Welcome to Thursday Morning, Orlando!
I can never say it enough, but thanks for being here and allowing me into your sacred inbox. I love putting this newsletter together and sharing much of the goodness happening around greater Orlando. Enjoy today’s issue!
Now, in today’s issue:
- More Than a Backpack
- Never Can Say Goodbye
- War of the Roses
- + 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.
3 QUICK NEWS BITS ⏲️
Eleven Singers Walk Into a Room in Parramore
The best thing you'll hear all summer was made right here in Orlando.
Founded by Chris Keough, the Orlando Vocal Collective has spent years blowing minds at Creative City Project's IMMERSE Festival, filling city streets with harmonies that make familiar songs feel brand new. Now they're doing something even bolder, stepping into a room of their own.
Eleven singers and a four-piece band will tear through songs from Janet Jackson, Earth, Wind & Fire, Beyoncé, and Michael Jackson across three unforgettable 75-minute shows.
👉 An Evening With the Orlando Vocal Collective runs today, August 6th through the 8th.
A Backpack Is More Than a Backpack
Back-to-school season is supposed to feel exciting: new shoes, fresh notebooks, maybe a lunchbox that doesn't smell like last year. But for many Central Florida families, it's become a quiet financial gut-punch.
More than half of local students show up on the first day of school without basic supplies.
Enter A Gift For Teaching, the nonprofit riding to the rescue with 30,000 fully stocked backpacks headed to 120 schools across Orange and Osceola counties. Last Wednesday alone, nearly 600 bags were handed out in Washington Shores.
Because every kid deserves to show up ready, pencils included.
🛑 A Gift for Teaching can always use some support, right here.
(Learn more about the effort to make sure no kid shows up empty-handed with Ashley Garrett, right here)
Central Florida Wants to Fly You Over the Traffic
Rising near Terminal C at Orlando International Airport, a little structure called a "vertistop" is making a big promise, that hopping between cities might soon mean skipping the highway entirely.
State transportation officials have Orlando-to-Tampa in their crosshairs for the first test flights, and they could happen within months.
These zippy electric aircraft do have limits, batteries can only carry so much before the math stops working, so think short hops, not cross-country hauls.
Down in Kissimmee, the charging gear is already humming and waiting, with some turnarounds clocking in at just 20 minutes.
Not everybody's throwing a party, though, as some local officials are side-eyeing the whole thing, wondering why electric air taxis are jumping the line ahead of weekend commuter trains.
🔥 Check out the future of air taxis video, right here.
(Learn more about Central Florida's electric air taxi push with Sarah Winkelmann, right here)
WEEKEND SPOT HIGHLIGHT 🔦
Never Can Say Goodbye
Source: The Winter Park Playhouse
📍Winter Park Playhouse. 711 Orange Avenue Suite C Winter Park, FL 32789. Map to this location.
🕐 Friday, August 7th at 7:30 p.m.. Saturday, August 8th at 2:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m., and many more dates through the end of August.
Dig out your platforms, dust off your bell bottoms, and find those oversized shades, because Never Can Say Goodbye is making its Southeastern Regional Premiere, and it's bringing the entire decade with it.
Six powerhouse women tear through more than 30 songs from the era's most iconic acts: Heart, Fleetwood Mac, The Jackson Five, Diana Ross, Linda Ronstadt, Gloria Gaynor, and more.
The 70s never really left. This show proves it.
👉 Check It Out
TOP 3 FUN RECS FOR THE WEEKEND 🍊
The Nostalgia Con
Source: The Nostalgia Con
📍Orange County Convention Center. 9800 International Dr, Orlando, FL 32819. Map to this location.
🕐 Saturday, August 1st, 4-8 p.m.
Some feelings never get old, and The Nostalgia Con is proof.
From Pokémon and Star Wars to Marvel, DC, Disney, and classic anime, this Florida event brings your favorite characters back to life.
Meet legendary voice actors and iconic stars, hunt for rare collectibles across 500+ vendor tables, and catch live panels worth talking about for years.
Kids 6 and under get in free all weekend. Kids 12 and under get in free on Sunday.
👉 Get more info, right here
Henry VI: War of the Roses
Source: Orlando Shakes
📍Margeson Theater, Orlando Shakes, 812 E Rollins St Orlando, FL 32803. Map to this location.
🕐 Saturday, August 8th, 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, August 9th, 2 p.m.
Kings, Betrayal, and a Comeback Story.
The Young Company Alumni return for their second annual Reign of Fire production, collapsing Shakespeare's entire Henry VI trilogy into one propulsive evening of shifting loyalties, political maneuvering, and the slow-burning spark that ignites the Wars of the Roses.
Originally adapted by Richard Width in 2002, this revival reunites artists from past Young Company cohorts, returning to the work, and to each other.
👉 Check It Out
Monster Jam 2026
Source: Monster Jam
📍Kia Center. 400 W Church St, Orlando, FL 32801. Map to this location.
🕐 Saturday, August 8th, 11 a.m. & 5 p.m., and Sunday, August 9th, 12 p.m.
There's freestyle. And then there's Monster Jam Freestyle Mania™, presented by Spin Master.
The twist? One-of-a-kind FMX bikes built to match your favorite Monster Jam trucks, Grave Digger®, El Toro Loco®, Sparkle Smash™, flying through the air alongside the 12,000-pound giants that inspired them.
Pick your team. Watch them pull off stunts that have never existed before. This isn't something a highlight reel can capture.
It has to be lived.
👉 Get the full details
THIS WEEKENDS HAPPENINGS 🎭 🥁
Multi-day
Dog Days of Summer Weekend | Fri, Sat, Sun | Lake Nona | More
Next to Normal | Fri, Sat, Sun | City District | More
Friday
Lunch & Learn: Orlando in the Late 1800s | 12:00 pm | City District | More
Derek Hough | 8:00 pm | City District | More
Cirque du Soleil Drawn to Life | 5:30 pm | Lake Buena Vista | More
Orlando Pride v Racing Louisville FC - Fan Appreciation Night | 7:00 pm | City District | More
UCP Osceola Family-Fun Grand Opening Celebration | 9:15 am | Kissimmee | More
Summer Concert- Jazz / Blues | 7:00pm | Colonialtown North | More
Saturday
🔥 Bazaar Florida Tour | 6:00 pm | Casselberry | More
🔥 Joyful, Joyful | 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. | Longwood | More
Lotus Collective | 8:00 pm | Winter Park | More
Past Meets Present, America 250: The New York Military Campaign | 1:00 pm | Winter Park | More
Songs of the Hispanic Diaspora III | 7:30 pm | Delaney Park | More
Day Fever America | 2:00 pm | City District | More
Vinyl & Brews at Twelve Talons Beerworks | 12:00 pm | Milk District | More
2026 Leagues Cup Phase One - Orlando City v Club Leon | 6:30 pm | City District | More
Sunday
IGF: Guzheng and Erhu | 7:30 pm | Delaney Park | More
Orlando Farmers Market | 10:00 am | City District | More
Lil Indies Hospitality Night | 10:00 pm | Mills 50 | More
Mon Laferte - Femme Fatale Tour | 8:00 pm | I-Drive | More
EMM "The Dumb Tour" | 7:00 pm | Winter Park | More
Free admission for kids at the Central Florida Zoo | 8:00 am | Sanford | More
🎭 Have an event to share?Submit it here.
THANKS!
🧠Interested in reaching smart Orlando readers like you? Grow with us right here.
🌟 Know a community superstar? Tell me about them, right here.
We’ll see you on Monday.
My Best,
Philip - Publisher, Orlando Signal
