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.

A fun and free activity in downtown historic Kissimmee is a self guided mural tour. The murals are…read morepart of The Time For Art is Now public art project funded by Osceola Arts in downtown Kissimmee. The projects mission is to revitalize the downtown area with colorful works of art. This work is different than the other murals in the downtown in that it is not brand new but instead Osceola Arts rehabilitated it. Located on the exterior walls of Lanier's Historic Market Place, this mural was created in early 2000 by artist Tom Copella. Tom began his art career by attending the Art Institute in Pittsburgh. Upon graduating, he moved around a lot finally settling in Kissimmee Florida where he painted numerous murals. Tom passed away unexpectedly in 2021. The large scene depicts a time gone by. It tells the story of a small town city filled with businesses, neighbors, friends, and their pets. Some of the figure are based on real historical people. Tom Copella painted himself and his wife carrying a bucket into the center of the mural. The mural was recently restored by local artist Juliana Davidson and her assistant Casey who have worked on numerous historical murals in the area. Murals are a great way to tell the history of an area. Over thirty years the paint faded on the Lanier mural. Cracks were repaired and paint was added to the figures. Julianna did an outstanding job bringing the mural back to life. I love the charm and exquisite detail, like the shadow of a bird as it flies up the building.

Belle Isle is a smaller community in the Orlando, Florida area. It is not far from the Orlando…read moreairport and is a nicer and more established community with nice homes and just far enough away from everything to give a small community feel to it while being close enough to everything to make it convenient. I have always liked Belle Isle. It has a great vibe and it has a great overall feel to it.

This neighborhood is located west of the Conway section of Orlando and has a convenient and…read morecomfortable feel to it. There are enough supermarkets, restaurants, and shopping options in the area to make it convenient and all in all, it is a nice enough place.

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!

Art festival located in Maitland's lake Lily, full with a lot of vendors selling there arts and…read morecraft but also there is music and food and if you go before the Sun goes down you can have a romantic site seeing with your love one by the lake looking at the fountain and the sun setting down. Nice event to support local businesses and to get people to see what kind of art and crafts there is out there. Live music and food is also available, the event goes on during the weekend and I came the first week of October. Nice event but nothing I was to much in to,I did see some nice paintings and arts and craft. Nice place to walk around and feed the ducks.

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.

Create your spotlight is a mural by artist Nneka Jones that is a part of the creative infusion…read moreDisney Springs Art Walk. The pieces area spread through the popular Disney springs outlet shopping and entertainment district. This particular piece is a very vibrant and features a happy and smiling woman with the words create your spotlight spread across the mural. Overall a really good piece that is part of a cool art initiative in an area that will attract a lot of viewers.