Super cool exhibit that we all enjoyed. Lots to see and lots to do. We all had a great time and…read morethrilled to have experienced it.

Otronicon 2017. It…read moretakes place inside the Orlando Science Center. There is parking right in front, on Princeton Street, in the big parking garage. For 2017, the price to park was $5. The fair brings many technology schools, which set place in the main floor, with their displays, software, students, alumni and faculty. I was able to go into many virtual reality worlds, which is the hot things now, and I can say that the technology is pretty cool. On the floor above, there was a medical application exhibit, for kids who are inclined towards healthcare. And then on the top floor, you find the graphic designers and artists who use electronic medium. On the top floor also, you could find other interactive equipment used by the military. You could fly a helicopter, drive a tank, fly a plane, etc. My favorite, and main reason for going, was the Indie Game Showcase. I love animation, I love video games although I don't play, I love graphics and I love basic human ingenuity. Talking to all these developers and creators was amazing, as well as trying out their games. The bottom floor was part of the permanent exhibit, no technology there. Overall, I liked the expo, although I did not see ground braking technology. It is more like a massive school fair where kids checkout future schools. But it was fun, although I would have given more emphasis to the game developers. My opinion. Oh! Yes, before I forget. They also had tournaments (meh) and workshops, but I didn't attend any of those, though I feel I should have...

Otronicon 2016 was SO fun! I got to take my husband and little toddler, and clearly a 1.5-year-old…read moredoesn't care about fun tech gadgets the way a 36-year-old does. He did enjoy the revamped KidsTown, and there were some things he could watch and interact with around the event. I kinda wish we had gotten a sitter just so I could have enjoyed it a lot more but it was still a lot of fun! I'm constantly blown away by the creativity and the genius behind a lot of the showcases from Full Sail University, University of Central Florida, and other colleges and high schools. Gives me hope for the future. Anyway, I've added a few pictures so you can see how much my man-child enjoyed himself! While it's a kid-friendly event, I definitely think I'll wait until he's a little older to bring him back!

I've been volunteering for this for over 20 years. This is…read morea great event. Almost 100 vendors of food and drink. Great Entertainment and lots of friendly people.

An excellent event for a good cause…read more I will say that it's a wee-bit awkward on one's conscience to be stuffing yourself to end hunger. However, everyone involved is doing a lot and going a long way for a good cause. I suppose that wealthier folks than myself are more used to that sort of arrangement. This was my 3rd time attending and my wife's 1st. The other two times I'd gone as a relative's +1, but this time we both got to go together. We were both dressed accordingly and many others were as well, but there were a lot of people in jeans or very casual clothing. As Brent pointed out, there are many of Central Florida's movers and shakers at this event. As well as many local culinary stars! Chit-chatting with the Petrakis' isn't something you just regularly do, but you can do it here. My wife was raving to them about the shrimp cup they had and they insisted she have a couple more. We love their locations (still looking to try the Polite Pig in Disney Springs) and they are very sweet people. Come hungry because you will leave stuffed. Come early! We had the full 6pm tickets, so we got a bit of a jump on things. We tried food by: (I'm sure I'll miss a few, but this is looking at the list) 4Rivers, The Coop, Benihana, Cala Bella @ Shingle Creek, Ace Café, Canvas, Capital Grille, Chroma, Cress, Eddie V's, 11 @ Reunion, Florida Nitro, FreshPoint, H&H, Marlow's Tavern, Marriott, Paddlefish, Plancha, Primo, Raglan Road, Ravenous Pig, Savor, Seasons 52, STK, Tommy Bahama, W, and Yak & Yeti Highlights were the shrimp mentioned above, the 4R sample, the Capital tenderloin, and Marlow's pork belly. That last one surprised me because I'm not a Marlow's fan, but that pork belly was GOLD. We tried every single drink station. Some were better than others. Some were much more generous than others. Cooper's Hawk (we are wine club members) won the night for generous pours. They flat gave you a full glass of wine. Everywhere else was a sample. Not Cooper's Hawk. There were full bottles of Acqua Panna and S. Pellegrino waters (still or sparkling respectively) and that was very nice. The hit and longest line of the entire night, food or beverage, was Tito's Handmade Vodka. That place was 100+ people deep for 3+ hours. No joke. It was tasty and everyone we ran into that we knew was holding a Tito's cup. It was packed and they were hustling all night. My personal favorite of the entire night was NOT an adult beverage. I loved Natalie's Orchid Island Juice Company. They had a blood orange juice that was insanely good. Like off the charts delicious. We had beer, we had wine, we had milk, we had root beer, we had hard cider, we had coffee/tea, we had it all. That juice was the best. They have a few events to raise extra money for the charities. They have a silent auction (WAY WAY WAY out of my league $$-wise), a giving tree (you pay $50 to pull down a leaf with a gift card in it which is $25-$300 in value... ours was a wimpy $25 for Subway, but it's for charity!), a wine toss (3 rings for $15 like at a fair, but if your ring lands on a wine bottle, you win that bottle), and wine cellar key. The wine cellar key is insane. It's a raffle of like 150 bottles of wine. If you have the winning key, you get $2,500+ worth of wine bottles. We didn't win that, either. It's a great time and a good cause. If you ever have a chance to come, you SHOULD!

