A special-effects entrepreneur from Alabama has come up with a way to fill the sky with foamy clouds as big as 4 feet across and shaped like corporate logos - Flogos, as he calls them.

Francisco Guerra, who’s also a former magician, developed a machine that produces tiny bubbles filled with air and a little helium, forms the foam into shapes and pumps them into the sky.

The Walt Disney Co. will use one of the machines next month to send clouds shaped like Mickey Mouse heads into the air at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., Guerra said.

If you visit the Flogos website, you can watch videos of the machine in action. Here is the one of Mickey Mouse ears flying up into the sky.

On a side note, Dewayne of the Orlando Sentinel’s Theme Park Rangers blog posted a note about how Wheel of Fortune is coming to Sea World. In mid-December, four weeks of shows will be taped and the contestant search will begin soon. I got a head start on that process by filling out the contestant registration form on the Wheel of Fortune website.

Just to see who’s ready to be on the show, here’s a puzzle …

_ _ Y _ E   _ _ D   _ E _ _ _ _ E

There are a number of running events that take place around Orlando throughout the year. Many of them benefit charities and all of them are an excellent opportunity to get some exercise. People of all ages and body types line up to run distances between 5K and the full marathon. Here are a few races that are open for registration and might inspire you to lace up a pair of running shoes.

3rd Annual Moss Park Forest Run
Heralded as the best off road running venue in Florida, this is a MUST for anyone who considers themselves a runner. Features a 100% shaded course and an awards ceremony on the beach of beautiful Lake Mary Jane. Takes place in early August, with both a 5K and 10K race.

Expedition Everest^TM Challenge
In addition to a 5K through Animal Kingdom, participants will navigate their way through an obstacle course and scavenger hunt during a fun-filled evening. Once the challenge is completed, an exclusive after-hours party that features access to Khali River Rapids, Dinoland U.S.A., and Expedition Everest will thrill everyone until the wee hours of the morning. Takes place in late September.

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror^TM 13K
Gear up for Halloween with this 13K night-race through Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. When you’re finished, enjoy exclusive access to The Twilight Zone Tower or Terror and Rock ‘N Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith … assuming that you’re heart and mind are ready for such an adventure. Takes place in late October.

The attraction is located on the new Pixar street in the west section of the park just past the Animation tour. Upon entering the queue area, you’re surrounded by oversized board games, toys and a whimsical animatronic version of Mr. Potato Head. It’s a room that kids will love and a place that many people will get to know very well as they spend their time waiting in line.

The attraction itself is a ride that winds its way through a series of virtual, 3-D midway games very similar to the ones you’ve played at parks, fairs and arcades. The technology is so good that you’ll feel like you’re playing the real thing. You’ll want to be ready for the extra effects that have been added in for some of the targets, you only have a limited amount of time to rack up a high score.

I’d give more details, but great attractions should be experienced first-hand. Toy Story Mania will be available to all guests on or about June 17th, and it’s definitely worth a trip out to the park.

Those are the words of the Orange County Arts & Cultural Affairs office regarding the Public Art Treasure Caches they have hidden near pieces of public art all around Orange County. These Caches have been hidden in an effort to let more citizens experience public art through an exciting and adventurous journey around Orange County.

If you missed out on the Great Public Art Challenge, here’s your chance to search out some of Central Florida’s most interesting artwork.

Here’s how it works:
1. If you’d like, get a small journal to stamp with the stamp found in each Public Art Cache. You can also get a rubber stamp of your own to stamp the journal in the Cache found at each site. While there should be a pen and an inkpad in each Cache along with the journal, you might want to bring your own pen and inkpad as backup.

2. Print out the clues from the OCA&CA website for directions to where the Public Art Caches are hidden.

3. Follow the clues to find a Cache.

4. The stamp in the Cache represents that art piece. Stamp your findings in your personal journal, documenting the date, location and art piece. Using your own stamp (or personal drawing), mark the journal in the Cache and leave your name, date, and any other information you would like.

5. Place the Cache back exactly where you found it and make sure it is well hidden for the next hunter.

The Tibet-Butler Preserve was purchased in 1989 by the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) through the Save Our Rivers Program, to protect the watershed along Lake Tibet-Butler on the Butler Chain of Lakes. In addition to views of the lake, the Preserve showcases approximately 440 acres of natural Florida, including wetlands, flatwoods, and scrub communities.

At present time, six trails meander through diverse plant communities at the Preserve and total approximately four miles. Learning stations dot these trails and correspond to the text in the brochure. In the future, we will continue to open new trails which will traverse deeper into the Preserve and explore more of Florida’s natural treasures.

It’s the type of place where you can take a quiet walk through the woods and relax on a bench overlooking the edges of one of Central Florida’s great lakes. You’re guaranteed to see a handful of turtles and there’s always the possibility of ospreys, bobcats, turkeys and owls while on the trails. The trails are well-maintained, with portions built as boardwalks that cross the wetland swamp and marsh areas.

The most peaceful place at the Preserve is the “Osprey Outlook”. Set on the edge of Lake Tibet Butler, this covered pavilion is an excellent spot to rest and enjoy the sounds of nature. Bring a pair of binoculars to spy on all of the wildlife in the area.

