Presidential Villas Blog

Here’s the Presidential Villas lowdown on what’s happening in June in Orlando, from sporting events to art exhibitions, looking at popular destinations such as Amway Arena and Hard Rock Live. You can keep up to date with great things to see and do in Orlando whenever you travel by looking up our blog and reading up on the new and exciting events we’ve found and profiled for you. It’s easy!

Sports

Amway Arena
For football tryouts only, the United Football League tryouts come to Amway on the 6th – why not make a special journey if you think you have the talents to pursue this exciting career? Presidential have villas within minutes of the arena for easy access to tryouts and training.

Concerts/Live Music

Amway Arena
At the Leu Gardens area of the Orlando Venues, why not sit down for a spellbinding night of storytelling on the 15th? This is an event certain to be enjoyed by children and adults alike, as is the “Roman Holiday” preceding it on the 5th. Or why not get into the laughing spirit with the Dane Cook comedy tour on the 26th as his tour passes through Orlando? Or if you’re craving some real American country music, go along to the Central Florida Folk Concert on the 28th, for live sets that the whole family will enjoy.

Hard Rock Live
A veritable melting-pot of different musical tastes and styles find their way into Hard Rock Live, and this June is no different – on the 5th you can enjoy the musical stylings of Wanda Sykes from 7.30pm, with Jim Gaffigan from 7pm only the next night away on the 6th. However, the oldies are the goodies, and for a true Beatles fan, you should go along on the 13th, where from 8.30pm you can enjoy lives sets of track covers from their most famous album: “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”

House of Blues Orlando
On the 13th you can chill out at Better than Ezra with blues artist Tyrone Wells, a perfect wind-down after a busy day running around Disney World.

Theatre/Performing Arts

Amway Arena
The Bob Carr Performing Arts center is the home to Broadway musical Stomp from the 9th-14th June, bringing the best musicals to Orlando. There are daily matinee and evening performances, and great deals for families too.

Exhibitions and Expositions

17th Annual Harvest Festival
From the 12th-14th June, immerse all your senses at the Lakeridge Winery & Vineyards, as you indulge in food and wine tasting, vineyard tours, live music and art and craft stalls and workshops, not to mention that greatest of vineyard harvest traditions – grape stomping! A fantastic festival for both wine connoisseurs and families, this is a unique and fun day out.

Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens
The Fine Art of Craft is celebrated here right through until the 29th June. Enjoy some amazing craft exhibitions across many wonderful trades, and learn the basics of certain techniques in special workshops.

Orange County Regional History Center
Indulge your nostalgic side on the 12th June at the Retro Game Night at the Regional History Center, and discover classic board and video games for free throughout the evening from 7pm and play until midnight – to make the event extra special, the Center encourages you to dress in a retro style, so join in and have fun!

Orlando Museum of Art
Right through until 4th October this year, a major glass exhibition by artist Therman Statom is showing at the prestigious Orlando Museum of Art, with his installation exhibit ‘Stories of the New World’ – an interesting and new style of art. Right up until November, you can take the kids to hear Aesop’s Fables and Other Tales, both with storytelling and art. This is combined with ‘Storytime in the Gallery’ which runs until August and features the books of Jerry Pinkney – these children’s tales will enthrall your children.

So-Raw! Sushi Festival
Taking place at Sora at Gaylord Palms Resort, this celebration of sushi and it’s worldwide growing appeal and traditional methods of creation, will make you drool on the 12th June. You can join in discussions on the fine art of sushi-making, take part in free tastings, get recipe ideas, and watch professional sushi chefs work their culinary magic.

Star Wars Weekends at Hollywood Studios
Star Wars fans and sci-fi enthusiasts will be in their element from the 22nd May and continuing until the 14th June – every weekend, you can marvel at amazing memorabilia, special shows and presentations.

The Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center
Seussical the Musical from 19-21st June, offers an even more entertaining (if possible) element to your favourite Dr Suess characters, performing and lyrical-styling to a range of musical styles.

Crealde School of Art
“The Art of Fellowship,” the exhibition that began in April, is still running and features the works of emerging artists.

