So awesome! I have been waiting forever for this event to happen here in Orlando. Some other NBA…read moreteams were doing it and it looked awesome. I did help brainstorm this event 2 years back with the Magic so to see it come to fruition and attend, it was a great treat. It was a fabulous price for a pregame event in addition to lower level tickets to the game. We arrived at 4:30pm and headed to an event room near Jernigan's. We received a goodie back upon arrival along with a drink ticket. There was a bar inside the room along with a nice little food spread from Levy restaurants. I really enjoyed the chicken parm sliders. While we were waiting for the presentation part of the event, we were able to score photos with some Magic dancers, Community Ambassador Bo Outlaw and Magic MC Megan Clementi. Everyone was super nice. When the presentation part arrived we learned verbiage, rules, regulations, and all types of fun things about basketball and the NBA. While I knew a ton of the info, it was really nice to hear it from industry professionals including a female sports reporter. The highlight was hearing from an NBA ref and getting some one on one time and hearing their side of things, it was a cool insight into their life. Of course then Big Baby (Glen Davis) strutted in and he was so pleasantly awesome. He was fun, charming and super nice. Everything was interactive and we could ask questions at any time. After wards we were able to go enjoy the game with everyone and at the end of the game, we scored a photo on the court. =) Overall I had a fabulous time and can't wait for the next one. The only thing I really didn't appreciate was that some females brought their boyfriends/husbands/kids. I don't understand why they couldn't meet them after and just enjoy this female specific event. So that was a bit off setting but what can ya do?

This was a great program! I had thought I knew everything about basketball, but I was definitely…read morewrong since I left the event with more knowledge than I showed up with. We received a goodie bag when we checked in which was really nice, along with our drink and raffle ticket. We were able to mingle with other attendees of the event and get our picture taken with Bo Outlaw. They had some great food items set out for us and a small bar in the corner. The event was very casual, so you felt free to laugh, ask questions, get up to use the restroom, grab another drink, etc. rather than feeling like you needed to stay seated the whole time during the presentation. The speakers were wonderful! They all had great personalities and some good jokes to throw into their presentation. Everything was very informative and well put together. I learned a lot. Not to mention Big Baby Glen Davis showed up as a surprise guest speaker where we got to ask him questions. It's always nice to hear from a player's perspective and get to know more about them. We paid $45 for the event which included the drink , food and raffle ticket, the presentation and a lower level ticket to the game. It's was a great price and the seats for the game were great! I had a fabulous time and would definitely attend another one of these events.

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.

Such a fun afternoon listening to local live music. This is held right beside the Mennello Museum…read moreof Art in Loch Haven Park. This such a picturesque park with the view of Lake Formosa. They had food trucks that included pizza, ice cream and other things to eat. Also, don't forget to bring a chair or you will have to sit on the ground. This was my fifth year going and look forward to next year.

Very nice chill festival in Orlando. It's in the grassy area of Mennello Art museum right where…read morethere is a water view. They have fun chill music. Everyone is sitting in their chairs with blankets and family and friends all around. It's seriously one of those Saturday perfect day kind of hang out. We had fun listening to the music and playing with the dogs since it was super dog friendly also. There were indie vendors maybe about 20-30 as well as local food and drink vendors. It's a cool way to spend a Day for a few hours and admission is free, as well as parking(which is across the street.) The parking garage next door is a fee of $5, so just walk across the street

Great event! So much fun! Really enjoyed the salsa and the salsa music…read more I enjoyed the margaritas, they were very good. The only negative thing is that it was super hot. But that's can't be control. Everyone was having fun and dancing. There were some tents selling food also. I'm even considering competing if there is another event. Hahaha Hopefully, they will be able to delay this event with more space, more vendors, more salsa and last longer.

This year was my 2nd Salsa Fest. I do enjoy trying the different salsas, but I do not enjoy having…read moreto purchase drink tickets and having to redeem them. They should have cash bars and/or beer tubs. When we went to the Corona booth to 'spin the wheel' for prizes, you had to have a corona in your hand to participate. Understandable. But when I have to go to one of two tents on opposite sides of the festival for tickets and a corona, not so accommodating. I do like the live music and the various bands and space for dancing if you choose to do so. They definitely need more standing tables or sitting space.

What a great time! This annual event, sponsored by Crisco, is reminiscent of a small town's fair…read more Friendly people abound here, and Pie Pride oozes from every single booth. There are markets, bakeries, and restaurants galore here, all keen to have you taste either their take on a traditional, or point you with special glee towards their own creations. The weather cooperated, the band was great, people struck up conversations with strangers, and everyone got a little sun. I'm awfully glad that Yelp made this a Yelp Event. I didn't see any other Yelpistas, but then again, my eyes were looking at all that deliciousness..... So, come tomorrow- or next year. And, keep you eyes on the pies!!!

