Welcome to Thursday Morning, Orlando!
To say this issue is Halloween heavy with things to do is an understatement. It’s just that time of year. Having said that, we did our best to find as many non-Halloween events as possible to help round things out a bit. If you’re on the roads Saturday evening, keep your eyes peeled for pedestrians, please. Have a great weekend!
Now, in today’s issue:
- Stone Table Theatre
- Thornton Park Block Party
- Nosferatu
- + lots of weekend recs
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Let’s do this!
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.
3 QUICK NEWS BITS ⏲️
A Medicare Decoder Ring
Medicare open enrollment is happening now through December 7th, which means the clock is already ticking.
Good thing the Senior Resource Alliance's SHINE program exists. Short for Serving Health Insurance Needs of Elders, this free Florida program connects you with volunteer counselors who live for this stuff.
Medicare, Medicaid, prescription plans, billing nightmares, fraud traps, they've seen it all and love helping you through it.
Zero insurance ties. Zero sales pitch. Zero cost.
Even though SHINE counsels all year, there's truly never been a better time to get your Medicare life together.
🔥 Need a session, or know someone who could use a session? Point your browser right here.
35 Years in the Making
After 35 years of acting, directing, producing, and teaching, Dan Roche is bringing all of it to Orlando. Genuinely? We’re the lucky ones.
His new nonprofit, Stone Table Theatre, runs on one wonderfully straightforward idea: stories should remind you of what’s good in life.
The name nods to the pivotal scene in C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, where despair doesn’t get the last word, and the programming follows that same spirit.
The company opens December 10th with The Gifts of the Magi, a holiday musical playing through December 20th at the Mandell Theatre inside the Lowndes Shakespeare Center, with two more productions lined up for 2027.
Good intentions, great taste, and a curtain that rises right before Christmas. What’s not to love?
👉 Check out the dates and show-times, right here.
A Place to Start Over
Orlando just broke ground, yesterday as a matter of fact, on something worth celebrating.
The Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida launched the Foundations Project, a new Center for Women and Families that bundles housing, healthcare, and supportive services into one place, because nobody should have to chase down help from a dozen different offices.
The numbers back up the ambition: $10 million from the City of Orlando, $19.5 million from Orange County, and $3 million in federal funding secured by Congressman Frost.
The 105,000-square-foot facility will add 112 residential beds, an on-site health clinic, childcare programs, and bridge housing, growing the Coalition’s service capacity by 40 to 50 percent.
For the families waiting on it, the clock is running.
🙌 Wow, what a beautiful resource getting built! Check it out, right here.
WEEKEND SPOT HIGHLIGHT 🔦
Thornton Park 13th Annual Halloween Block Party
Source: Thornton Park District
📍Thornton Park District, 700 E Washington St, Orlando, FL 32801. Map to this location.
🕐 Saturday, October 31st, 8 p.m. - 2 a.m.
Every October, a stretch of Washington Street in Thornton Park becomes Orlando’s most spirited Halloween night out.
The 13th Annual Thornton Park District Halloween Block Party brings live entertainment from Vaudeville Entertainment, DJ Rick GZ, and DJ K1X, outside bars with drink specials, and a costume contest worth showing up for.
$500 goes to the best look on the street.
Head to the Main Stage to throw your name in the hat. Come dressed up, come ready to dance.
👉 Check It Out
TOP 3 FUN RECS FOR THE WEEKEND 🍊
Halloween Light Shows on City Hall 2026
Source: City of Winter Garden
📍Winter Garden City Hall. 300 W Plant St, Winter Garden, FL 34787. Map to this location.
🕐 Friday & Saturday, October 30th $ 31st, 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Something wicked is headed straight for City Hall.
This Friday and Saturday, Winter Garden’s City Hall transforms after dark into a canvas for ghosts, witches, goblins, and creepy crawlers, all projected across the building’s facade and synchronized to a spine-tingling soundtrack.
The show loops continuously, it’s completely free, and it runs Friday and Saturday evening, including Halloween night itself.
👉 Get more info, right here
Leu Gardens Dog Day
Source: Harry P. Leu Gardens
📍Harry P. Leu Gardens, 1920 North Forest Avenue, Orlando, FL, 32803. Map to this location.
🕐 Saturday, October 31st, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Harry P. Leu Gardens invites the whole family on Halloween, pups included, to roam 50 gorgeous acres in celebration.
Every pup scores a goody bag with a Gardens bandana while supplies last.
Shop the Doggie Boutique from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., then enter the Howl-O-Ween Costume Contest at 10:00 (Spookiest), 10:30 (Funniest), or 11:00 a.m. (Overall).
Winners take home a pooch prize pack. General admission applies.
👉 Check It Out
Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror
Source: Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts
📍Steinmetz Hall. 445 S Magnolia Ave, Orlando, FL 32801. Map to this location.
🕐 Saturday, October 31st, 7 p.m.
More than a century after its debut, the film that invented screen horror returns, this time with a real heartbeat.
On Halloween, the 1922 silent masterpiece Nosferatu screens alongside Grammy-nominated organist Cameron Carpenter, who performs his own original score live.
Known for his electrifying stage presence and one-of-a-kind International Touring Organ, Carpenter has thrilled audiences from New York to Berlin.
Every shadow, every lurching step of Count Orlok: live, unrepeatable, and slightly different every single night.
👉 Get the full details
THIS WEEKENDS HAPPENINGS 🎭 🥁
Multi-day
🔥 Pumpkins & Punchlines | Sat & Sun | Winter Park | More
🔥 4th Annual Itty Bitty Art Expo | 10:00 pm | Fri, Sat, Sun | Sanford | More
🔥 The Syndicate Trade Show: Trading Cards, Collectibles & Comics | Sat & Sun | Westgate Lakes | More
Boxi Park Boo Bash Weekend | Fri, Sat, Sun | Lake Nona | More
Orlando Shakes Playfest | Sat & Sun | Loch Haven | More
Spooky Empire | Fri, Sat, Sun | I-Drive | More
Friday
Kawaii Festival, an Anime x Halloween Event | 12:00 pm | I-Drive | More
History After Dark: San Juan Speakeasy | 5:00 pm | City District | More
Daniel Sloss - BITTER | 7:00 pm | City District | More
K-Pop: All Hallows Rave | 9:00 pm | Winter Park | More
Orlando Solar Bears vs. Jacksonville Icemen - Boo with the Bears | 7:00 pm | City District | More
Linska @ CELINE ORLANDO | 10:00 pm | City District | More
The 789s | 8:00 pm | Universal | More
Saturday
🔥 OWOC Fall Festival | 2:00 pm | Conway | More
🔥 Chills 50 Pub Crawl & Costume Contest | 7:30 pm | Mills 50 | More
Wekiva Island and PBO’s Halloween Costume Parade Paddle! | 10:30 am | Longwood | More
Daylite Halloween Festival | 10:00 am | Packing District | More
OSC After Dark | 8:00 pm | City District | More
"BASKETBALL AND BREAKS" with B8TA | 10:00 pm | Mills 50 | More
Sunday
Ivanhoe Village Village Farmer’s Market | 1:00 pm | Ivanhoe | More
Albin Polasek Museum Family Photography Day | 1:00 pm | Winter Park | More
Golden Girls | 2 & 7 pm | City District | More
Orlando Magic vs. Boston Celtics | 3:30 pm | 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
