Weekend Top 6 Picks for February 8 and 9, 2020

Posted on by Thor

Saturday February 8, 2020 

10am to 4pm Free. Paws In The Park. Lake Eola Park, 512 E Washington St, Orlando, FL 32801.

Join the Beloved Organization’s Fun-filled Festival and Fundraiser Featuring Adoptable Pets, Doggy Sports, a PAWrade Costume Contest, Food Trucks, Beer Garden, Pet-Friendly Vendors and Much More.

Following their biggest fundraising year to date raising over $2
million to support the dogs and cats of Central Florida, Pet Alliance of
Greater Orlando invites all pet lovers to join together at Orlando’s
largest pet festival and parade “Paws in the Park” returning to
beautiful Lake Eola Park on Saturday, February 8 from 10am-4pm.  Paws in
the Park supports the mission of Pet Alliance,  the region’s oldest and largest animal welfare agency, to educate, shelter, place and heal pets and their families with compassionate, responsible care, and the hugely popular event provides
aid for the more than 6,000 homeless pets who will be cared for at Pet
Alliance of Greater Orlando’s shelters and clinics this year.

 Kicking
off at 10am is the pet parade around Lake Eola, followed by this year’s
new PAWrade costume contest with celebrity judges and cash prizes
(Themes: Superheroes, Favorite Food, Binge-Worthy TV Shows). 
Participants and their furry family members can register and fund raise
online and invite their friends and family to join them for the special
walk, costume contest and festivities.  Then, all attendees and their
fur pals will enjoy a full day of both “human” and “canine” activities,
food and fun, including the famous dock diving for dogs and lure courses, beer garden, a variety food trucks and shopping, pet products and more, plus plenty of pet adoption opportunities.  Pet Alliance’s mobile vet unit will also be on site and providing free vaccines. 

 “Pet Alliance is thrilled to have adopted
out 6,601 dogs and cats, rescued 1,453 pets from shelters that would
have euthanized them and fostered 1,749 puppies and kittens last year,”
says Special Events Manager Caryn Freas.  “We are extremely grateful for the overwhelming support, and we are excited to see our
animal loving community back out at Lake Eola Park for Paws in the Park
and to kick start what we hope is another phenomenal year of fundraising
for our much-loved and deserving furry friends.”

 For
more information on Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando and Paws in the
Park, to register for the walk and make a donation, visit www.petallianceorlando.org and www.pawsinthepark.org.

Pet
Alliance of Greater Orlando was founded in 1937 as the Orlando Humane
Society.  Since then, the organization has worked hard to provide
positive and safe outcomes for pets.  Today, Pet Alliance has a
dedicated focus on the welfare and well-being of dogs and cats in
Orange, Seminole and Osceola Counties.  As the “go to” experts in
Greater Orlando, they do good things for dogs and cats and the people
who love them.  Their goal is to provide compassionate and knowledgeable
services for pets and to be leaders in innovative animal care and
veterinary medicine.  Nearly 7,000 surrendered pets and homeless animals
turn to the Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando for caring, compassion and
hope through their shelters each year.  Pet Alliance provides food,
medical care and shelter for dogs and cats until they find their new
homes.  In addition to providing housing and care, Pet Alliance works to
develop progressive and innovative programs that help keep pets and
people together.  Pet Alliance also provides low-cost spay/neuter
surgeries and animal wellness through their public veterinary clinics. 
Their shelter programs are supported entirely by donations from the
community they serve.  Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando has two pet
adoption centers (Orlando and Sanford) and three veterinary clinics
(Orlando, Sanford and Alafaya).  For more information, visit https://petallianceorlando.org/.

6:30pm to 9pm $65. Taste of Arts-Arts Gala. Mercedes-Benz of North Orlando, 1100 Rinehart Rd, Sanford, FL 32771.   

