Downtown Orlando

Stop by the Downtown Orlando Information Center at 201 S. Orange Ave. for all your downtown needs. Whether you are looking for the newest Orlando eatery, downtown Orlando shopping destination or need a little direction, the staff of the Downtown Orlando Information Center has your answer!

The Downtown Orlando Information Center is equipped with a 3D model of Downtown, information guides, coupons and Orlando maps to guide tourist and locals alike through the City Center. Skyline Tours and LYMMO Bus tours are also available FREE at the Downtown Orlando Information Center.

Among the tourist, businesses and schools who have experienced the various tours of downtown Orlando, is the faculty from The Christ School of Downtown Orlando, who enjoyed learning about the many resources available to them by taking the LYMMO Bus Tour. The teachers of the K-8 school, located in the heart of Downtown, left the tour inspired to incorporate the many assets of downtown into their classroom curriculum.

Skyline and LYMMO Bus tours are available through the Downtown Orlando Information Center. To schedule a tour today call Char at 407.246.3753 or stop by 201 S. Orange Ave. Create your own downtown memories with the help of the Downtown Orlando Information Center.

Come out Saturday, August 28, and join Trinity Downtown in a classic southern competition for the Best BBQ in town.

Watch as teams of grillers face off with the challenge of creating a unique award-winning sauce, rub or secret recipe. The prize: Title of Best Pulled Pork, Best BBQ Chicken, and $400 People’s Choice Award and a $1,000 Grand Champion award.

Last year’s winners, Uncle Kenny’s BBQ, Grandma’s B-B-Que, and Stump’d BBQ, will be back to defend their titles. The judges for the event will include Chef Eric André of the Orlando Culinary Academy, Orlando Fire Dept. District Commander Rob Rivenbark, “Tattooed Bill” Roberts from Graffiti Junktion, and National BBQ judge Ed Thomas.

This family friendly event will also include live entertainment, food and drink concession, vendors and activities for the kids. Children will love the water slides, water-themed activities, games, contests and face painting that are all part of the Kid’s Zone.

You can purchase a $10 Taste Test Wrist band, which will provide pulled pork samples from each competing BBQ team along with baked beans, cole slaw and a vote in the People’s Choice Competition. You can also purchase a $10 Play-All-Day wrist band which allows your child to enjoy all the activities in the Kid’s Zone and a hot dog lunch.

All proceeds will support the Ministries of Trinity Lutheran Church, located at 123 E. Livingston St. So join in the fun on August 28 and support your favorite BBQ team. The all day festivities begin at 11:00 AM and ends at 6:00PM. For more information please visit www.downtownbbqcookoff.com.
 

Summer break is over and school is back in session. Start the semester off with a new look, new style and new supplies to get back to the daily grind of class.

Stop by one of the hair salons of Downtown Orlando and get a new do’ for the New Year. AltaModa Salon and Spa, Dolce Vita Salon, Ego Lab, Ibi Salon, and J Henry’s Barbershop are some of the Orlando salons that offer haircuts, styles and coloring sure to wow classmates. Check out Orlando salons section for more listings of hair salons near you.

Check out your local clothing boutiques to stay up on the latest styles and prints for the season. Mother Falcon has custom made t-shirts for those students looking to make a personal statement at school, while Be Boutique , Zou Zou, and Siegals offer the latest men’s clothing and woman’s clothing trends.

One can’t head back to school without stopping by the library in downtown Orlando to grab the latest book on this year’s reading list. The Orlando Public Library also has great resources for the next big essay or class project.

Last but not least, make a stop by your local downtown Orlando Publix, located at 400 E. Central Blvd, to stock up on school supplies and brain food to get you through the school day.

Welcome back to school students! Make this year, your year! For more places to fuel your schooling needs visit the downtown Orlando website. 

UCF football season is about to kick off and, in preparation, UCF Athletics is holding an advanced course in tailgating. Head downtown Saturday, August 28 from 2:00PM to 6:00PM for the UKNIGHT Ultimate Tailgate Party at Wall Street Plaza. Learn the techniques for rallying behind the UCF Knights through sun and rain, glory and pain.

Put on your black and gold and show your support for the Knights. Then, get ready to enjoy great food and drink specials, an energized atmosphere and, of course, cornhole. All with no entrance fee!

In addition to cold drinks, obligatory tailgating games and opportunities to purchase tickets, you’ll have plenty of chances to walk away with awesome tailgating prizes and giveaways, including tickets, merchandise and gift cards.

Join the Marching Knights, the UCF Spirit Squad and Knightro himself for a “fourth-quarter blitz” that will get Central Florida ready to UKNIGHT!

For more information about the event, visit the Wall Street website. For information about UCF Football and Athletics, visit www.UCFathletics.com.

The Downtown Concert Series is back and ready to rock City Hall Plaza! Tears For Fears will headline this quarters free concert on Saturday, August 28 at City Hall Plaza. The festivities begin at 4:00PM with the Gibson Opening Act, food and prizes.

Tears for Fears, originally from England, is a synth pop group inspired by Arthur Janov’s primal scream therapy. The duo Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith tackle large subjects in their music which is evident in the hit “The Hurting”. Since "The Hurting" they continued to stardom and produced more hits, including fan favorites “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” and “Shout”. They were also recognized as one of the leading acts of the second generation of MTV stars. Tears for Fears continues to create new music and perform for the sea of loyal fans they have garnered through decades of musical success.

For more information on this months concert visit www.wmmo.com/dcs and be sure to listen in to WMMO 98.9FM for chances to win VIP tickets. Also follow us on twitter @DWTWN_Orlando to win a free pair of VIP tickets!

