Tree of Light Feb 2

Orlando artists, Cole NeSmith and Josh Owen, debut their interactive sculpture, the Tree of Light (Facebook, Twitter)  Thursday, Feb 2 in downtown Orlando as part of ArtsFest 2012.

The Tree of Light is a sculpture that stands over 20 feet tall and twenty feet wide. Resembling a tree, it is made of recycled and reclaimed wood. Viewers are invited to interact with the Tree by turning on the 40 lightbulbs that hang from the Tree. Once all 40 bulbs are on, the lights dance to an original piece of music and then reset to black to start all over again.

The opening gala for the Tree of Light is February 2 from 8-10 PM at the Seaside Plaza (201 S Orange Ave, Orlando) in downtown Orlando. The event will be attended by several hundred art patrons, city officials, media professionals and arts and culture advocates. The event is open to the general public.

The Tree of Light is a recipient of a United Arts of Central Florida grant and will be appearing along with 305 other events as part of ArtsFest 2012 that runs throughout February across Central FL.

Orlando Sentinel Puts on Several "Signature" Events Throughout 2012

The Orlando Sentinel has signature events including a Orlando Sentinel 53rd Annual Spelling Bee, Florida Forward: Conversations About The Future, Florida Music Festival and Conference, Orlando Sentinel Top 100 2012, Earth Day, Sentinel Spooktoberfest, Pretty in Pink Martini Party and Celebration of Voices.


Florida Forward: Conversations About the Future
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 | 11:30am- 1:30pm
The Ballroom at Church Street (225 Garland Avenue, Orlando FL 32801)
Plated Lunch will be served. Tickets are available online: $35 for single pre-sale tickets, $40 at the door, $325 for tables of 10. For more information call 407-420-5599. Join Orlando Sentinel and UCF Metropolitan Center for Regional Studies for our Florida Forward/ Building a Better Sports Town panel discussion about making Florida a better destination for sports. Panelists are Dr. John Hitt, President of the University of Florida; Alex Martins, Chief Executive Office of the Orlando Magic; Reggie Williams, retired NFL Player and Former Disney Sports Executive; Phil Rawlins, Owner of Orlando City Soccer; Dr. Dot Richardson, Olympic Gold Medalist and Director of the National Training Center. Moderated by the Orlando Sentinel's Mike Lafferty. 


Orlando Sentinel 53rd Annual Spelling Bee
Tuesday, March 27th from 10am-2pm
The Orlando Sentinel Spelling Bee is one of the largest spelling competitions in the County. The Spelling Bee includes four levels with students from grades 4-8. 16 finalists from Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Volusia and Marion counties will compete for the top trophy. 


Florida Music Festival and Conference
April 19-22, 2012 | Wall Street Plaza (18 Wall Street, Orlando, FL 32801)For more information call: 407-420-5599
Florida Music Festival and Conference is Florida's largest downtown music festival. 4 day event (April 19-22, 2012). In 11 years, more than 250,000 music fans have witnessed over 2,500 bands. Past headliners include Taylor Swift, Buck Cherry, Flogging Molly, Anberlin, Third Eye Blind, Less than Jake, Mofro, Rusted Root, MatchBox 20, Creed and more. Event Details: 4 Day Event, 15 Stages in Downtown Orlando, 250 Bands, 30,000 Music Fans. Wristbands and tickets can be purchased at the gate.


Orlando Sentinel Top 100 2012
Orlando Sentinel 19th Annual Top 100 Awards Luncheon
August 9, 2012, 11:30-2pm
Royal Pacific Resort (6300 Hollywood Way, Orlando, FL 32819)
The Orlando Sentinel's Top 100 Companies for Working Families, now in its 19th year, is an annual contest that spotlights Central Florida employers with workplace environments that recognize and strive to reach the ideal work/life balance for their employees. Companies apply online and the Top 100 are chosen from an application about company benefits. Winners will be chosen from two categories (companies with less than 250 employees and those with 250 employees or more). Judges will then review additional submitted information and nominations for specialty awards, including- Corporate Champion (for each category), Cutting Edge Award, Family Champion Award, Employees' Choice Award, and the Community Service Champion Award*. These companies are then recognized at our annual Top 100 luncheon. Please come and celebrate all of the things that make your company the best company for working families in Central Florida. This event is sponsored by Workforce Central Florida. If you need further information, please call 407-650-6981.


