local farmers, local markets, etc. I like the idea of having a highly concentrated guide but in reality, I use Yelp for this - but love the idea and that people want to push local love. - Portable urban food forest (P.U.F.F.) - to assist with the fast traffic along Corrine Dr. in Audubon Park, it's proven that visual distractions automatically make people drive slower. The idea was to fill the back of a trailer bed with a green sanctuary, compost bin, bird feeder, etc. Then, park it in a spot that would be visually appealing and a smart spot to help with a blind spot when exiting one of the shopping centers. ACE Day (achieve a college education day) - To help assist with getting 500 5th graders a chance to tour UCF as their field trip for an interactive day of fun with students, faculty, and campus life. Currently, the higher education trips are non-existent and they go to the local prison during their "field trip" to see where they shouldn't end up. So sad. Ride around the town: Fixit Orlando - With the new bike share program, this group would like to add a self-repair bike station at lake eola. It was so cool to see how everyone presented as they only had 4 minutes and were not allowed to use technology. Some had passionate stories, some had amazing creative visuals. Really inspiring overall. During dinner, attendees cast a vote for their favorite project and, at the end of the night, the project that receives the most votes is funded by a % from each attendees' donation. Winners will appear at future SOUP dinners to report their project's progress. I did appreciate hearing updates from the two previous Orlando SOUP winners. So happy to see so much positive, local, movements happening. Props to everyone who organizes this, presents their ideas, and attends. Such a fabulous cause! Props.

5 stars because WOW!…read more I didn't know exactly what to expect going in and I was blown away! The Abbey played a perfect backdrop to an intimate look into a dancer's life. Robert Hill, Orlando Ballet's amazing director, was on hand to talk to the audience (all of us with wine glasses in hand) and to call out 3 dancers to make immediate, instant choreography for music they hadn't heard before. We really got to see an inside look at the process of the choreographer as well as the dancers in learning the routines. The dancers also performed small vignettes from other shows including the upcoming Vampire's Ball (which I'll definitely be attending!). Finally, there was audience Q&A where we learned that many of the dancers have to take other jobs to support themselves (one gets up at 4am to work at Starbucks before heading to the studio to rehearse all day). Hearing from these athletes was so wonderful and made me feel so much more connected to the company. At the end of the evening many of the dancers stayed to indulge us creepy fans. We had some great conversations and I left feeling excited to work out my budget so I can become a season ticket holder. This is an arts org that elevates Orlando and I'm happy to support it! (And these wine events are an added benefit!)

After a rather rough day at work, I discovered it was raining excessively all throughout the drive…read morehome to Jazzercise. From Jazzercise, I had to speed change and then dart back out, drive through traffic to get to the Abbey, but you know what; It was totally worth every single second. Nothing beats an evening filled with music, dance, humor and a glass of Feudo Zirtari Syrah, so drinkable, so delicious. Not only did we enjoy a wonderful show but we were also able to get a whole new perspective on what a dancer has to go through to really pursue what they love, some of them taking on multiple jobs and do additional exercise apart from all the hours they dedicate at the barre. These dancers work very hard to put on a good show, and their hard work and dedication shines through when they perform. Wonderful!

If I could give zero stars I would! The point of "dining in the dark" is to enhance your taste…read morebuds... why enhance your tastebuds if there is no flavor in the food????? It was cold and just not good. Especially for the amount of money. Let me save you the trip. Don't go.

Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous benefit! This was so much more than just a dinner benefitting a great…read morecause- The dinner itself helped highlight the plight of those without sight, and formed a perfect metaphor for society's 'blindness' to hunger in our cities. Lighthouse Central Florida and Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida came together to put on the dinner, which was at the SH of CFL headquarters. We were first led into an enormous food storage facility for a cocktail hour with a musician singing softly and passed hors d'oeuvre. The anticipation was building with everyone nervously chatting about how some people get anxious and claustrophobic in the dark. But as soon as the Orlando SWAT fellas entered the room and started posing for pictures and mingling all of the nerves left the room and were replaced by giddy ladies (myself included) and laughter. Finally, it was time to line up in our table groups to conga-line into the dark dining room. Alas, I was not lucky enough to be second in the conga-line behind our SWAT gentleman... The room was pitch black- like so black that I couldn't tell the difference between having my eyes open and closed. Eventually, my eyes adjusted a bit and I could see a dim glow of something identifying where the center of our table was. As the dishes came out I realized that utensils were futile. That's right- the SWAT guys, with their night vision, got a great view of me shoveling mashed potatoes into my face with my fingers. And you know what? I was A-OK with that! We were all in the same boat at our table and it led to some great conversations and some new friends! The woman next to me let me know that she is pretty shy and this gave her the confidence to talk to strangers and make friends. In the end, the dinner really highlighted how different life would be without our sense of vision, and it did it in an amazing experiential way. I was a total mess without my vision and I really appreciated it when the lights were turned on at the end. Lighthouse has found a really powerful tool in their awareness arsenal. I would highly recommend this event to others and am now very interested in seeing how I can help both of these fabulous orgs - so, mission accomplished!

I attended the annual Panda Festival at Orlando Festival Park. There was than 80+ vendors from the…read moreregion, locally and across the country including favorites you can't normally try in Orlando! The venue was packed with people in long lines trying all types of Asian food and drinks. The longer the line the more popular the food. I tried several different types of food dumplings, kabobs, fries and tempura shrimp. The dumplings and tempura shrimp were good. The fries were too salty and the kabobs (chicken, beef and lamb) were tuff grizzly and hard to get off the stick. The food tasting range in price from $10-25 which was a bit expensive but a good time was had. Some of the foods I wanted to try had too long of a line for me to wait and pay the high price. Since public transportation nor ride share was an option I drove and parked about five blocks away. No complaint because it was free. The event last three days not sure if I would pick Saturday next time.

We were excited to check out Panda Fest but were ultimately disappointed. I pre-bought VIP tickets…read morefor $40 each (there were 3 of us). VIP included: faster entry line, VIP area with shaded seating/tables, proper bathrooms and a dedicated bar/soda booth and a cute panda bag. Honestly, VIP was definitely worth it for us - the line to get in for general admission was HUGE and it was hot with no shade. You still have to wait in the normal food lines, but being able to get in quicker, especially with a special needs young adult, made our experience smoother. This was the first year Orlando held the festival and the second year for the festival overall. It was at Festival Park in Orlando. It was a 3 day event - Friday night and all day Sat and Sunday. Things to know for next year: 1) Parking is tough - we luckily got parking near the venue for $20. Panda fest did do a good job of sending out an email ahead of time with detailed event information and suggested parking lots. 2) Bring cash - there is no ATM at the event and while everyone takes cards, there is a surcharge. 3) Entry is $13 for regular admission, VIP was $40. If you want proper toilets (not porta-potty), some shaded area to sit, as well as chairs and a dedicated bar, go VIP. It was worth it for us. You also got a cute bag (you can buy it also for $15). Everyone got the blow up Panda ears and Orlando Panda fest pin - which was a nice quality. 4) There are random tables spread throughout for sitting/eating, but they are limited. Also, there was a lack of bottled water without waiting in LONG lines. It was mainly at the bar huts (and there were maybe 2 of those in the general area, and 1 in VIP). One merchandise table did have water for $4. You aren't allowed any drinks/food when you come in (unless it's baby formula or medically needed). They should have made water more easily available - it was a hot sunny day. 5) The festival is spread out with food booths on one side (I think they said there were 80) and most of the souvenirs/merch is on the other side, although there was some spread throughout. 6) IT IS EXPENSIVE - most of the food was over $10 - 4 bao buns $19, one bbq pork kabob $14, 2 skinny small beef kabobs $10, Spicy chilli beef noodle bowl $15, Panda lemonade cup $25 (it was really a plastic piggy bank they put lemonade in). I don't mind expensive fair food, dang we love going to all the festivals at Epcot, but this food was expensive AND mid at best. We tried several things and nothing was great. Kabobs were dry and chewy, lemonade super sweet, bao buns barely warm - just disappointing over all. There was also stage entertainment - it was okay. I appreciate that they tried to have a full schedule of diverse, themed, entertainment. The huge panda walking around for pictures was fun too. I'm glad we at least saw what it was all about, but for the 3 of us for the day (parking, tickets, food, etc.) it was around $250. We won't be back next year.

