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Welcome to Thursday Morning, Orlando!
BAGEL LOVERS. I tried Pop-up Bagels in Winter Park for the firs time, and the experience was interesting. They boil the bagels on-site and you end up with HOT BAGELS in your bag when you order. Awesome schmear selection, and they’re quite tasty. BUT the downside is they’re kinda small compared to Jeff’s Bagel Run. Given the choice, I’m hittin’ Jeff’s!
Also, happy 21st birthday to Orlando Signal Jr this Saturday. He helps a lot around here, sourcing fun and interesting events for your consideration!
Now, in today’s issue:
- Old Neighborhood, New Moves
- Be Kind, Please Rewind
- Science Night
- + lots of weekend recs
Did a neighbor forward this to you? Subscribe here.
Let’s roll!
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.
🎤 PRESENTED BY:
CFCARTS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Classic(al) Rock
What happens when the country's largest community orchestra tackles Led Zeppelin, Queen, and Aerosmith? You show up and find out.
CFCArts Symphony Orchestra is taking over Steinmetz Hall at the end of August for Classic(al) Rock: a full-throttle concert featuring more than 350 musicians, a live rock band, and special guests tearing through the greatest hits of classic rock.
🔥 ELO, Heart, Led Zeppelin, The Cranberries, and more. All of it bigger, louder, and more epic than you ever imagined.
Immersive sound with theatrical lighting and haze. The kind of energy that makes you forget you're sitting down.
🗓️ Catch it August 28th-30th, with shows Friday evening, Saturday matinee and evening, and Sunday at 5:00 p.m. Heads up: Saturday shows are going fast. Friday and Sunday shows have the best available seats!
Want the rockstar treatment? The Friday VIP Experience kicks off at 5:30 PM.
🖱️Tap/Click & Reserve Your Spots, Right Here
3 QUICK NEWS BITS ⏲️
Old Neighborhood, New Moves
Tim Green grew up on these streets. His grandparents lived on McQuigg Avenue. Now he's coming back, with $2 billion and a master plan.
Green has filed the Green District Smart City Live Local Master Plan with the City of Orlando to build the city's first integrated urban smart city in historic Parramore, a once-vibrant Black neighborhood that deserves a serious second act.
Think hotels named after actual Green Book legends, electric air taxis, workforce housing, and finally, a grocery store.
Groundbreaking hits summer 2027.
The real scorecard isn't the blueprints. It's who actually gets to live there when the dust settles.
🔥 Check out the impressive Green District Smart City Live Local Master Plan, right here!
This Free Cooking Class Comes With a Side of Second Chances
One Central Florida woman went from hospital beds and housing instability to running the very kitchen that helped save her. After a stroke upended her life and left her with nothing, a Salvation Army referral pointed her toward Pathlight HOME's free 12-week culinary program. The program that serves people experiencing homelessness with no fees, no eligibility requirements, no catch.
Students don't just learn to cook. They build teamwork, digital literacy, and real-world life skills, graduating with four industry certifications.
In 2025, 36 people earned their stripes. Graduates have gone on to land jobs with heavyweights like AdventHealth and Disney.
And our hero? She liked the program so much she never left, now she's the one handing out second chances.
(Dive deeper into how second chances are being served up with Bryanna Howard, right here)
Smoke, Alarms, and Very Prepared Kids
The doorknob is hot. Smart kid, don't touch it. Drop low, crawl through the artificial smoke, find the exit, and get outside. Then stand up and grin, because you just nailed it.
Welcome to the Fire Safety House at Children's Safety Village, where Orange County Fire Rescue puts kids ages 4 to 14 through their paces in a simulated house fire, complete with working smoke alarms, heated doors, and real-looking smoke. No worksheets. No lectures. Just learn-by-doing at its most memorable.
Children leave with more than information. They leave with habits. They go home and push their families to test smoke alarms, map escape routes, and run fire drills. According to executive director Brent Moore, most childhood injuries and fatalities are entirely preventable.
That's the whole point.
WEEKEND SPOT HIGHLIGHT 🔦
Be Kind, Please Rewind
Source: Once Upon a Magic Market
📍DoubleTree by Hilton Orlando. 10100 International Dr, Orlando, FL 32821. Map to this location.
🕐 Saturday, August 22nd, 12-5 p.m.
Close your eyes. Think Saturday morning cartoons, Blockbuster runs, and that windbreaker you deeply regret donating.
Now someone went and built an entire market around that feeling.
Be Kind, Please Rewind: A Tribute to the '90s features 70+ small businesses, nostalgic merchandise, themed entertainment, food, drinks, and the decade's biggest hits playing all day.
Free admission. Free parking. VIP Hour at 11 AM.
