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!

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.

This is an area of Lake Eola that is located on the Rosalind Ave side of the park. It is close to…read morethe pedaling swan rentals, bathroom and a restaurant. People enjoy coming here and take pictures. Kids enjoy playing here over the muse. It is really cool to see them enjoy it. This is free of charge.

The Muse of Discovery is one of 9 sculptures that are part of See Art Orlando, a permanent…read morecontemporary collection 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 Muse of Discovery is the lovely lady of Lake Eola. Of all the public art around Lake Eola, she is my favorite. You can find her at the front of Lake Eola on Rosalind Avenue between Washington and Robinson. The Muse of Discovery is sculpture made from earthwork and limestone that portrays a reclining woman gazing at her opened hand as a blanket of grass covers her body. Created by artist Meg White you are invited to "sit in the hand of the Muse and discover your hidden potential as she whispers to you." The sculpture is meant to evoke one of the ancient Muses of Greek myth, the goddesses of creativity. This sculpture was donated to the city by Wayne M Densch Charities. I love the interactive nature of this piece. You are invited to sit in the hand but if you ever visit in person, you will most likely see her with children dangling off every part of her. Everyone want their picture taken with The Muse. When you see a photo of the Muse of Discovery, it is instantly recognizable as downtown Orlando, Florida.

SoDo, which is short for south of downtown (SOuth of DOwntown), has grown and has become a vibrant…read morepart of the geographical area known as Orlando, Florida. As implied by the name, SODO is just south of downtown Orlando. SoDo has some interesting restaurants and the usual assortment of shopping. Target immediately comes to mind for the shopping. SoDo has become a somewhat trendy area and continues to grow and improve. It still is centered around the hospital, which is understandable. All in all, I would definitely recommend a visit here.

23/365 Sodo is still an up and coming area with a frequently changing landscape. There are a few…read morestaple places like Super Target, a large and double drive thru McDonald's, and of course the hospital. In the main area of the Sodo plaza the stores have changed hands a few times. There's everything from a Mexican cantina to a TJ Maxx. We frequent the Massage Envy on site there since it's our closest location to home. There are still several store fronts that need to be filled but given the area growth rate I don't think they'll stay empty forever. Here's hoping they add a Home Goods or Michael's. ;) Parking is a bit of an issue since it's limited spaces on the main entry area. Super Target does have a huge parking garage, but it's a hike to some of the stores if you park there. Overall: A- An up and coming area with great promise. Here's hoping it grows!

So many cool choices of bars, restaurants, and local shops here in the Milk District! Lots of local…read moreflavors to indulge in and there is something for everyone. Divey bars to upscale cocktail restaurants. Otto's has a great happy hour, as does Milk House! Black Magic pizza is one of the best pizzas I've ever had. Need to try the Pho place next!! Classic Orlando neighborhood named after the TG Lee milk plant off bumby and Robinson! Come on over to the Milk District!

Today I had the pleasure of browsing around the milk mart for their holiday soirée, they have these…read moreevery now and again I did it go to one already around the Halloween time called their spooky soirée. So what the milk mart Consists of is a bunch of vendors and a bunch of local handmade gifts and what not. There were a couple ones that I recognized like fat ash bakes and there is a local girl that does magnets for the mills district she was there as well. However I think my favorite shop of the whole afternoon was a little booth called the shop of many things most of their art was either spooky or Christmasy they also had a whole collection of DND snails which I thought were absolutely adorable. They did have stickers for three dollars and he told me if I bought three stickers that the fourth one would be free so I thought that was really neat. I had a really great time today at the milk bar and saw all the vendors I only stayed for a couple of hours; but if you do you want to attend one of these in the future I definitely recommend coming at least an hour and a half early so you can find a spot to park- I had to park all the way over by colonial plaza near sprouts so it was about three blocks out. 10/10 Recommend the Milk District