One of the best events we have each year is the Great American Pie Festival over at Celebration! I…read morehave gone to this even for the past 4 years in a row and it always is worth the drive. This year, I was lucky enough to get free entry into the never ending pie buffet from our friends at Yelp! Thanks Colleen for the pie! Since parking can be a nightmare even without events at Celebration, we always park by a friends house over by the high school and walk over. It only takes about 10 min to walk over and besides, it is a nice walk back to the car to walk off some of the pie we just inhaled. We arrived on Saturday around 1 pm and found the crowds this year to be a bit lighter than in the past. After checking in with the info booth and getting our wrist bands, we enjoyed checking out all the vendors and seeing if their was any arts and crafts we might want. There is a large booth that sells t-shirts, cookbooks and of course pies! This year, there were also a larger amount of food vendors selling the normal fair type foods. We did not indulge since we were saving room for pie. They also had a zip line contraption that looked like fun. We made our way over to the pie buffet entry. You must have a wrist band or you cant get in! The pie police are watching you. Once inside, we armed ourselves with plastic forks ( I suggest bringing your own metal one if you like) and then started to check out all the booths. There seemed to be less vendors than in the past. Publix and Winn Dixie were there as well as Kroger's and the Village inn. All make great pies but the ones I enjoy most are from some of the more independent pie companies that make unusual combinations of flavors. Bakers Square, Bonerts, Legendary Baking, and Wicks pies are these types of vendors. Yet this year, they only seemed to have a few flavors to try while in the past, they might have 10 or more types. My favorite of all time was a chocolate coated frozen cheesecake on a stick.... but alas, it was not there this year. Sniff Sniff... All in all, it was still a great feast! I will say that most people can eat about 5 or 6 slices before they are done but one friend of mine ate 10 slices! Oink! Some people like to eat one slice at a time while others stop at each booth, grab the ones they want, and then find a place to spread them all out and eat them one by one. After our pig out, we continued to check out many of the other booths that circle the stage. Crisco is the main sponsor but there are also booths for Duncan Hines, Smuckers, and Dunkin Donuts. Duncan was having a bit of a scavenger hunt with their new stir in flavors of frosting. You had to collect all 12 of the flavors and then visit their booth to be in a drawing for prizes. I collected them all, got my ticket for the hourly drawing but never got back to see if I won... oh well... There was also the appearance of Poppin Fresh! and Pie man! Always popular and sometimes a line to get a photo with them. The main stage had an assortment of entertainment including comedian Kirk Marsh, singer Dean Daniels and guest chefs David Sloan and Brian Ehrenholm. If you want something fun to do and love pie, I do recommend checking out the pie festival. The normal entry for adults is $10 and if you eat enough pie, it pays for itself. Our best tip would be go in... eat pie... walk around and enjoy the booths and sights... then go back again for more pie! (Then take a really long walk back to your car!) Enjoy!

ORLANDO, FL: one of the best attractions we did on our trip was a haunted walking tour with…read moreOrlando Haunts! Leashed and friendly dogs are allowed to join as you walk through downtown and stop at buildings that have history of supernatural events! Our guide, Korben, was fantastic in telling the stories of ghosts, mysteries, and history that you wouldn't even know are right here in the city! A graveyard under a movie theatre, a college campus that was a former morgue, murders, mafia crimes, and more! This was such a unique experience and we had a great time! The tour is about 60 minutes covering 1 mile and features a few stops! Policy as of 4/26/24: "Pets are welcome as long as they do not disrupt or distract from the tour." You can also find these ghost tours in over 40 cities in the U.S.!

100-year-old buildings, historic saloons, gothic cathedrals…read more Not all of Orlando is all about Mickey & Minnie, Harry Potter's World and warm beaches but there is always something enchanting about listening to ghost stories. We attended a walking ghost tour in Orlando on a Sunday evening. For a Sunday night the restaurants, bars and clubs all seem to be operating as if it was the start of a weekend... although the on-and-off rain has reduced the "usual" crowd there were still a lot of people out, we actually walked to some shady parts of DTO which was more scary than the ghost stories... but wait, I'm still getting started with the actual ghost tour. Our meeting place was outside the Orange County Regional History Center in Downtown Orlando. We did a lot of walking so wear comfy shoes. Our guide talked about haunted buildings focusing on: 1- The Beacham - a ghost of an old woman is seen somewhere near the stage, always accompanied by drastic temperature drops. 2- The Cheyenne Saloon is one of the most popular venues in Orlando, but it has a spooky past... 3- Church Street 4- Ceviche - guests will see an out-of-place woman dressed in 19th century garb, standing behind them in the reflection 5- Hamburger Mary's Bar and Grille, originally a hardware store. Apparition of a young girl dressed in Victorian clothing 6- Kress Building - Kres Chophouse is considered to be a paranormal hot-spot by Central Florida ghost hunters 7- St James Catholic Cathedral - they even conduct their own ghost tour inside 8- Orange County Regional History Center - we learned about one of America's most prolific serial killers, Ted Bundy. The building was the location of Bundy's murder trial in 1979 My daughter purchased the Bonus Extended Tour Upgrade which was up to 4 additional haunted locations. These were all interesting and cool. Thank you to our tour guide, Tabitha.) Review #2781

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.

The Dragon Parade and Lunar Festival is an annual event that is a fun cultural event and it is a…read moreworthwhile event to check out and just gives us one more reason to feel lucky that we live in Orlando, Florida. As I have said, this is an annual event so if you missed this year's, there is always next year. I would definitely recommend checking this out.

A great cultural event in the heart of the Mills50 District. This is an annual event during the…read moreChinese Lunar New Year. The parade goes down Thornton Ave, and you will want to ensure you arrive to the area early as parking gets chaotic fast. There are several businesses that allow parking at their lots during the event, so be sure to check the event guide or the Facebook page for more info and correct businesses, so you don't get towed. The parade starts about 11:15 a.m. and is about 30-40 minutes long. They have several different groups that participate and many of them throw out candy or goodies while they go. There is also a Kung Fu group that stops to do demos every little bit. It's really neat to watch. At the end of the parade, you'll want to head to the 'market' area to see some of the vendors that participate. There are a few food vendors and some merch vendors. There is also a stage with demos and speaking times on the program. You can see a fair number of our state / local reps if you attend! Overall: A A fun annual cultural event that you should absolutely come out and see! Check out the market after. Arrive early for parking.