The Orlando Science Center
“Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure,” a film exploring the wonders of marine life, continues to play through Spring 2009. Taking in life-forms too odd to even be featured on the Discovery Channel, some of the oddest ocean-dwelling specimens found in our world, from the frightening, vicious, and remarkable, to the downright peculiar!

Here’s the Presidential Villas lowdown on what’s happening in May in Orlando, from sporting events to art exhibitions, looking at popular destinations such as Amway Arena and Hard Rock Live. You can keep up to date with great things to see and do in Orlando whenever you travel by looking up our blog and reading up on the new and exciting events we’ve found and profiled for you. It’s easy!

Sports

Amway Arena
Slam-dunk with Orlando Magic on May 20th, 24th and 26th as the famous basketball team takes on the Cleveland Cavaliers. Whether you’re new to the sport or a lifelong fan, this team always put on a great show! Alternatively, if you’re after something rather different, the official PlayStation tour is coming on the 18th, a must for dedicated gamers from all over the world.

Concerts/Live Music

Amway Arena
Chill out at the Caribbean Festival on the 24th, enjoying traditional music ranging from funky soul, reggae and chilled tunes, dancing, mouth-watering foods and lots of traditional goods to buy.

Hard Rock Live
On the 24th May, Hard Rock Live presents Delirium with Roger Sanchez, blasting tunes into the night from 8pm ‘til late, and on the 29th fans of Pink Floyd can take a nostalgic trip from 8.30pm, with live performances of tracks from their iconic ‘Wish You Were Here’ album. Live sets at Hard Rock are always an event not to be missed, so try to catch at least one during your stay in Orlando.

House of Blues Orlando
There are so many laid back and soulful blues acts on at House of Blues this month. Gavin Rossdale is there on the 19th, supported by Nico Vega. Red Jumpsuit Apparatus spring onto the stage on the 24th, supported by Fit for Rivals and Go Radio. Round things off on the 31st with Matisyahu and Les Claypool followed by Reik.

Orlando Taiko Festival 2009
This free Japanese concert takes place at The Village at Hunters Creek, where you can enjoy both musical and visual art.

Rock by the Clock
Elvis tribute act Dwight Icenhower takes on Old Town until the 27th May,

Theatre/Performing Arts

Noises Off
Garden Theatre in Winter Garden is showing this interactive comedy until the 24th May, a hilarious play-within-a-play comedy with disastrous twists and turns both on and off-stage.

The Orlando International Fringe Festival
If you’re holidaying in Orlando in May and love live events, you have come to the right place! An amazing and unconventional mix of live music, theatre, dancing and all manner of strange performance styles, the twelve-day festival runs from 14-25th May at Loch Haven Park. It runs along the same lines as the UK’s famous Edinburgh Festival, with all ticket proceeds going back to the performance artists – if you want to support new and emerging talents, this is the place to be. At the weekends, a smaller ‘Kids Fringe’ festival is a more family-friendly affair for parents with young children.

Exhibitions and Expositions

Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens
The Fine Art of Craft is celebrated here from the 19th, right into June. Enjoy some amazing craft exhibitions across many wonderful trades, and learn the basics of certain techniques in special workshops.

Bok Tower Gardens
“Vignettes in Paint”, a beautiful watercolour exhibition, is on at Bok Tower Gardens on the 28th May, featuring the work of acclaimed watercolour artist Robert Leedy, showcasing his fresh paintings, which cover scenes from his worldwide travels. Wander the gardens and enjoy browsing the work all day from 8am-6pm.

Orlando Museum of Art
Right through until 4th October this year, a major glass exhibition by artist Therman Statom is showing at the prestigious Orlando Museum of Art, with his installation exhibit ‘Stories of the New World’ – an interesting and new style of art. Right up until November, you can take the kids to hear Aesop’s Fables and Other Tales, both with storytelling and art. This is combined with ‘Storytime in the Gallery’ which runs until August and features the books of Jerry Pinkney – these children’s tales will enthrall your children.

The Osceola Center for the Arts
The 2009 Juried Art Exhibition runs from the 4th-29th May, featuring 55 local artists vying for the first prize of this prestigious art competition.