To paraphrase Ricky from Trailer Park Boys: WestArt District used to be so f*ckin cool and now it's…read morebig time fucked up! Maybe I'd think this was better if I hadn't experienced the glory of WestArt in 2017 and didn't know it's now a shadow of it's former self. Maybe I'd give it more than 2 stars if they even allowed me onto their property to take photos on an overcast Saturday afternoon in February when half a dozen people were hanging out by somebody's car and nothing much at all seemed to be going on. I knew this place was too good to last. It was this total laissez-faire anti-elitist explosion of positive energy last time I was down in the City Beautiful. WestArt 2017 had highly detailed murals, abstracted conversation pieces, stencils, cartoon graffiti characters, wild style graffiti, more basic 2 or 3 color tags, hollows, throwies, Folk art, child-produced flowers and stuff. A wide variety of styles and skill levels was present. No wall was left plain and boring. A thousand wildflowers bloomed. Walls were painted and repainted and re-repainted. Even the ground was gradually getting painted up. The afternoon I was there the place was a beehive of activity. A couple of women barbequed chicken and were selling it for cheap. 2019 WestArt looks to have less than a dozen murals. (Hard to tell since I was quickly shooed out of the parking lot by a guy who, to his credit, clearly felt sheepish about the owner's directive.) Many walls are plain white, bearing only some spraypainted labels that read "no tagging". (Ironic, since this anti-graffiti graffiti technically counts as a tag itself.) Any graffiti-looking work is gone, apart from 2 well known character pieces. Rap letters have been hunted to extinction here. All the work looks to be technically proficient and alive with bright colors. And a mural of MLK is, well, pretty much immune from criticism. But there's just too much empty space these days. And it's damn sure in no way inviting like it used to be. I can't imagine people teaching kids how to paint here now. I've stayed in touch with the guy who used to run the place, so I had already gotten a heads up and didn't expect to just roll up and paint like before. But I thought I'd at least be able to walk around and take photos. I'm told most of this is due to the city. I imagine the old WestArt was too feral looking to certain people, and too much of an encouragement to go produce similiar looking work elsewhere around town. It's deeply disappointing but sadly understandable. I just hope this never happens at Recycle Here! and the Lincoln Street Art Park back home in Detroit.

Awesome art area about the size of a block with several warehouse type buildings all painted up…read more There's a fence around the entire thing so I don't know it's closed up or how to get in. I did see a gate you could probably push open that was unlocked but didn't want to chance it plus it was raining. Cool to drive by and look at though.

Love the park but the sprinklers came on just about noon time…read moreWish they would reset it too turn on when no one is there My mom is in her 70s and got soaked for our mile walk home

5 Stars for one of Orlando's most beloved Main Streets (National award-winning, in fact) that marks…read morethe convergence of Downtown Orlando, Winter Park, and Baldwin Park. Audubon Park is the perfect buffer between Mills 50 (rough around the edges and legit) and Baldwin Park (highly-planned and bougie). It's your granola-making, Birkenstock-clad aunt. You know, the one with the long tunics and butterfly garden, who also keeps beer and kombucha batches brewing at all times. What differentiates this Main Street to the point that it won a National Main Street Award a few years back as America's best Main Street? I'd say it's all about the people and businesses. It's certainly not about the looks. But what this Main Street lacks in curbside appeal (looking at you, Virginia Drive), it makes up for in best-of level businesses. I'm talking best beer bar in the country (or at least known among the best-- Redlight Redlight), best local farmers market (big ups, Monday night Audubon Park Market), best sushi in Central Florida (Kadence, not to be missed), best homemade ice cream (Kelly's), best record shop in town (Park Ave CDs), best indoor market (East End Market), best quintessentially hipster coffee shop in that the baristas will shoot you dirty looks while serving you chai and a salad (Stardust Cafe), etc. I could seriously go on and on about the incredible spots in this little 'hood. Suffice to say, it ain't much to look at, but you're going to want to spend a Saturday hopping from biz to biz for the most epic day date ever.