Earth Day 
April 21, 2012 10am-4pmLake Eola, Downtown Orlando
Orlando's Largest FREE Earth Day event at Lake Eola! This 6th annual event features GREEN Speakers, children's activities, healthy food and drink, humane education, live music, local artists and eco-friendly vendors. Celebrate our planet on April 21st at Lake Eola 10am-4pm. For more information call: 407-420-5599. 


Sentinel Spooktoberfest
Saturday, October 27 5-9pm
Lake Concord Park (95 Triplet Lake Road, Casselberry, FL 32707)
A Halloween Trick or Treating event for the whole family! Join us Saturday, October 27 from 5-9pm at Lake Concord Park in Cassleberry. Live music by Orlando Concert Band, Costume Contest for Children and Pets, Kids Zone with games and activities, trick or treating and more.


Pretty in Pink Martini Party
Thursday, October 18, 2012, 5-9pm
Wall Street Plaza (19 N. Orange Ave, Orlando, FL 32801)
An evening of Martini's, cocktails & wine, Dinner, Dancing and Shopping to benefit Susan G. Komen and Breast Cancer Research. Don't miss this very special once a year event in Downtown Orlando. Your ticket includes a very special guest who will perform live music throughout the evening as well as gourmet hors de houvres, signature drinks and an opporutnity to shop all your favorite things from handbags to jewelry and more. For more information call: 407-420-5599


Celebration of Voices
Saturday, December 1, 2012 5pm-11pmCelebration Town Center, Celebration, FL
Celebrate the Holidays with Central Florida's finest talent- Our young students!! The 3rd Annual Celebration of Voices will feature local elementary school choir groups who have prepared a variety of musical holiday performances.  The event will take place at the beautiful decorated Celebration Town Center in Celebration, FL from 5-11pm on December 1, 2012. Activities include ice skating, carriage rides, train rides, pictures with Santa, and hourly snow fall! School performances will be every hour on the main stage and we will top off the night with an amazing concert from up & coming artists!

Jesse Armour Opens Macabre Show at NV Art Bar

The local artist Jesse Armour aka JFNA (http://www.facebook.com/JFNAart), always inspired by the macabre, opens his latest show Friday February 3, 2012, 8pm-2am, at NV Art Bar (27 W. Pine Street, Orlando, FL).

About the artist: "JFNA horror art is the result of a lifetime obsession with anything that will give me the creeps. Starting as far back as I can remember I was watching the great German expressionist horror films of the silent era, the universal classics and cheesy sic-fi With my parents. The bug had bit me. Hard. It was something that never left and has become my inspiration in my art.

The films I watched as a child shaped my idea of what was beautiful and interesting. Black and white was where it's at.

My paintings are simple at first but if you look closely you will see it's what's in the shadows and negative space that tells the biggest story. Please enjoy my collection, but remember they are watching you too!"

Orlando Weekly's Al Krulick Emails Arts Community About UnitedArts Executive Director Search Committee

Orlando Weekly writer Al Krulick sent the email below to a slew of arts organizations, and The Daily City, about the United Arts of Central Florida search committee's inability to find a local replacement for the departed Executive Director. Its a long read but raises some interesting points.

*********************

Al Krulick:

By now, many of you receiving this email have probably read, or at least heard about, the Orlando Sentinel’s front page article on Monday, Jan. 23, 2012, by Matthew Palm, outlining the failure of the United Arts of Central Florida’s search committee to find a replacement for Margot Knight, its former Executive Director who left her post this past October.