Star Wars Weekends at Hollywood Studios
Star Wars fans and sci-fi enthusiasts will be in their element from the 22nd May and continuing right into June – every weekend, you can marvel at amazing memorabilia, special shows and presentations.

Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival
Themed displays of plants and exotic flowers burst into bloom at the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival that began in mid April and finishes on the 31st of this month, at the Epcot Center in Epcot, one of the theme parks of Disney World. If you’ve got green fingers, you can also attend workshops and talks led by gardening experts and celebrity gardeners to get you motivated to do a bit of re-potting!

The Orlando Science Center
“Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure,” a film exploring the wonders of marine life, will be playing through Spring 2009. Taking in life-forms too odd to even be featured on the Discovery Channel, some of the oddest ocean-dwelling specimens found in our world, from the frightening, vicious, and remarkable, to the downright peculiar!

Here’s the Presidential Villas lowdown on what’s happening in April in Orlando, from sporting events to art exhibitions, looking at popular destinations such as Amway Arena and Hard Rock Live. You can keep up to date with great things to see and do in Orlando whenever you travel by looking up our blog and reading up on the new and exciting events we’ve found and profiled for you. It’s easy!

Sports

Amway Arena
All through April from the first onwards, the Orlando Magic basketball team will be shooting hoops against big-name teams such as the New York Knicks (10th April) and the Charlotte Bobcats (15th April). Games are played approximately every 4 days, so if you’re a fan of basketball or just curious about one of America’s biggest sports, look them up and see who’s playing when you’re in town!

Osceola County Cracker Day & Ranch Rodeo
While you’re based near Disney World, why not pop along to the Kissimmee Sports Arena in early April an get a taste of real American cowboy traditions as Osceola County ranchers compete in a variety of rodeo categories, from bull riding to calf roping, which will provide quite a thrill. If you’re looking for something a bit quirky, there’s also the wild cow-milking contest!

Concerts/Live Music

Amway Arena
There are plenty of diverse acts coming to the Orlando venues in April including an exclusive evening with Fleetwood Mac on the 20th, Denis Leary’s ‘Rescue Me’ comedy tour on the 23rd, and many more assorted acts and music styles playing throughout the month, from rock and pop to classical and jazz.

Hard Rock Live
Over April 2009, Hard Rock Live will be home to acts such as Ben Folds on the 18th, Everclear on the first, an evening with Chicago on the 3rd, Cheech and Chong on the 5th, Bill Maher on the 10th, and a live evening of music from classic albums on the 18th, featuring Led Zeppelin’s ‘Physical Graffiti’. With a new act on every few nights, so you can guarantee there will be a great live set for you to enjoy whatever dates your holiday covers.

JazzFest Kissimmee
The annual JazzFest takes place on the third weekend in April, featuring live music performances from local schools, regional entertainers, and also shows exhibitions of art for sale, alongside the stalls of many different types of foods. Admission to the festival is free.

Viva La Musica
An exciting celebration of Hispanic culture, this fiesta of sound is hosted by SeaWorld Orlando on selected dates throughout April, so it is worth looking ahead to see when the celebrations are on if you are planning to visit SeaWorld, as admission charges are combined. You can enjoy live performances from award-winning Latin musicians, join in with the salsa dancing, sample some Hispanic cuisine and browse an exhibition exploring this interesting and colourful culture.

Theatre/Performing Arts

Amway Arena
The Orlando Venues burst into song with opera and classical performances throughout April, including an exclusive evening of music and dance from the National Philharmonic of Russia on the 4th, and performances of music by John Williams (composer of the Harry Potter original soundtrack music) on the 11th. Further into April and rounding off the month there are Broadway productions of family favourite Chitty Chitty Bang Bang all the way through from the 11th to the 19th of April.

Circus Cirque du Soleil
Throughout April, this famous circus troupe present their popular ‘La Nouba’ show, with spectacular performances from clowns, trapeze artists and unicyclists, to make up this incredible set of imagination-bending showpieces. Performances are twice daily Tuesday-Saturday at Downtown Disney.

Orlando Cabaret Festival
Taking place throughout the middle of April at the Mad Cow Theatre, the Orlando Cabaret Festival is a theatrical spectacular of forty shows over eighteen days, featuring old favourites and new acts from Broadway.

