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Nine incredible years of growth deserves a proper celebration.....
Welcome to Thursday Morning, Orlando!
Oof! Apparently AAA is forecasting Orlando will end up being the top destination for Memorial Day weekend travels. Stay safe out there, ya’ll!
Now onto today’s Orlando Signal (weekend fun) issue:
Medical Debt Magic Trick
Mimosa Land
Orlando Carnival
+ lots of weekend recs
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Let’s roll!
- Philip
💫 Where Food Meets History:
A Delicious Time Travel
Savor Global Flavors with Fellow OS Foodies at the Orlando Signal Packing District Food Hall Crawl
Escape into the air-conditioned Great Southern Box Company food hall on Sunday, June 8th, as your expert storyteller guides you through a mouthwatering expedition across six locally-owned kitchens.
🔥 Savor global flavors while discovering how this former warehouse hub, once filled with crates and cargo, transformed into Orlando's culinary hotspot, where each bite comes with fascinating stories of industrial history turned delicious innovation.
🚨 These intimate tours fill extremely quickly! Secure your spot before they vanish! 👇
3 QUICK NEWS BITS ⏲️
Hurricane Heroes Pack Powerful Punch Against Storm Season
With hurricane season swirling on the horizon, Second Harvest's volunteer army sprang into action Tuesday of last week, assembling hundreds of disaster-ready nutrition kits.
Greg Higgerson highlighted how these treasure chests of shelf-stable Ensure, Pedialyte, and PediaSure products fuel both bodies and spirits during emergency blackouts. The team prepped enough portable kits for 500 couples and 500 families of four, all primed to zoom into shelters when skies darken.
This marks eight years of Second Harvest's parent Feeding America teaming up with Abbott, a dynamic duo born after Hurricane Katrina's wake-up call.
These mighty kits already proved their worth during Hurricane Helene, boosting the partnership toward its one-millionth disaster package milestone this year.
(Learn more about Second Harvest’s hurricane prep with Danielle Prieur, right here)
Orange County's Medical Debt Magic Trick: $472.5M Gone!
Talk about stretching your dollars! Orange County just pulled off an economic miracle, erasing a whopping $472.5 million in medical debt for 310,000 residents with only $3 million from the previous administration’s American Rescue Plan. That's turning pennies into gold with the help of organization, Undue Medical Debt!
Mayor Jerry Demings proudly notes this financial freedom restores dignity to neighbors who've been crushed by healthcare bills. The debt-busting blitz targeted Orlando Health, Advent Health, and collection agencies, focusing on families most financially squeezed.
For advocate Eimar Roy, this isn't just about numbers, it means finally escaping the financial nightmare and enjoying life's simple pleasures without that medical debt cloud hanging overhead.
(Learn more about this amazing medical debt relief with McKenna Schueler, right here)
Hello Green Spaces: Orlando's Urban Refresh Status Update
Two $18 million projects are about to give downtown Orlando some serious curb appeal!
By 2026, the historic City Centre building, currently sporting Red Tape Studio's eye-catching "Achromatic Aria Fresco" mural, will make way for the Lake Eola Park Gateway, connecting Rosalind's pocket park with Lake Eola's new butterfly haven.
Just blocks away, that empty lot at Orange and Pine (yes, the one that briefly flaunted the vintage Merita Bread sign during Immerse Festival) is transforming into a community hangout spot.
City officials have fingers crossed these green dreams will kick-start momentum for the perpetually-on-hold Projection Park.
Downtown's glow-up is officially underway!
(Learn more about these Downtown project updates with Brendan O'Connor, right here)
🙋 Trivia Time
⁉️ Which film, produced by Orlando-based filmmakers, became a national phenomenon in 1999, bringing the “found footage” genre into the mainstream?Click/Tap your answer below |
WEEKEND SPOT HIGHLIGHT 🔦
Milk Mart's 9th Birthday Bash
📍Milk District. 2430 E Robinson St, Orlando, FL 32803. Map to this location.
🕐 Sunday, May 25th, 12 p.m. - 6 p.m.
From 30 vendors in a single lot to 300 artists along Bumby Avenue, what a journey! Join this birthday bash this summer before they hibernate for summer.
Nine incredible years of growth deserves a proper celebration, and this is your last chance to party with us until fall.
Come toast another season of local magic before we blow out the candles!
TOP 3 FUN RECS FOR THE WEEKEND 🍊
Mimosa Land - Mimosa Festival
📍Apopka Amphitheater. 3710 Jason Dwelley Parkway Apopka, FL 32712. Map to this location.