Orlando's first Central Florida Blogger conference was a huge success. Bess from Central Florida…read moreTop 5 put together a fabulous, local conference that held over 100 attendees. Yes, local as in every speaker was local and an astounding representation of social media and bloggers within Central Florida. The event began at 9 am and ran until 4:30 with a happy hour over at Eden Bar. For lunch we had Big Wheel Provisions outside and it was perfectly delicious. It was a great networking and educational event to attend for myself as a blogger and social networker for personal and professional reasons. I learned some great tips, made some great connections and heard from fabulous speakers. There were two tracks: "less advanced" and "more advanced" so you could pick and choose which speakers/topics you wanted to sit in on. I can not wait until next year, this is definitely going to stick around and grow each year so make sure you stay up to date!

Such a great time to learn the ins and outs of social media. Great place to network and just plan…read morefun. My only suggestion would be for lunch. Maybe offer quick box lunches or bring a few options in to make getting lunch go quicker. This year I missed a session to wait on lunch. :\ It was a very long, slow moving line. I will still be back next year! Maybe I'll pack my lunch. :)

Centered is one of 9 sculptures that are part of See Art Orlando, a permanent contemporary…read morecollection of art that was unveiled by Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and the See Art Orlando Board of Directors on November 18, 2013. The art project was launched by Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and art lover Jennifer Quigley. They hoped that adding public art to downtown Orlando would bring pride, boost the economy, and strengthen the city's cultural core. The art is mainly displayed around Lake Eola. Centered is located on Central Boulevard across from the Waverley. Centered was created by artist CJ Rench and donated to Orlando by Universal Resort Orlando .C.J. Rench is professional sculptor who specializes in large-scale abstract designs. He is a self taught industrial engineer and is a senior project designer in the sporting goods industry, where he was awarded multiple patents for his innovative concepts and designs. Rench began designing and fabricating metal sculpture full-time in 2004. He has since installed over 30 large-scale public works throughout the US. Centered is a 25 foot tall sculpture in the shape of an eye with a yellow kinetic element that spins in the wind. The center of the piece represents the sunny weather of Florida around which gathers family fun, experiences, and memories. I like that the sculpture is in the shape of an eye which has been a powerful symbol in ancient cultures around the world. The Egyptians believed the right eye represented the sun. Many cultures believe in the evil eye and create trinkets and jewelry to ward it off. I see Centered as kind of an anti evil eye keeping a watch of protection on Orlando. It is fun to go on a scavenger hunt to find all of the See Art Orlando installations. With its large scale, it is hard to miss this one.

Centered is a sculpture located at the entrance of Lake Eola Park across from the Waverly and is…read moreclose to the intersection of Lake Avenue and Central Boulevard. Centered is a sculpture by C.J. Rench and was gifted to the City of Orlando, Florida by Univeral Orlando Resort. According to the plaque next to the sculpture, "Centered makes reference to how Orlando is the center of family fun, creating lifetime experience has an endless memories. The yellow form in the center pays tribute to Orlando sunny days." Lake Eola Park is a great place to check out some of the public art that the city of Orlando offers to its community and those who visit the City Beautiful. I would recommend a visit to Lake Eola Park and check out Centered and the other wonderful art that is here. These pieces of public art are an important part of a community, it goes beyond the asphalt and buildings and helps give a community its personality.