This
premiere event celebrates the arts by showcasing the visual,
performing, and culinary arts. We partner with various businesses and
artists from Seminole County including local restaurants, Seminole State
College, local visual artists, and local performing artists to put on
an evening to remember and raise money to support the arts in Seminole
county!
Event Features
A spectacular gala event celebrating the arts featuring:
Food and Wine Tastings​
Silent Auction
Visual Arts Gallery
Live Music
Performance Artists
Photo Booth
and much more!

10:30pm to 12:30am Order drinks and food.  Son Flamenco. Ceviche Tapas Orlando, 125 W Church St, Orlando, FL 32801. Hot blooded Flamenco Dancing set to acoustic guitar.

Sunday February 9, 2020

11am to 12:30pm Free. 9th Annual Dragon Parade Lunar New Year Festival. 728 North Thornton Ave Orlando Fl. This annual event, held in Orlando’s Mills 50 district near downtown,
celebrates the Lunar Year with Japanese Taiko, acrobatic performances,
cultural dances, cuisine, martial arts demonstrations and a lively
Dragon Parade. Join us as we celebrate the Lunar New Year 2020, “Year of
the Rat,” with Dragon and Lion Dance, and a parade from all your
favorite local organizations. Fun for the entire family!

1pm to 6pm Free. Vintage Valentine Market in Audubon Park. Park Ave CDs 2916 Corrine Dr, Orlando, Florida 32803. Celebrating
it’s 8th year, Orlando’s largest outdoor Vintage Market is back with
30+ Vintage Vendors selling clothing, vinyl records, furniture, jewelry,
curiosities and knickknacks and so much more! The market is hosted from
1pm-6pm in the parking lot in front of The Lovely Boutique Market, Dear
Prudence & Park Ave CDs. Food trucks will be available for your
noshing needs and Redlight Redlight will be open with craft beer!

2pm to 4pm $5 Film Slam. Enzian Theater, South Orlando Avenue, Maitland, FL. FilmSlam will usually be held on the second Sunday of each month at the Enzian. Experimental
Films, Puppet Films, Art Films, Bartenders throwing bottles, Gangsters,
a Music Video….this has to be the most amazingly eclectic line we’ve
had for all of 2012. Q&A with the filmmakers to follow screening. 

Dragon Parade and Lunar New Year Festival

Posted on by Thor

The eighth annual Dragon Parade and Lunar New Year Festival was held in the Mills 50 area. Lunar New Year events are based on the Chinese lunisolar calendar, which
calculates both the motions of Earth around the sun, and the moon
around the Earth.

The parade assembled near Track Shack on Mills Avenue and then went down Thornton Avenue ending at the parking lot behind The Cameo Theater, home of Snap Gallery on Colonial Drive. I was teaching an Urban Sketching class at Crealde School of Art on that morning and considered taking my students to the festivities to sketch, but the timing was off. By the time we would have arrived from class, the parade would have been over. Instead I had my student sketch in Panera’s which is a much calmer setting.

Immediately after class I drove over to the parade. A large red an yellow balloon arch marked the entry to the event. Food and merchandiser tents were lined up in the parking lot and the place was packed. On the main stage a drum chore was setting the tone. I finally decided I had to sketch the arch and the tent where the dragon heads were stored.

Orlando Urban Sketchers had decided to come to parade as well to sketch but I didn’t see anyone at first. After I sat and started sketching I was approached by a sketcher who wanted to watch as I sketched. I explained my thought process a bit as I set up the composition. Once she started sketching as I well I got lost in my process.

For the longest time this seemed like a boring sketch location, but then a group of youths in red tee shirts started getting dressed in bright yellow pants. It turned out I was watching two dragon dancers getting ready to perform. Once the head was put on the dragon came alive and a large crowd gathered all around me. The dragon was rather silly often falling down and always getting in the face of small children. One little Chinese girl was mesmerized and she followed the yellow dragon around grinning the whole time. The dragon looked at the sketch in my lap and so I lifted it up so she could see it right side up. She nodded her head with delight.