Orlando-UCF Shakespeare Festival
All the way through April you can go along to the beautiful Lake Eola Amphitheater fo watch some great classical productions as part of the Orlando-UCF Shakespeare Festival, featuring two outdoor productions – a comedy and a tragedy – of some of Shakespeare’s best-loved works.

The Florida Film Festival
This annual festival of film and filmography that began in March runs until the 5th April and features short films, documentaries, independent offerings, and film-making lectures across various locations in Orlando and central Florida, and is well worth looking up if you’re visiting at this time.

Exhibitions and Expositions

Crealde School of Art
The school’s three new exhibitions kick off with “The Art of Fellowship,” featuring the works of emerging artists, from 18th April.

Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival
Themed displays of plants and exotic flowers burst into bloom at the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival from mid April right through into summer, at the Epcot Center in Epcot, one of the theme parks of Disney World. If you’ve got green fingers, you can also attend workshops and talks led by gardening experts and celebrity gardeners to get you motivated to do a bit of re-potting!

Maitland Art Center
The Art Center’s exhibition “The Seminoles, The Reeves Collection,” that began in March runs right through until the 26th April, with other permanent exhibition work on display.

Spring Fiesta in the Park
Spring Fiesta in the Park features stands and small exhibitions from a diverse range of artists from all over the United States and runs through early April. Amongst the various types of arts on sale are jewellery, glassware, paintings, wood sculptures and pottery. The festival is held in the surrounds of Lake Eola in Downtown Orlando, and live bands play throughout the day. This is a great opportunity to pick up some lasting souvenirs of your stay.

The Orlando Science Center
“Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure,” a film exploring the wonders of marine life, will be playing through Spring 2009. Taking in life-forms too odd to even be featured on the Discovery Channel, some of the oddest ocean-dwelling specimens found in our world, from the frightening, vicious, and remarkable, to the downright peculiar!

Here’s the Presidential Villas lowdown on what’s happening in March in Orlando, from sporting events to art exhibitions, looking at popular destinations such as Amway Arena and Hard Rock Live. You can keep up to date with great things to see and do in Orlando whenever you travel by looking up our blog and reading up on the new and exciting events we’ve found and profiled for you. It’s easy!

Sports

Amway Arena
All through March from the 11th right through into April, the Orlando Magic basketball team will be slam-dunking against big-name teams such as the New York Knicks (21 March) and the Boston Celtics (25 March). Games are played approximately every 4 days, so if you’re a fan of basketball or just curious about one of America’s biggest sports, look them up and see who’s playing when you’re in town!

Concerts/Live Music

Amway Arena
13th March has New Kids on the Block performing at Amway, but if you’ve missed that there will be plenty of diverse acts coming to the Orlando venues in April including an exclusve evening with Fleetwood Mac, so pop back to the blog later for what’s on in April to find out more!

Hard Rock Live
Over March 2009, Hard Rock Live will be home to acts such as Rockstar Taste of Chaos on the 18th, Everclear on the 19th, Louis CK on the 20th and a live evening of music from classic albums on the 27th, featuring The Beatles’ ‘Abbey Road’. With a new act on every few nights, so you can guarantee there will be a great live set for you to enjoy whatever dates your holiday covers.

Theatre/Performing Arts

Amway Arena
Legally Blonde is the Broadway spectacular showing nightly from 10th to the 15th March, followed by Classic Brahms performed by the Orlando Philharmonic orchestra on the 21st, and various performances by the Orlando Ballet company from the 27th to 29th (with two performances on the 28th, including a one-off ballet of the children’s classic Peter and the Wolf). On the 20th of March, Disney Playhouse Live is in town for one night only, a family performance allowing children to interact with Mickey Mouse and friends.

Mardi Gras at Universal Studios
March means Mardi Gras in Orlando! Taking place at Universal Studios, Mardi Gras is a colourful mish mash of fun, with New Orleans-Style parades, spicy Cajun foods and live performances by groups such as Barenaked Ladies, Montgomery Gentry, and Collective Soul, starting at 5pm every evening of the 7th, 14th and 21st of March - this is a carnival not to be missed!