An Intellectual Playground for Curious Minds Finding a…read moredestination that manages to be both profoundly educational and genuinely captivating for children is rare, yet the Orlando Science Center, featured in image_2.png, achieves this balance with remarkable success. It is an ideal environment to dedicate an entire day to exploration, offering a depth of engagement that holds the attention of young minds while remaining intellectually stimulating. The facility's approach to hands-on exhibits is sophisticated and well-structured, fostering a genuine interest in scientific inquiry. From the intricacies of the planetarium shows to the immersive nature of the giant-screen and 3-D films, every element of the museum is curated to facilitate active learning. It is an impressive example of how to make complex subjects accessible and exciting for a broad audience. For any family seeking an environment where curiosity is not just encouraged but actively facilitated, this center stands out as a highly rewarding experience.

This has to be the best science museums in Florida. I…read morebecame a member of the Orlando science center over Christmas break because we had so much fun on our first visit and now I get emails all the time about fun new events going on at the museum. One of them happened to be the mess fest that was going on this past weekend. So we decided to head out to Orlando and let me tell you it was so much fun!! They transformed one of their rooms into a fun place for the kids to get messy. You were catapulting scrunchie balls covered in paint onto a canvas sheet. There was another area where they were doing little bottle rockets with paint and Alka-Seltzer. That my kids absolutely LOVED. They also had scribble bots, a raffle painting for canvas paintings but that's not all because they had other stuff going on different floors. We got to make our own slime and we even got to go outside and watch them use liquid nitrogen to cause a bubbly explosion that the kids got to play afterwards. This was a 10 out of 10 experience.

What an absolutely fun event here in Maitland! I found this event by accident on purpose. I…read moreregularly search "free things to do near me" & try to do a new event every weekend to shake things up with my friend lol. He's never done a movie in the park, so the actually movie is what sold him on the event. The city of Maitland did such a great job! There was free, fresh popcorn, sodas for $1, & they had a raffle for 4 free tickets to the Orlando Science Museum (we didn't win). There was a dj, plenty of space to sit, & they were able to shut off the park lights during the movie l, but they left the lights on in the trees which created a surreal atmosphere. It was my first time seeing Back to the Future, and I'm glad that it was so memorable! Can't wait to do this again!

It's hard to believe the Maitland Jazz and blues Festival has been going on for 20 years now, where…read moredoes the time go?! We stopped in to check this event out last Saturday and it was a blast. Two days and 12 bands. Unfortunately we were only able to catch the last two bands. There was also two stages which helped with breaking up the crowds. This is in a busy part of Maitland, although parking is available in several locations, it can be tricky finding it since many of the main entrances to the park are blocked. It's free entry to the event. If you plan on staying all day be sure to bring a chair or a blanket to sit on. Also know that pets were not allowed at the event and you could not bring your own drinks or coolers in. There are a lot of food trucks on site along with several other vendors selling goods, jewelry & such, plus several areas for sampling their food/product. If you're not in the mood for any of that you could always opt for Boku sushi, or Kelly's Homemade Ice cream which are also great options. If we planned better we could have spent an entire day here it looked like it was a great time for the community. If you're in the area when this event takes place next year, I recommend checking it out.

Jazz and blues at the park! What more do I need to say? Wonderful event with local and traveling…read morejazz and blues bands playing original tracks and obviously playing some classics. The afternoon was perfect. They had beer stands, food stands/trucks and even a small little artisan market to buy Florida made items. The park is beautiful and was able to host two stages to eliminate down time between bands, and it has plenty of trees to set up your chairs to enjoy the music in the shade. Was definitely kid friendly with a small playground area to keep them entertained. The bands were spectacular which made for such an entertaining and relaxing afternoon. Can't wait for next year's lineup.

This is quite a fancy art show, one of the best around, really. With top artists from all over the…read morecountry, you'll find some truly amazing pieces from both established and up-and-coming creators. The entire park transforms into a massive outdoor gallery, filled with hundreds of works being judged and awarded throughout the weekend. I'll admit, some of the art is a little pricey for me, but if you've got some disposable income and consider yourself a true art connoisseur, it's definitely worth it. Even if you're not buying, it's an incredible way to spend an afternoon, walking the park, chatting with artists, and soaking in all the creativity. It's inspiring and gives you plenty of ideas for what you might want to collect or create in the future.

My daughter lives in Winter Park and during a visit with her we visited the Winter Park Autumn Art…read moreFestival. The festival is held in the beautiful 11 acre Central Park along Park Avenue in the heart of downtown Winter Park. The park has a stately oak canopy, fountains, and sculptures which makes it the perfect backdrop for an art festival. There is also a number of restaurants and shops only steps away. The Winter Park Chamber of Commerce hosts the ANNUAL festival on the second weekend in October each year. It is the only juried fine arts festival made up only of Florida artists. Art displayed and for sale includes paintings, ceramics, metal, prints, textiles, photography, and ceramics to name just a few mediums. This year 186 artists were chosen to display their works. The festival is quite large and you can easily spend a couple of hours checking everything out. I especially loved the nature photography featuring Florida's native flora and fauna. If there is one drawback to the festival it is the lack of parking. I ended up parking in a business lot and they charged me $20. Go early if you have any hope of finding street parking. Once you leave your car plan on spending a few hours enjoying all the delights downtown Winter Park has to offer.

I have seen a few shows at this little gem of a performing arts venue! The venue is great, the…read morestaff is friendly. It's great to see live performing arts.