An Afternoon Discussion with Artistic Director Robert Hill

This Sunday, August 15 at 1:00PM, join The Orlando Ballet's Artistic Director, Robert Hill, for an afternoon of conversation on how contemporary ballet has evolved from traditional ballet. Hill, the newest edition to the Orlando Ballet team, will discuss why the ballet vocabulary is still relevant today through presentation, video footage and Q&A using the performance of Giselle as an example. The event, free to the general public comes just months before the start of the much anticipated 2010-2011 Orlando Ballet season.

Robert Hill is a former principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre. He also founded Robert Hill Dance in 2000 with a mission to create and perform new works of dance theater with a particular focus on the classical ballet tradition and vocabulary. Mr. Hill’s works have been re-created at American Ballet Theatre, the ABT Studio Company, Julio Bocca’s Ballet Aregentino, Ballet de Monterrey as well as other companies. Additionally, numerous companies including the Royal Ballet of Flanders, Minnesota Dance Theater and the Royal Ballet School have performed his works.

The Orlando Museum of Art is located at 2416 N. Mills Ave. RSVP to Amber Mundinger at Amber.Mundinger@yahoo.com or call 407.721.5779 as seating is limited. For more information on the Orlando Ballet or to view their upcoming 2010-2011 schedule visit www.OrlandoBallet.org.

Located conveniently at 844 N. Thornton Ave, Night Lite Pediatrics (NLP) provides urgent care services for children up to 21 years of age. As the only pediatric urgent care in downtown Orlando, NLP serves those children who are in critical need of special care; yet don’t have the time or resources to get to the hospital.

The three Doctors who head up NLP, Ayodeji Otegbeye, Vivek Desai and Oludapo Soremi are each board certified Pediatric Critical Care Specialists with a passion for tending to children. Knowing more than 17% of E.R. patients sitting in the waiting room of a hospital are children, these three doctors created NLP. Not only is NLP open weekdays from 2:00PM to 12:00AM but they are also open on weekends from 12:00PM to 12:00AM giving option for after hours urgent care services. NLP not only provides a safe haven for urgent care patients but also has the necessary staff and tools to provide follow up appointments to maintain the child’s health.

Because NLP is located conveniently in the Downtown area, local parents can breathe a sigh of relief knowing the doctor is just minutes away and the doors are open. To learn more about NLP, their doctors and how they can help your children visit www.nightlitepediatrics.com or call 407.398.6470.

In need of some rest and relaxation? Look no further than the Grand Bohemian's new top of the line spa Poseidon. The long-awaited addition to the Grand Bohemian has recently opened and is offering a large selection of services for you to enjoy.

Forget your tension with one of their restorative massages, such as the Poseidon Massage or the Heated Shell Massage. The Jewels of the Sea Collection is a variety of exclusive body treatments used to soothe your skin and senses while focusing on your well being and relaxation. They offer some unique body wraps such as the Ocean Silk Wrap or the Crème De Caviar, which will leave you feeling blissful. Don’t forget to try one of their extravagant Treatment Enhancements such as the Exotic Spice Scalp Treatment or the Aqua Gel Facial Masque which will have the stress fade away.

Planning to stay at the Grand Bohemian in Orlando? You can enjoy their massages in the comfort of your own room. The professional staff will cater to you and provide a soothing and nurturing environment that will melt away your fatigue and tension.

The Grand Bohemian Hotel features 248 guest rooms and a collection of amenities in addition to the Spa. To book your appointment at the Poseidon Spa call 407.313.9000 or stop by at 325 S. Orange Ave. You can also visit them at the Grand Bohemian website.

Grab your friends and co-workers and head to Slingapours for the first of many One Party Away charitable events. For $20, enjoy all you can drink (select wine, beer and liquor) beverages compliments of Slingapours and musical entertainment provided by DJ O.P.A with all of the nights proceeds going to One Party Away charity of choice Covenant House Florida.

One Party Away charity derived from an independent group of friends, co-workers and acquaintances throughout Central Florida who were looking for a way to do good for the community while also bringing people together. The concept of One Party Away events is for participants to hang out with friends and meet new people while also supporting local charities. Each event will support a different organization that touches the Orlando community.

Covenant House Florida serves runaway, homeless, and at-risk youth under 21 including teen parents and their babies. Each year Covenant House reaches hundreds of children throughout the greater Orlando area by providing shelter, health services, family reunification, substance abuse prevention, education and life skills.

Slingapours is located in Wall St. Plaza at 19 N. Orange Ave. To learn more about the One Party Away charity event click here.

Calling all artists! Every Thursday and Friday Blank Space Art Lounge provides an open canvas for artists to exhibit artwork free of charge. In an effort to raise Downtown Orlando as a vibrant artistic community, Blank Space in Downtown Orlando wants the public to see the many talents that lie within the boundaries of downtown. Whether you are a painter, sculptor or designer, no form of art should be left unseen. Perfect and affordable, even the “starving artist’ has the opportunity to show off their work.

Follow these quick easy guidelines and let your artistic voice be heard.

1. First come first serve from hours of 10:00AM to 11:00PM. Thursday/Friday.
2. There is an exterior edge along entire facade to place work. You must provide your own methods of hanging or displaying. Please bring your easels, racks, nails, hammer etc.
3. There is one wall space that is available along the projector wall. The projector wall is for featured monthly artist curated by Melanie Ryan. Please contact her at 407.221.2609 or email samples/website of your work to melanie.ryan11@gmail.com
4. YOU MUST BE PRESENT. Blank Space Art Lounge is not responsible for work.
5. YOU MUST perform and create a piece of art within your duration of time or at least for an hour. It’s about the public being able to find a place of performing artist.

Join in the fun, as the community gathers to enjoy the many creative talents of our local artist. Blank Space is located at 201 E. Central Ave. on the corner of Rosalind and Central.