This is the year of the pig. I didn’t see any pigs at the festivities but Pam brought out Darcy, her new puppy. The dragon was curious about Darcy and danced in front of the her. The puppies eyes bugged out in amazement. She tried to hide behind Pam’s legs and when the dragon once again approached she darted away as fast and as far as she could. Since she was on a leash she didn’t get to far. For her first social outing Darcy got very over stimulated.

It turned out the Urban Sketchers were at the event. They were apparently gathered in the shade behind the main stage. They had their sketch throw down photo op, but I was still in the midst of my one and only sketch surrounded by dragons, so I didn’t get over to where they met. I made the mistake of wearing a black tee shirt to an event in a black
tar parking lot in the insanely hot Florida sun, but I survived. The dragon parade is definitely a great sketch opportunity and I am glad I made it. After the sketch was done I ordered some Pad Thai and Pam and I watched a yo-yo choreographer doing some major moves to rap music. It might sound strange but it was fun to watch.

The Chinese New Year Dragon Parade.

Posted on by Thor

Orlando will celebrate the Year of the Dog on February 25, 2018. The 2018 Dragon Parade is a celebration of Unity, Harmony and Diversity. It starts at the corner of North Thornton Ave and Oregon Street and will end at North Thornton Avenue and Colonial Drive. The Year of the Dog marks the 7th annual Central Florida
Dragon Parade Lunar New Year Festival held in Orlando, Florida. This
event has received overwhelming response from local and distant
communities alike.

I love getting to the parade start early to sketch the parade before it gets started. Dragon handlers practice bringing the dragon to life, and once the parade starts, the dragons weave and slither side to side. Everyone wears bright vibrant colored clothing. As the parade marched off, I was still struggling to get down all the colors on the sketch.

The parade will be followed by five hours of the
Lunar New Year Festival that will take place at 728 North Thornton Ave., Orlando,
FL 32803. The Lunar New Year Festival will feature Asian entertainment
including Dragon dancing, Lion Dancing, cultural dances, martial arts,
taiko drummers, arts and crafts and Asian food. In 2017, over 8,500
patrons attended the event.

Dragon Parade: Lunar New Year Festival

Posted on by Thor

On February 10th, I went to the Mills 50 District to sketch the Dragon Parade Lunar New Year Festival. The Lunar New Year is the most important festival celebrated in Asia.  In countries such as Australia, Canada and the United States, although Chinese New Year is not an official holiday, many Asian organizations hold large celebrations and parades to share the culture. I parked on a suburban street behind Sam Flax and walked towards the sound of firecrackers exploding. A woman gardening in her front yard looked down the street to see what the ruckus was about.

In a parking lot behind a Chinese restaurant a crowd was gathered to participate in the parade. There were martial arts groups, Taiko Dojo Dancers, girls Demonstrating Chinese YoYos and a long dragon boat.  The second I sat down to start sketching, the parade started moving onto the street. I panicked sketching as fast as I could. I was still sketching long after the last parade participants had left. The dragon itself was animated by a crew of puppeteers who each held a stick that was attached to a section of the dragon. As they waved the sticks left and right, the dragon slithered in a sinuous dance down the street.

2013 is the Year of the Snake. The Snake, also called the Junior Dragon,  is the sixth sign of the Chinese Zodiac, which consists of 12 Animal Signs.  The Snake is the enigmatic,  intuitive,

introspective, and refined.  Ancient Chinese wisdom says a Snake in the house is a good omen because it means that your family will not starve.  People born in the Year of the Snake are keen and cunning, quite intelligent and wise.  They are great mediators and good at doing business.  Therefore, you should have good luck if you were born in the Year of the Snake. When I finished my sketch I went to Sam Flax to get some new brushes. I met former Disney background painter Xinlin Fan. He still lives in Orlando and he teaches painting at Guangzhou University in China part of the year. His English is rusty and broken but it was wonderful to see him.