Tucked away in Lorna Doone Park and in the shadow of Camping World Stadium here in Orlando, Florida…read moreis a statue that signifies an important moment in the history of Civil Rights here in the South. The statue is of two twelve year old boys, one wearing the uniform of the Pensacola, Florida Jaycees and the other wearing the uniform of the Orlando, Florida Kiwanis. These two teams, the coaches, players and their families made history on August 9, 1955 when they stepped together onto the playing field, black and white, and stepped beyond the segregated patterns of the time not only in Forida, but throughout the South and broke a long-held barrier. The majority of those people, if not all of those people at that historic game are gone now, but that is remembered and reverberated as part of a movement that changed the world forever.

5 stars for only THE BEST neighborhood in Orlando! I've lived in the Mills 50 District/Colonialtown…read moreNorth for almost 10 years and I never want to leave (that is if the increasing already sky-high rent prices don't push me out, haha). Not joking though. I can't get enough of this diverse, inclusive family-friendly community that I hope to one day raise my own kids in. I've watched so much growth happen here over the last decade and it's been beautiful to be a part of. So many new restaurants, bars, and businesses have popped up and I'm happy to see them thriving. Mills 50 is also one of the more walkable neighborhood streets in Orlando, and I'm so fortunate that I can easily hop over to some of my favorite local gems like The Strand, Black Rooster Taqueria, Hawkers, Qreate Coffee, Pig Floyd's, House on Lang, The Sunroom, Sampaguita Ice Cream... this list goes on and on! I was also thrilled to learn that Mills 50 was also featured on Yelp's list of the most LGBTQ-friendly neighborhoods in the U.S. this year. It's truly a magical place to live where everyone is welcome and I'm lucky to call it home!

Mills 50 is it neighborhood that is set around the corner of Mills Avenue and East Colonial drive,…read morecommonly known as 50. It is a hip, trendy neighborhood located on the edge of the downtown Orlando, Florida area. There is plenty to do in this area with there being a lot of bars, restaurants, parks and stuff like that. The restaurants are a good mix of cuisines and they also have a lot of little specialty shops where you can go do some shopping. I would definitely recommend coming to visit here or if you are looking to move in, understand that there are a lot of positives to move over here.

Had never heard of End End Market until this recent trip I took and some locals a.k.a. my…read morecolleagues who live here told me about it. They have a good variety of restaurants and a couple shops. It's a lot more chill than other places in Orlando I feel like, and seems to be mainly locals rather than tourists. We came for breakfast and I got Lineage Coffee, Papi's Burritos, and Gideon's Cookies. We sat outside and there's plenty of seating and open air concept outside. I would definitely come back here again!

I found out about East End Market from the show Somebody Feed Phil and I have to say it does feel…read morelike a hidden gem. It has such a strong local vibe and it is cool to see a mix of smaller vendors alongside some more well known food spots. That said there are a few things worth noting. First, seating can be a challenge. There is plenty of outdoor seating but not much indoors. The day we went it was pretty hot and sitting outside was not the most enjoyable experience at times. Second, I fully support spending money at local businesses but the tipping culture here felt a bit excessive. I bought a bag of coffee beans with no drink and was prompted for a tip. I spent $45 for 12 pieces of chocolates at Oban Chocolatier and was asked for a tip there too. Same thing when I spent about $25 on four cookies at Gideon's Bakehouse. I am happy to support but it started to feel like a lot in a not enjoyable way. Third, the hours between vendors can be a bit awkward. We came around brunch time which worked for some spots but others were not open yet. For example, Domu does not open until dinner (5PM) and Gyukatsu Rose was not opening until later in the afternoon (3 PM) Overall, I think this is a great place to check out especially if you enjoy trying a variety of local spots. Just plan ahead for seating and timing and be prepared for lots of tip prompts along the way.