Welcome to Thursday Morning, Orlando!
Want a hot tip? Of course you want a hot tip! It’s why you’ve subscribed to this esteemed newsletter after-all.
Well, I fly 3-4 times a year and you have to pry my TSA PreCheck status out of my cold dead hands. But did you know MCO has MCO Reserve, and it’s free? With the federal budget stalemate turning the security line into the drama-llama, you can get through security with a reservation at MCO in minutes! You’re welcome! <taking a bow>
Now, in today’s issue:
- Orlando's Carb Lovers
- Pin-Up Girls
- Orlando Jazz Festival
- + lots of weekend recs
Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Subscribe here.
Let’s roll!
- Philip
P.S. Want some hawt community sourced foodie recommendations? Check out the Orlando Signal Restaurant Guide, right here.
P.P.S. Check out tons of open Orlando area jobs at the Orlando Signal Job Board, right here.
😤 Your Sunday Deserves Better Than Brunch Leftovers
We’re looking at YOUI!
Orlando's got a neighborhood where Michelin Guide nods, Netflix fame, and Filipino ice cream all exist within walking distance of each other. If that doesn't make you curious, we can't help you.
The Orlando Signal Mills 50 Nom Nom Walking Foodie Tour is happening Sunday, March 29th (3–5 p.m.), and it's basically a cheat code for discovering the best-kept culinary block in the city.
Here's the deal: a local guide walks you through Mills 50's colorful streets, stopping at several spots for Asian street food, creative local bites, and sweet treats, while dropping stories about the murals, the culture, and the people behind the food.
🍜 You'll eat things you can't pronounce, love every bite, and wonder why nobody told you about this sooner.
Only 12 spots offered 4 spots remain. Once they're gone, your Sunday goes back to being boring.
👉 Get all the deets and book before it's gone.
3 QUICK NEWS BITS ⏲️
MEGACON Orlando: Your People Are Waiting
Hobbits, wrestlers, comic book legends and 180,000 of your closest friends, MEGACON Orlando is back, and it's bringing everything.
This weekend, March 19th – 22nd at the Orange County Convention Center, the pop culture playground returns with comics, cosplay, anime, gaming, horror and celebrities worth losing your mind over.
The headliner? All four Lord of the Rings hobbits: Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Elijah Wood and Sean Astin, reuniting on stage 25 years after the trilogy debuted.
John Cena, Orlando Bloom, and comic royalty Frank Miller, Joe Quesada and Jim Lee are also along for the ride.
🔥 Don't overthink it, just go. Get more info and grab your tix right here. The hobbits aren't waiting forever.
What Orlando Voters Really Want
Orlando has plenty of fans. 89% of residents say it's a safe place to live and work, and 91% believe a better quality of life brings jobs and investment.
But a new Orlando Economic Partnership poll of 929 voters across Orange, Osceola, and Seminole Counties reveals two things nobody is shy about: housing is too expensive, and traffic is a nightmare.
A whopping 34% named housing affordability the top priority for local officials, while 90% reported congested roads near home and work.
Confidence in the transportation system nosedived from 51% to 43% in just one year. The enthusiasm is there. Somebody just needs to show up with a plan.
Good News for Orlando's Carb Lovers
If you've stalked Olde Hearth Bread Company across Orlando farmers markets, sniffing out their sourdough like a heat-seeking missile, same here!
Our family runs on good bread, so when we saw Orlando's favorite artisan bakery is permanently setting up shop in Ivanhoe Village, we may have done a little happy dance. Doors open mid-May, and yes, we're already counting down.
Shannon and Janice Talty have been low-key feeding Central Florida since 1998, supplying hundreds of restaurants with preservative-free, hand-shaped loaves, including a legendary sourdough built from a starter Shannon personally hauled back from San Francisco's iconic Acme Bread Company.
Now the secret's out, and it's got a permanent address arriving in just a few months.
👉 Just look at these master-pieces.
WEEKEND SPOT HIGHLIGHT 🔦
The Pin-Up Girls
Source: The Winter Park Playhouse
📍The Winter Park Playhouse, 6900 Aloma Ave, Winter Park, FL 32792. Map to this location.
🕐 Friday, March 20th through April 25th, 2 p.m. matinees Wednesday through Sunday and 7:30 p.m. Friday & Saturday
Inside a local VFW hall sits a treasure trove of forgotten letters, handwritten notes stretching back a full century from American troops on the front lines.
When three performers stumble upon them, they discover something unexpected: the letters are funny, tender, romantic, and achingly poignant. Inspired, they do what comes naturally, they put on a show.
From the Andrews Sisters to Beyoncé, Gershwin to hip-hop, The Pin-Up Girls, written by James Hindman and Jeffrey Lodin, is a musical love letter to those who served.