The Florida Film Festival
Running from the 27th March to 5th April at various locations around Orlando, the annual Florida Film festival features short films, documentaries, independent offerings, and even film-making lectures for those who think they have the director’s stamina or a cameraman’s eye. With various events going on across Orlando, it is worth doing a little investigative work to find out what’s on and where when you’re going to be in the area.

Theatre Downtown
Sylvia, the AR Gurney romantic comedy classic, is showing here from 16th March to 7th April, starring new stage talent Jennifer Gannon as Sylvia.

UCF Conservatory Theatre
The Rocky Horror Show is running here nightly from 29th March to 15th April. The cult musical, directed by Earl Weaver, is silly but fun.

Winter Park Playhouse
I Love a Piano opens on the 23rd March at this small theatre in the fashionable Winter Park just outside Orlando. The Central Florida Premiere of this Irving Berlin tribute covers 5 decades of Berlin music and will be showing on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Exhibitions and Expositions

Walt Disney World
Epcot, Disney’s informational technological and cultural theme park, hosts the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival from the 18th to 31st March, a chance to get closer to some beautiful flora and fauna.

Crealde School of Art
“Displacement: Sculpture and Installation by Gagik Aroutiunian,” a retrospective of work by the sculptor Aroutiunian, starts from the 14th March. Later on in the month, you can immerse yourself in “A Decade of Zora! Festival Posters,” which celebrates the 20th year of the area’s Zora Festival, starting from the 28th.

Maitland Art Center
“The Seminoles, The Reeves Collection,” will be shown from 13th March to 26th April at this art gallery, alongside other permanent works.

The Orlando Science Center
“Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure,” a film exploring the wonders of marine life, will be playing through Spring 2009. Taking in life-forms too odd to even be featured on the Discovery Channel, some of the oddest ocean-dwelling specimens found in our world, from the frightening, vicious, and remarkable, to the downright peculiar!

Hard Rock Live is one of Orlando’s most fantastic live venues, with an imposing and impressive decor of towering columns, archways, and a huge VIP-style entrance! Part of the famous Hard Rock Cafe brand, Hard Rock Live puts on great live acts all year round for music lovers with a taste for all kinds of music. The venue’s spellbinding lighting effects and perfectly pitched sound experiences create the perfect atmosphere for a live music extravaganza.

Upcoming bands at Hard Rock Live, Orlando:

March

Over March 2009, Hard Rock Live will be home to acts such as Morrissey, Jesse McCartney, and George Lopez to just name a few, with a new act on every few nights, so you can guarantee there will be a great live set for you to enjoy whatever dates your holiday covers.

Into May and June, acts such as Stephen Lynch and Wanda Sykes will be gracing the stage, so check out the venue’s website for further updates as they come in.

There’re always new and exciting additions being added to what’s available at Disney World, and we have the scoop on what’s coming up later this year. Our Kissimmee villas are all within minutes of Disney so take advantage of your position and ensure that you’re first in line!

Disney’s Hollywood Studios is set to launch it’s new American Idol attraction this year, based on the popular reality TV series.

Are you a sports fan? The Champion Stadium at Disney’s Wide World of Sports becomes home to the Atlanta Braves’ spring training this year, before hosting games for fans to enjoy. Book your tickets well in advance. Between 27th February and 1st March, you can take in non-stop sports action at ESPN The Weekend at Hollywood Studios park, presented by Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Epcot, Disney’s informational technological and cultural theme park, hosts the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival from the 18th to 31st March, a chance to get closer to some beautiful flora and fauna. This park also hosts annual food and wine festivals, so check dates before you travel to avoid disappointment.

Disney constantly adds and updates its rides, so stay tuned for further information throughout the year.

Orlando’s Amway Arena (previously named the Orlando Arena), is an impressive sporting venue with many additional facilities under the umbrella name of “The Orlando Venues,” including the Bob Carr Performing Arts Center, the Mennello Museum and The Harry P. Leu Gardens. This huge entertainment complex covers space for basketball, arena football, ice shows, hockey and even circus spectaculars. There are also plenty of restaurants, so take the opportunity to take in the atmosphere with other fans, spectators and tourists before you watch a game or catch a show.