🕐 Saturday, May 24th, 12 p.m. - 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. - 10 p.m.
Elevate your Memorial Weekend at Orlando's Mimosa Land Festival!
Apopka Amphitheater transforms into a paradise of bubbles and beats with two unforgettable sessions (12-4 p.m. & 6-10 p.m.). Your ticket includes a welcome mimosa, with bottomless options for true enthusiasts.
Bring lawn chairs, embrace the vibrant food truck scene, and surrender to soulful rhythms in this effervescent celebration.
Don't just attend, experience the magic where music and mimosas create memories that sparkle long after the last sip.
Sunset at the Zoo
📍Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens. 3755 W. Seminole Blvd. Sanford, FL 32771. Map to this location.
🕐 Friday, May 123rd, 5 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Experience the zoo transformed during golden hour, when day surrenders to dusk.
The Sunset Safari offers intimate pathways through exhibits where nocturnal creatures awaken as others settle in. Perfect for couples' escapes or family adventures, this enchanted evening features live music floating on warm air while local food trucks serve delicious fare.
Special twilight activities complete the magic that only Central Florida Zoo creates when bathed in sunset's amber glow.
Orlando Carnival Downtown: Jouvert
📍Camping Word Stadium. 1 Citrus Bowl Place, Orlando, FL 32805. Map to this location.
🕐 Saturday & Sunday, May 24th - 25th
The Orlando Carnival Downtown transforms the city into a Caribbean wonderland for two electrifying days.
Jewel-adorned dancers move like living kaleidoscopes while steel drums and reggae rhythms make standing still impossible. Your taste buds travel through authentic island flavors as strangers become friends in this infectious celebration.
This cultural explosion erases boundaries. Corporate execs groove alongside grandparents teaching childhood moves from distant shores, offering a passport to Caribbean joy without leaving Orlando.
MORE WEEKEND HAPPENINGS 🎭 🥁
🔥 Presented by: Food for the Soul Cookout this Saturday (May 24th, 1-6pm) at 2109 Clay Street, Kissimmee, FL 34741 for a fusion flavor explosion! FREE admission to this Caribbean-African-Southern soul food celebration at their community grounds. Enjoy delectable cuisine, lively games, and toe-tapping music while kids dive into fun activities. Bring family and friends for this all-ages adventure that feeds both body and spirit! Click here for all the details.
Multi-Day
Weekends at the Winery | Sat & Sun | Clermont | More
Roo’s Menagerie | Sat & Sun | Mills 50 | More
Memorial Day Weekend @ Boxi Park | Fri, Sat & Sun | More
Friday - 23rd
Orlando Carnival Downtown: Carnival On The Runway | 6 p.m. | Downtown | More
Eliza & The Delusionals | 7 p.m. | Downtown | More
EXTC (XTC's Terry Chambers and Friends) and Tremolords in Orlando | 7 p.m. | Winter Park | More
Niels Sayers: Mentalmente | 7 p.m. | Clermont | More
Club XCX | 9 p.m. | Downtown | More
Saturday - 24th
🔥 Cypress Grove Park’s Memorial Day Salute | 9:45 a.m. | Holden Heights | More
Summer Kickoff Party at Aloma Bowl | 1 p.m. | Winter Park | More
I Am Enough 5k and Fun Run for Women's Health | 7 a.m. | St. Cloud | More
YuGiOh! Regional Qualifier | 10 a.m. | Kissimmee | More
Rock 'N Roll Concert & Car Show | 4 p.m. | Casselberry | More
Soca Anthropology | 5 p.m. | Downtown | More
Keyon Harrold | 6 & 9 p.m. | Downtown | More
Orlando City SC vs. Portland Timbers | 7:30 p.m. | Downtown | More
JOA with Dayspells and New Eagles | 8 p.m. | Mills 50 | More
What Do You Want from Us?! @ Bull & Bush | 9 p.m. | Milk District | More
Sunday - 25th
Peanut Butter Matinees: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl | 11 a.m. | Maitland | More
Wickedly Good Wizard Of Oz Tribute Drag Brunch | 12:30 p.m. | I-Drive | More
Orlando Carnival Downtown: "Parade and Concert" | 1 p.m. | Downtown | More
The Don Soledad Group | 5 & 7:30 p.m. | Downtown | More
Candlelight: Best of Video Games | 6:30 p.m. | Downtown | More
One Ok Rock: Detox North American Tour 2025 | 8 p.m. | I-Drive | More
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THANKS!
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We’ll see you on Monday.
My Best,
Philip - Publisher, Orlando Signal