Come dressed for the decade. 🎧
👉 Check It Out
TOP 3 FUN RECS FOR THE WEEKEND 🍊
Science Night Live
Orlando Science Center
📍Orlando Science Center. 777 E. Princeton St. Orlando, Florida 32803. Map to this location.
🕐 Saturday, August 22nd, 8-11:30 p.m.
Science Night Live hands the Science Center over to grown-ups who still want to poke at things, ask questions, and walk out knowing something they didn't when they came in.
Explore interactive exhibit halls and hands-on experiments in Dr. Dare's Lab. Watch journalist Brendan Byrne and his team bust myths live.
Hear showmaker Natasha Tsakos explain how she choreographed a performance in zero gravity.
Then close the night with lasers, trivia, and 30,000 watts of pure nostalgia.
👉 Get more info, right here
Green Day’s American Idiot
Source: Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts
📍Alexis & Jim Pugh Theater. 445 S Magnolia Ave, Orlando, FL 32801. Map to this location.
🕐 Thursday, August 20th, 8 p.m., through Sunday, August 23rd, 2 p.m.
There's a moment in American Idiot when you realize this isn't just a concert, it's a reckoning.
Green Day's Grammy-winning, multi-platinum album becomes a live, two-time Tony Award–winning punk-rock opera, following three restless young men through love, heartbreak, and disillusion. "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," "Give Me Novocain," "American Idiot," onstage, they become confessions.
Last year's production sold out every night. Now it returns for four shows only, live with Central Florida's own Sad Academy.
Don't let this one slip by.
👉 Check It Out
11th Annual Florida Kids and Family Expo
Source: MyCentralFloridaFamily
📍Orange County Convention Center - West Concourse, Hall C. 9800 International Dr, Orlando, FL 32819. Map to this location.
🕐 Saturday and Sunday, August 22nd - 23rd, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Two days. Over 200 exhibitors. One very big, very air-conditioned building, and still not enough time to do it all.
The Florida Kids and Family Expo is back for its 11th year at the Orange County Convention Center, and it's bringing everything: bounce houses, kangaroos, alligators, Star Wars characters, pony rides, princess makeovers, STEM adventures, live entertainment, free samples, and surprises you won't see coming.
It's the largest kids and family event in the country, and Central Florida's most fun weekend, full stop.
Come for a day. Stay for both.
👉 Get the full details
THIS WEEKENDS HAPPENINGS 🎭 🥁
Multi-day
Well + Wild Weekend | Fri, Sat, Sun | Lake Nona | More
Green Day's American Idiot | Fri, Sat, Sun | City District | More
Osceola County Extension Great Southeast Pollinator Census | Fri & Sat | Kissimmee | More
Friday
History After Dark: Swamp Legends | 5:00 pm | City District | More
Don Toliver | 7:30 pm | City District | More
Fairy Night at Leu Gardens | 6:30 pm | Leu Gardens | More
Leo Szn Birthday Party! Kaya x Kultura x Kamayan x Tequio Foods | 7:00 pm | Mills 50 | More
GreenFest 2026 | 11:00 am | South Creek | More
Devils Cut | 6:30 pm | Sanford | More
IGF: Carlos Serrano | 7:30 pm | Wadeview Park | More
Club 90s Presents Ariana Grande Night | 8:30 pm | Lake Buena Vista | More
Saturday
Daylite's Pizza Popup Party at Perlas | 11:00 am | Winter Park | More
Orlando City SC vs. Real Salt Lake | 7:30 pm | City District | More
World Plant Milk Day: Tasting and Cocktails | 6:00 pm | Mills 50 | More
Homicide Jenny with S.M.O.P., The Pheromones, and Uber Crunch | Mills 50 | 8:00 pm | More
Tommy the Terrible Toupee Book Signing | 2:00 pm | Mills 50 | More
The Magik and Mythk Festival Indoor Medieval Fair | 11:00 am | Kissimmee | More
Music in the Library: Saturday Jazz | 11:00 am | Fairview Shores | More
Sunday
Create Your Own Whimsical Fairy Door Workshop | 2:00 pm | Leu Gardens | More
K92.3 All Star Jam | 7:30 pm | UCF | More
The Last Splash | 12:00 pm | OBT | More
Suzy Park | 2:00 pm | City District | More
Lil Indies Hospitality Night | 10:00 pm | Mills 50 | More
Punk for Public Media: A Benefit Concert | 12:00 pm | Mills 50 | More
🎭 Have an event to share?Submit it here.
THANKS!
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🌟 Know a community superstar? Tell me about them, right here.
We’ll see you on Monday.
My Best,
Philip - Publisher, Orlando Signal