Orlando Shakespeare Actor Injured Backstage

Saturday January 28, 2012 | During Act 2 of the opening night performance of Orlando Shakespeare Theater’s production of Romeo and Juliet, actor Johnny Lee Davenport (Lord Capulet) fell backstage and sustained injuries to his head. Mr. Davenport was taken to the hospital where he received stitches and was released later that evening.  Following a hold to arrange for medical attention, the show continued with Artistic Director Jim Helsinger stepping in to perform the role. 

Jim Helsinger said Mr. Davenport will not attend this afternoon’s rehearsal for Cymbeline, but does plan to return to perform the role of Lord Capulet in this evening’s performance of Romeo and Juliet.  

Sundance USA presents ARBITRAGE

By Samir Mathur

Contributing writer

Staff page | Twitter | Tumblr

This year, the Sundance Film Festival is taking some of its big-name films on the road for the first time. Last night, our very own Enzian was one of only nine theaters in the country chosen to play a title from the 2012 festival. ARBITRAGE (boy, that title is annoying and hard to say) received its world premiere in Park City on the 21st, and five nights later, it was playing here in Maitland. Not only that, but star Brit Marling (last seen in the award-winning 'Another Earth' ) was in the house to introduce and take questions afterwards. It was a great event, and hopefully Sundance Film Festival USA will bring more festival hits to us - it's always a frustratingly long wait between reading about the films in late January, and actually getting to see them, and many don't even make it here. (As far as I know, 'Tyrannosaur' and 'Pariah', two hotly-buzzed films from Sundance 2011, have never played in Central Florida.)

'Arbitrage' was acquired in Utah by Roadside Attractions and Lions Gate Films, so it should see a decent release sometime this year. I'm hesitant to write a full review of it here, just because it won't be out for a while, but let's just say that it's a slow potboiler where a billionaire played by Richard Gere is in some sort of corporate trouble which he's been trying to cover up. Additionally, he has a loving family and a sexy French mistress. The first twenty minutes play out kind of slowly, and I was worried that it'd be a fairly rote financial crimes/white collar crime piece, which I don't much care for. And then... BOOM! There's a fatal car accident, and the thing gets a lot more interesting. The film plays out as a study of a man who's desperately trying to keep many plates spinning, keep the right secrets from the right people, and do what he thinks is best for... himself? His family? His shareholders? The film is deliberately murky about where his strongest allegiances lie. Gere has never been better, and the strong supporting cast includes Susan Sarandon, Tim Roth, and of course Brit Marling, who shares with Gere the film's most powerful scene.

The film will be here sometime this year, but until then, always keep an eye on Enzian's calendar. They've got amazing stuff all the time and that's why it's the greatest.

Nonpartisan Presidential Nomination Process Coming to Florida

Americans Elect is the first nonpartisan presidential nomination process. They are looking to be on the ballot in all 50 sates and are already going to be on the ballot in Florida. Learn more at a public panel Monday January 30, 2012 at 5pm at UCF or at Tasty Tuesdays Tuesday January 31, 2012 in The Milk District. 


Anyone can sign up to vote at AmericansElect.org (don't need to change party registration and it doesn't mean you have to vote for the Americans Elect nominee). Users will be able to start voting on candidates in April and the winner will pick a VP nominee from the opposite party (Republican would have to pick a Democrat and a Democrat would have to pick a Republican). The winning ticket will be on the ballot in November next to the other two tickets.

.@OrlandoSentinel Talks Kissimmee Stop on The Food Truck Bazaar

The Oviedo stop on The Food Truck Bazaar, January 15, 2012

Kissimmee is one of The Food Truck Bazaar's newest stops for 2012, and the Orlando Sentinel gave it some ink Thursday. The bazaar will visit Kissimmee on first Fridays, 5-8pm, starting in February, in front fo the Kissimmee Civic Center.