Upcoming events in 2009 across The Orlando Venues include:

Concerts - New Kids on the Block, Celtic Woman, Disturbed, Yanni Voices and Fleetwood Mac will all be gracing the concert hall to kickstart 2009, with countless other acts performing throughout the year. This part of the complex also hosts stand up comedy acts, so check out their website to check out what’s on when you’re in the area.

Arts and Theatre - Throughout February, the Bob Carr Performing Arts Center theatre will be showing various ballets performed by the Orlando Ballet, and also the Broadway extravaganza Chorus Line, performed by Suntrust Broadway Across America. To close February, Orlando Opera takes over, bringing you singing into March with the stage production of Legally Blonde and Brahms performed by the Orlando Philharmonic. In April Chitty Chitty Bang Bang bursts onto the stage, followed by a ballet take on the tragic story of Romeo and Juliet into the start of May. Check Amway’s website for continuing news for what’s on at the theatre when you’re in Orlando.

The Bob Carr Performing Arts Center will also host the World Ballet Competition from June 22-27, featuring the Central Florida Ballet. Special appearances will be made by entertainment celebrities who have particular ties to the dance form.

Basketball - Home to the team Orlando Magic, basketball is a huge deal at Amway with exemplary spectator seating. Orlando Magic play their home games here throughout the season. In February you can support them as they take on the Dallas Mavericks, LA Clippers, Miami Heat and Detroit Pistons to just name a few, with further home games against teams such as Phoenix Suns, New Jersey Nets, Chicago Bulls and the New York Knicks - famously the favorite team of the characters of US sitcom ‘Friends’.

The venue is also home to the Orlando Predators American football team, and the Orlando Sharks Soccer team, with many sporting events covered at this venue all year round including the Champs Sports Bowl and Capitol One Bowl. Baseball is also represented on the floodlit Tinker Field outdoor stadium, and well worth experiencing on a nice sunny afternoon. Check up on the Arena’s website today to see when your favorite sport is represented, and get in on the action!

Another part of The Orlando Venues, Harry P. Leu Gardens is a wonderful collection of Southern-styled gardens spanning fifty acres, with three miles of paved walkways, and including tropical stream gardens, butterfly gardens, and much more, so if the action of the stadium gets too exhausting, why not break up your trip a little with a quiet stroll around this peaceful paradise. Alternatively, visit the Mennello Museum: This collection of American art is currently host to the John Sloan exhibition until 22nd March 2009, and has a fascinating permanent exhibition all year round.

Forever Florida is one of Florida’s largest nature parks with over 4700 acres of wetlands, woodlands, and cypress forest, all completely untamed and a prime example of the beautifully unspoilt natural surroundings to be enjoyed in Florida. Shared coach trips or horseback safari-style adventures are already available at this amazing park, but new for 2009 is something very different: a Zipline Safari. This is the only experience of its kind in Florida, and takes guests on a nature tour above the tree-tops, reaching thrillingly high heights and speeds as you experience a near-flight sensation.

This site is purported to be the home to nine ecosystems, so there is a bounty of natural beauty to enjoy, and if you’re lucky you might just spot some white-tail deer, black bears, or even the now endangered Florida Panther!

Orlando is home to the huge Orange County Convention Center, and Presidential Villas is proud to offer some great convention villas just around the corner! The Convention Center is a key destination for business conferences, networking events, lectures and training, and prides itself on business hospitality.

However, there is so much more to the Convention Center than just business meetings, with hundreds of gatherings, expositions and retail events throughout the year. For example, in March you can enjoy looking around the Electronic House Exposition – the future is closer than you think! There are many different events on, just check before you go that it’s open to the public! Some require pre-booking but many are open to the public, and free. There are talks and expositions covering a hugely diverse range of subjects, from championship sports, to wedding fairs, diamond auctions, church events, and many more.