👉 Check It Out
TOP 3 FUN RECS FOR THE WEEKEND 🍊
Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival
Source: The Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival
📍Central Park. 150 W Morse Blvd, Winter Park, FL 32789. Map to this location.
🕐 Friday, March 20th through Sunday, March 22nd 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Every March, Park Avenue transforms into an open-air museum, and the crowds can't get enough.
The 67th Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival has been drawing art lovers since 1960, and today pulls in 250,000 visitors who come to browse work from 1,000+ juried artists representing 17 categories.
Ranked #1 in the South and #6 in America by ArtFairCalendar, this all-volunteer-run celebration keeps raising the bar, with live music, kids' workshops, and student exhibits rounding out the fun.
👉 Get more info, right here
Orlando Jazz Festival
Source: Orlando Jazz Festival
📍Mennello Museum of American Art, 900 E Princeton St, Orlando, FL 32803. Map to this location.
🕐 Friday through Saturday, March 21st-22nd, 12 p.m. - 10 p.m.
There's something about hearing live jazz outdoors, the way a trumpet line dissolves into open air, that no concert hall can replicate.
The Orlando Jazz Festival understands this instinctively. Held at the Mennello Museum of American Art, the lakeside festival, presented by the Orlando Jazz Collective, pairs local Orlando talent with nationally recognized artists like Grammy-nominated trumpeter Chief Adjuah.
One weekend. A lake. And Orlando belonging entirely to the music.
👉 Get the full details
Pup Paw-ty
Source: Ten 10 Brewing Company
📍Ten 10 Brewing Company. 1010 Virginia Dr, Orlando, FL 32803. Map to this location.
🕐 Sunday, March 22nd, 1 p.m. - 6 p.m.
Ten 10 Brewing is throwing a Pup Paw-ty, and your dog deserves a seat at the bar.
Grab a $10 wristband at 1010 Virginia Drive and unlock specials at 14 bars, businesses, and restaurants. The first 30 pups score complimentary bandanas, and every dog leaves with treats. Best part?
Every wristband sold benefits Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando.
Clip on that leash, this is one night out you're both going to earn.
👉 Check it out, right here
THIS WEEKENDS HAPPENINGS 🎭 🥁
Friday
🔥 The 2026 Orlando "Chuck Carmen" Walk for Epilepsy | 9 a.m. | City District | More
🔥 Blues In The School | 1 p.m. | Sanford | More
Midsummer Night's Dream: A Spring Equinox Event | 6:30 p.m. | Ivanhoe Village | More
Wine Blending Workshop | 6 p.m. | Packing District | More
Anne Wilson, Peter Burton | 7 p.m. | City District | More
Cavity, Thrull, Bunaand, Skeletizer | 7 p.m. | Mills 50 | More
Tom Papa | 7 p.m. | City District | More
Timucua Opera Festival: Opera Orlando's Acis and Galatea | 7:30 p.m. | Wadeview Park | More
Maná: Vivir Sin Aire Tour | 8 p.m. | City District | More
Saturday
Spring Salsa Social | 5 p.m. | Apopka | More
Trachtenfest 2026 | 6 p.m. | Casselberry | More
Fame Orlando | 1 p.m. | I-Drive | More
Woodworking Tools Petting Zoo | 4 p.m. | Casselberry | More
Matchroom Boxing: Adames v Williams | 5 p.m. | I-Drive | More
Capstan | 6:30 p.m. | City District | More
Orlando Magic v Los Angeles Lakers | 7 p.m. | City District | More
The Legendary JC’s | 7 & 9 p.m. | City District | More
Assemblage 23, Mari Kattman, L.U.S.T. | 7 p.m. | Winter Park | More
Timucua Opera Festival: Ribas-Dominicci | 7 p.m. | Wadeview Park | More
Classic Albums Live: Purple Rain by Prince | 8 p.m. | City District | More
Sunday
Time to Paddy 5k/10k & Lucky 13.1 | 8 a.m. | City District | More
April Fresh Comedy Brunch | 10 a.m. | City District | More
At All Cost | 5 p.m. | Leu Gardens | More
Felicity, Luvlost, Greyson Zane, Danny Goo | 7 p.m. | Mills 50 | More
Third Day, Zach Williams | 7 p.m. | Downtown | More
Hannah Berner | 7 p.m. | I-Drive | More
Orlando City B vs. Inter Miami CF II | 7 p.m. | Kissimmee | More
TOF: Helena Collective: The Tender, From Eve's Footsteps | 7:30 p.m. | Wadeview Park | More
Hugel | 2 p.m. | City District | More
🎭 Have an event to share?Submit it here.
THANKS!
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We’ll see you on Monday.
My Best,
Philip - Publisher, Orlando Signal