This Sunday, January 29th, the bazaar is stopping in Avalon Park 5-8pm for the first time in a few months. This is always one of the largest turnouts of any stop, so 25 trucks will be featured: Twisted Cuban, Mamma's Soul Food & BBQ, Monsta Lobsta, SwedeDish Truck, Big Wheel Provisions, The Crepe Company, The Feast Beast, Cafe Rouge Truck (Bazaar Debut!), 5Gastronomy (Bazaar Debut!), The Flattery (flatbread pizza), Firehouse BBQ, The Treehouse Truck, GastroTruck, Que Rico, Fantastic Hummus, Korean BBQ, C&S Brisket Bus, Tastebuds, The Crooked Spoon, Yum Yum Cupcake Truck, The Batter Bowl Truck and of course the Sit N Stay Pet Cafe for the doggies 

BurgerFi Locally Sourced Slow Food Burger Chain Coming

“Sustainability probably isn’t going to be a draw," to BurgerFi, a quick service restaurant based on slow food, local-sourcing and sustainability, says  Joe Huthinson, chairman of the food service and lodging management department at UCF's Rosen College of Hospitality Management. We politely disagree. Eight are expected in Central Florida in the next 2-3 years, with the first expected to open by mid 2012. Source

Library Kiosks Could Replace Libraries

Could library kiosks replace actual libraries? Maybe not, but they do have the potential to get books into areas of town easier than building a full library.

The Grind Miami Burger Battle March 31

If you love burgers and Miami, then make your way to The Grind: Miami's Burger Battle  Saturday March 31, 2012. Thirty South Florida restaurants known for their burgers will compete. Tickets are $85 at the door, $75 online or $65 online using the promotional code “BEAST".

Brian Feldman The Skill Crane Kid Birthday

The Skill Crane Kid is turning one year old Tuesday, February 7, 2012 and its creator, Brian Feldman, is throwing a part for it the same day 8-10:30pm at SAK Comedy Lab (29 S. Orange Ave. Orlando, FL 32801). Free play for one hour or 99 plays, whichever comes first. There will also be balloons, buttons, party hats and cake.


What is The Skill Crane Kid? As an official part of United Arts' ArtsFest 2011, conceptual artist Brian Feldman produced a project called "The Skill Crane Kid" February 6, 2011. (@SkillCraneKid on Twitter) During Skill Crane Kid #1, Feldman remained inside a skill crane machine for 16 hours, 8am - midnight on February 6, 2011 at Stardust Video & Coffee in Orlando, Florida. Visitors plunked quarters (50 cents per play) into the machine for the chance to win some of the stuffed animals Feldman swam in. The event streamed live and each hour was recorded on video per posterity. It was brought back February 17, 2011 for two hours during Mobile Art Show #18 (Twitter) in downtown Orlando. The photo at left is from that show. Photo credit

About Brian Feldman Projects: Brian Feldman (Facebook, Twitter) is an award-winning conceptual artist. The recipient of the 2011 State of Florida Individual Artist Fellowship, he is best known for leaping off of a ladder 366 times over 24 hours (“Leap Year Day”) and eating dinner on stage with his real life family over 40 times (“The Feldman Dynamic”), in addition to over 100 other projects he has presented through Brian Feldman Projects, one of America’s premiere presenters of experimental time-based art, since August 2003. 

Analog Artist Reviews Yum-Mi in @Mills50

Analog Artist Digitial World, the awesome local sketch blog, inadvertently did a restaurant review of Yum-Mi Sandwiches and its pretty funny. The "I paused after my first bite wanting to spit it out..." is included. Check it out. 

Ivanhoe Village LIVE Feb 10

 Ivanhoe Village is presenting a free street party "Ivanhoe Village LIVE" on Friday, Feb. 10 from 6-10 p.m. on Virginia Drive, 2 blocks west of Mills Avenue.

The event is 1950’s themed featuring a hot rod car show, movie on the lawn, art and street vendors, food trucks, live entertainment, a wine stroll and merchant discounts. In recognition of the weekend before Valentine’s Day, there will also be a raffle for a romantic gift basket. The gift basket will include items from some of the Village merchants, Lee James Floral and Comfort Suites to name a couple.

Starbucks to Sell Booze at 25 Stores by End of 2012

Starbucks is turning into a bar in the early evening at 25 locations by the end of 2012. This makes so much sense. A beer and wine license is cheap, some people want to come and relax instead of jolt up and it may bring in new business.