There is nothing more relaxing than laying back, closing your eyes and letting someone else ease all the strain and tension from your body through luxurious massage and relaxation treatments. Orlando has an abundance of day spas, perfect for a pampering session, especially if your hectic lifestyle doesn’t usually lend itself to such comforts. You could opt for a soothing facial to help regenerate your skin after exposing it to the Floridian sunshine, or a soothing foot rub after running about shopping all day! This blog entry offers a look at just a few of Orlando’s finest spas – you may want to ask the locals where they would recommend!

Pierre Day Spa
Located in Edgewater Drive, this serene space offers a variety of therapies, mainly Swedish in origin, intended to re-energize your body as well as relax your muscles. Seaweed-wrap facials and sea-salt skin exfoliation treatments feature in their oceanic-themed packages; however there are many other types of treatments available, including a strangely guilty chocolate cream pedicure! Prices here vary depending on the packages, so it’s worth having a look at if you want to sample a little luxury on a small budget.

Gary Lambert Salon & Spa
Okay, so you need to drive out to Winter Park for this one, but if you’ve got the money it’s well worth looking into. This larger salon includes hair and skin care as well as massage and facial packages, so if you need your hair cut you can do it all in one place! Prices can be a little steep here, but the place has some great reviews and focuses on personal attention.

Acqua Day Spa
This spa is Exclusive with a capital ‘E’, but it’s worth it! Only available on Mondays and Tuesdays, booking is essential, however this difficulty of getting into the spa is its man exclusive feature… because the prices are very reasonable. A very private spa, they are committed to promoting healthy living to their clients, offering body treatments, massages and facials. Located in the Windermere Business Center, they also offer waxing, eyelash tinting, and various skincare packages.

Blush Day Spa
Located in Altamonte Springs (just outside Orlando), Blush Day Spa is a luxurious yet peaceful spa, with packages for just an hour, up to the entire day, claiming to “rejuvenate your mind, body and spirit” with their professional treatments and cheery staff. With customized packages to fit in with whatever you want from the treatment, this spa offers a very personal approach, and can also accommodate birthday parties and wedding groups.

Sanctuary Salon & Day Spa
Right in the heart of Orlando, this up-market spa focuses itself on spoiling its guests rotten, and provides a few treatments not offered by its competitors – including Botox and facial fillers, and makeovers.

Buena Vista Palace
Part of Disney World, this spa is ideal for mums who want to escape from the theme park but still be near the rest of the family. Modern and stylish, this spa offers over 60 different treatments, and also has a swimming pool and fitness center, so you can get a sweat on and then have your muscles massaged for ultimate relaxation.

There is so much to do in Florida beyond riding rollercoasters and flopping on the beach. For a chance to stimulate your grey cells, why not take the opportunity to explore new cultures and immerse yourself in stage, screen, arts and aliens as you discover the wealth of cultural offerings around Orlando and Miami. Our following guide to what’s new in 2009 is just a small taste of what you could find to immerse yourself in this year:

Art Exhibitions

Crealde School of Art will start off 2009 with three new exhibitions, kicking off with “The Art of Fellowship,” featuring the works of emerging artists, from April 18, 2009. In March, you can catch a retrospective of Aroutiunian’s strange and interesting sculpture work under the title “Displacement: Sculpture and Installation by Gagik Aroutiunian,” starting from the 14th, or later on in the month, you can immerse yourself in “A Decade of Zora! Festival Posters,” which celebrates the 20th year of the area’s Zora Festival, starting from the 28th.

Maitland Art Center opens “The Art of Ganesh,” from 9th January to 22nd February, “The Seminoles, The Reeves Collection,” from 13th March to 26th April, “Florida Craftsmen,” from 15th May to 13th July, “Recent Acquisitions & Gifts,” from 20th July to 28th August, and “30/30, A Compact Juried Competition,” from 11th September to 25th October, so there is always an interesting exhibition running all through 2009, and well worth a look.

The Orlando Museum of Art has several new exhibits opening in 2009 including: “American Portraits and Landscapes,” which runs as a permanent exhibition throughout 2009; “Therman Statom: Stories of the New World,” from 10th January to 10th May, and “Jerry Pinkney: Aesop’s Fables and Other Tails,” from 9th May to 16th August, an engaging look at the morals and meanings behind some of Aesops most beloved children’s tales.

