Imperial Wine Bar and Beer Garden – Analog Artist Digital World

Frankie Messina held his Birthday Dance Party at The Imperial Wine Bar and Beer Garden at Washburn Imports (1800 N Orange Ave, Orlando, Florida 32804). Each year Frankie has a sock drive where he collects new socks for the homeless. A $$$ donation of any amount at the DJ booth, would be
used to buy brand new pairs of socks for homeless citizens on our local
streets. No middle man. The new socks would be handed directly to those in need of fresh warm
clean socks. People could also donate a pack of men’s women’s or
children’s socks. This is the least
donated item to homeless shelters. At the base of his DJ mixing station a small mountain of new socks began to gather.

Friends gathered around Frankie talking to him as he mixed the tunes. Another goal for the nights was to bring everyone
together for a good cause and help keep our individual DREAMS alive. Which is why we get up every morning. Frankie was grateful for another
year of good health, and he felt blessed to have such love around him from some
beautiful friends.

The music flowed non-stop from 6pm till Midnight! Giving is easy to do, and it is our duty as
humans to help each other along the way when we can. No presents for no presents for Frankie, yet socks for them! The sign on the front of Frankie’s mixing station said it all, “All that is not given is lost.”

Frankie has started sharing tunes locally on 91.5FM WPRK. Stream it live wprk.org,
or load up the free TUNEIN app on your phone and smart devises. Search
for Rollins Radio WPRK 91.5. Live fun. Drive Time Wednesdays 5-7 pm!

The Imperial Wine Bar and Beer Garden, located in Ivanhoe Village, (1800 N Orange Ave, Orlando, FL) specializes in boutique wines and craft beers. Located in the back of an antiques store, the bar offers an exotic, comfortable yet elegant pub atmosphere. Terry and I went here one night to meet Wendy Wallenberg and her entourage. When we arrived, we spotted Genevieve Bernard and some of her girlfriends. Genevieve works at the Mennello Museum, is the founder of Voci Dance and runs Kid’s Fringe. Needless to say, she is very involved in the arts and always busy. Her husband Seth reports on the arts for the Orlando Weekly, so I bump into him quite often in my explorations. One of Genevieve’s friends knew of my blog. She introduced herself saying, “You might not know me, but I certainly know you since I read your posts.” Another friend said she read Analog Artist Digital World when she moved out of town to check back and see what is happening in Orlando. It made me happy to think I am providing some kind of service with my obsessive sketching and ramblings.

That reminded me, I hadn’t done a sketch yet today. Wendy and her friends arrived and we exchanged places with Genevieve’s friends as they left. The place was packed. The Imperial has over 40 beers and 45 wines to choose from, with something to offer every beer and wine drinker, from the
novice to the adventurous. I muscled up to the crowded bar to get a drink for Terry and myself. I got a German beer, Weissen-something, and Terry wanted a hard cider. Though I risked seeming anti-social, I sketched. A huge blue Buddha sat crated behind our table. Outside, a food truck generator purred. Wendy’s friend Denise ordered some sort of sushi or volcano roll from the truck. As the conversation darted from journalism to fashion to sports cars, my eyes darted about trying to lock people into a composition. Wendy has to be the most animated person I know. She is a constant blur of motion. When we left, Wendy gave Terry pointers on how she needs to customize her new Porche. The car was called “Baby” for a while but now she is called “Enterprise“.