Summer is upon us and the month of June promises to be filled with a variety of fun-filled events for all! Before we dive into all the city has to offer though, let’s take a look back at the adventures we shared in May. Here are all the highlights, just in case you missed it!
Everyone is a fan of something, and MEGACON Orlando is the place to celebrate all things pop culture. Attracting hundreds of thousands of fans each year across four big days, MEGACON Orlando is one of North America’s largest Comic, Sci-Fi, Horror, Anime, and Gaming events. From May 19th-22nd, fans got autographs and photos with their favorite guest, watched professional comic artists battle it out in popular Sketch Duels, learned from “How To” workshops, and took photos with their favorite costumed characters. With over 400,000 square feet of shopping, MEGACON was also a great place to buy unique gifts. This year’s event featured the stars of Lord of the Rings, Cobra Kai, The Mandalorian, WWE Superstars, and Harry Potter actor Matthew Lewis along with many others.
The Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival is a 14-day immersive cultural experience that was held this year in-person from May 17th-30th. It is the oldest, non-juried festival in the United States and a celebration of theater, art and music. The event featured hundreds of ticketed theatrical performances and a free outdoor music festival. Loch Haven Park served as the main campus for the festival, though in recent years programming has expanded to venues in nearby neighborhoods. The festival unites local, national, and international artists with the Central Florida community, creating a uniquely diverse arts experience. True to Fringe roots, all acts remained uncensored, exposing patrons to performances from mild to wild.
Taking place over Memorial weekend from May 27th-29th, Orlando Carnival is a Caribbean – American carnival celebration that is colorful, chaotic and filled with revelry. This year they celebrated the 36th Annual Orlando Downtown Carnival and everyone was welcome to join the fun! The family-friendly event is all about celebrating and embracing Caribbean culture in a weekend filled with live rhythmic music, arts & crafts vendors, and more. The Orlando Carnival embraces multiculturalism, in fact, Orlando Carnival has been known to attract the largest congregation of both culturally diverse participants and attendees including Americans, Indo-Caribbean, Afro-Caribbean, Hispanic-Caribbean and Asian-Caribbean. Over 20,000 people participate each year with thousands more in attendance.
In celebration of American Craft Beer Week, Beer ‘Merica featured 100 different craft brews to sample from, all from the good ole US of A. The event was held lakeside at Gaston Edwards Park at Ivanhoe Village on Saturday, May 14th and included live music, food trucks, a game zone and plenty of craft brew samplings. Many attendees were dressed to impress in their most patriotic gear for the exciting chance to win their favorite beer for a year with the winner announced during the event. Once again this year, all proceeds for Beer ‘Merica benefitted Getaboard Foundation and Camaraderie Foundation. Guests who stopped by their booth were entered in for a chance to score prizes, tickets, and much more.
The wild and popular Gatorpalooza event is back at the “Alligator Capital of the World. Gatorpalooza, Gatorland’s annual event which also celebrates the park’s birthday returned to the park from May 14th-15th. The event featured live music, food and craft vendors, artisans, games, appearances by the Gatorland Vlog Team and a bunch of alligators of course. On Saturday, the wild weekend got even wilder as guests watched crazy competitors participate in the Florida man challenge. Competitors raced through a muddy swamp, swarming with giant alligators in a triathlon-style event like no other. Gator-fest was included with park admission and Florida residents got half-off daily admissions during the entire month of May including Gatorpalooza weekend.
May 9th was our last opportunity to explore the innovations that classic science fiction predicted for our future—such as holograms, robots and invisibility—while imagining what is coming next. The thrilling exhibition called “Science Fiction, Science Future” premiered at the Orlando Science Center earlier this year and focused on new and interesting interactions with technology via exhibits that allow guests to seemingly do the impossible. Visitors could become invisible, move objects with their minds and interact with a robot that copies movements. “Science Fiction, Science Future” also gave visitors a chance to predict the future by drawing and describing what they believe houses, transportation and the planet will look like.