A new art space, The Gallery at Avalon Island, has also newly opened, featuring monthly art exhibits held on the third Thursday of each month. The gallery will also stage the Global Peace Film Festival and the Florida Film Festival in 2009 in its 80-seat movie theatre.

There are plenty of art exhibitions to see, and most of Orlando’s main galleries also house some fantastic permanent exhibitions.

Theatrical Productions

You may feel far from Broadway in Orlando, but you needn’t be, as the talented theatre group Broadway Across America’s Orlando contingent will be putting on some amazing performances in the spring, from March to June, including musical versions of Legally Blonde and Jersey Boys, the epic musical Stomp, and family favorite Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Mad Cow Theatre is an independent theatre company showing more contemporary performances, and will kick off its run in 2009 with “Eurydice,” from 23rd January to 22nd  February, followed by “The Year of Magical Thinking,” and carrying on throughout the year with modern theatre and musicals such as “Amadeus,” “Fully Committed,”; “Forbidden Broadway: Greatest Hits Volume 1,” “I am My Own Wife,” and “Harvey,” taking you up to the end of August. Check before you go to see what’s on, or simply turn up and trust to chance, these will all be great plays performed by strong, independent casts with a fresh style of acting. “The Orlando Cabaret Festival,” will also be held here from 30th April to 10th May.

There are many stage theatres in Orlando and the surrounding area, including many small, independent production houses, so have a look around and find out what’s on near you.

Science and Technology

Bringing you and your family closer to the strange wonders of the underwater world, The Orlando Science Center’s new film, “Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure,” will be playing through Spring 2009. Taking in life-forms too odd to even be featured on the Discovery Channel, some of the oddest ocean-dwelling specimens found in our world, from the frightening, vicious, and remarkable, to the downright peculiar!

We may have caught a peek at a few images on the News, but now you can you’re your extra-terrestrial eye opened to so many more incredible images of worlds beyond our own humble blue planet, with the launch of the Kennedy Space Center’s “Eye on the Universe: The Hubble Space Telescope” exhibit, showing some powerful Hubble images of other planetary terrain, and exploring the science of deep space. Visitors can step into the universe and immerse themselves in the examination of ancient stars, nebulas and galaxies beyond our own…the truth is out there!

There are so many great festivals and events to get involved with in Florida, mainly centered in Orlando, and are a great source of alternative entertainment if you’re looking for something extraordinary. There’s so much fun to be had in eclectic ways, some geared nicely towards different budgets.

The Florida Film Festival runs from the 27th March to 5th April and features short films, documentaries, independent offerings, and even film-making lectures for those who think they have the director’s stamina or a cameraman’s eye. It takes place across various locations in Orlando and central Florida, and is well worth looking up if you’re visiting at this time. It’s an annual event, so if you miss it this time round, try again next year.

In May, the Florida Music Festival offers a huge range of different types of music, from acoustic to hardcore, making this a great opportunity to sample some genres you might not usually listen to, and watch live bands both popular and unknown. If you’re in the music biz, here’s where you should come to get in some networking with industry professionals and other bands. There are also two extra mini-festivals added onto this, with the Indie film Jam, a competition for music video makers, and the Rock Walk Art Exhibition, which shows interesting arts and crafts inspired by music. There’s a lot to pack in with this event but there are usually multi-day passes for sale.

Maybe musical theatre is more to your aural tastes? If so, you could pop into the Mad Cow Theatre for a few performances as part of the Orlando Cabaret Festival, also in May.

Start training, because in September you could take part in the Downtown Orlando Triathlon, where competitors take part in relays, group races, swimming, cycling and running. This is a huge event and attracts sportsmen from all over the world, however if just the mere thought of this makes you sweat, being a spectator is great fun too and won’t cost you a penny. Alternatively, get involved in a very different sport by taking a trip to the United States Dance Championships, an exciting and exhilarating dance event with contestants from all over the world and individual and group entries to enjoy.

If you’re visiting in November, head to the Silver Springs area to take in some real American culture and history by attending the Native American Festival. You can enjoy traditional dances and foods, and watch live entertainment. This is not only a great day out but also a great opportunity to learn more about America’s origins.