For hours and more information, visit their page on the Orange County Parks & Recreation site.

The video can be found on PRNewswire.

Looking back on the history of Central Florida, there are a few common threads. American Indians, the growth of the citrus industry, the great freeze of 1894-1895, the two World Wars and the explosion of the tourist industry all shaped the area into the towns and cities we know today. But while there are many commonalities, no two places are exactly alike. Many of these unique details are quite interesting.

For example, after the civil war, the area around Kissimmee was included in a purchase of four million acres by Hamilton Disston, the owner of Disston Saw Company in Philadelphia, for the sale price of $1 million (25 cents an acre). Prior to Apopka’s incorporation in 1882, the Freemasons constructed The Lodge, which was completed in 1859 as the home to Orlando Lodge #36 (where it still stands today). Dr. Phillips, an unincorporated suburb of Orlando, was named after citrus magnate Dr. Phillip Phillips, who owned orange groves that stretched across 9 counties in the early 20th century.

To make it easy, here are links to the histories of the areas around Central Florida. The Winter Park site is especially detailed, and the history of Conway includes some letters written by the daughter of one of Orlando’s earliest settlers.

• History of Orlando (City of Orlando)
• History of Orlando (Orlando: A Visual History)
• History of Winter Park
• History of Apopka
• History of Ocoee
• History of Winter Garden
• History of Dr. Phillips
• History of Kissimmee
• History of Oviedo
• History of Conway
• History of Casselberry
• History of Lake Mary
• History of Sanford (Sanford Historical Society)

Whenever I visit a theme park, I find myself putting together a mental list of things that the park does well and another of what could be improved. Here are my lists from yesterday …

Things SeaWorld does well
- The animals and show performers are always on their “A” game
- Animal education is a top priority
- New shows sacrifice animal “face-time” for better entertainment
- Excellent variety of food selections

Things SeaWorld could improve upon
- Too many employees don’t care about the guest experience
- Second-class attractions are treated as an after thought

Just to expand on these “areas of improvement”, of the 10 or so non-performing, non-educational employees we interacted with, only 2 of them seemed to care about their job. The team members at Kraken were involved in a non guest-related dispute of sorts, making for a very inefficient load-unload of the park’s best attraction.

The “second-class” attractions I’m speaking of are “Clyde and Seamore Take Pirate Island” and “Wild Arctic”. The performance of “Clyde and Seamore” seemed more like a pre-hours rehearsal, with the cast members joking around and improvising on an already poor script. “Wild Arctic” was abysmal, as the entire pre-show was skipped and the overview/security film was presented in a “let’s just get this over with” manner. The ride was then interrupted mid-way through with the end-of-show security message about waiting for the doors to open before unbuckling our seat belts.

With all of that said, I still think SeaWorld does an excellent job of providing a fantastic overall guest experience and it’s a park that I always enjoy visiting. I’m really excited to see how their newly announced thrill ride comes together and am also looking forward to my first visit to Aquatica.

For some pictures of SeaWorld, check the out the newly updated photo gallery.

Last Saturday, April 12, downtown professionals, young urban dwellers, families and art enthusiasts gathered together to participate in The Great Public Art Challenge. The event was hosted by Orange County Arts & Cultural Affairs office and gave the community the opportunity to enjoy some of the public art in downtown Orlando.

Participants met outside of the Orange County Administration Center next to the Leaper statue, one of Central Florida’s more famous pieces of public art. The event was kicked-off by Orange County’s Arts & Cultural Affairs Director Terry Olson and Orange County Commissioner Bill Segal. Both spoke about the benefits of public art and encouraged participants to take time to enjoy other art throughout Orange County.

Participants were given two hours to search downtown Orlando for seven pieces of public art. A map was provided with clues, each leading to a different piece of art.

Every art location included a different challenge that required participants to perform various art-related tasks, including reciting Shakespeare to drawing sidewalk chalk art outside of Orlando City Hall.

At the end, participants gathered near the Leaper statue and waited to hear their name called for the chance to win one of the many donated prizes being given away. The prizes included hotel stays, free entertainment tickets and restaurant gift certificates, and the grand prize was a package for two that included tickets to SeaWorld, a custom carved piece of art from SeaWorld, a one-night stay at the Grand Bohemian Hotel and a gift certificate to Orlando’s Citrus Restaurant.
“My goal is to have people leave this event with a better understanding of public art and become more aware of all the public art that surrounds them,” said Olson.

After the fun ended, participants walked away covered in paint, chalk and sweat laughing about the challenges they faced during their journey. But, most importantly they all walked away with a better appreciation and understanding of public art.

If you don’t live in Orlando, probably not. And even if you do, it’s not very likely.

The Red Chair Project is a public service designed to increase participation in the Central Florida arts and cultural community by providing methods to increase ticket sales, increase arts education opportunities and promote arts and cultural philanthropy. They’re basically an agent of change, putting culture in the minds of people that may not realize all of the opportunities that Orlando has to offer.

In our second look into the “America’s Favorite Cities” survey, we’re going to take a closer look at Orlando’s cultural side. Like the Red Chair Project, we’re hear to tell you that there’s a lot more to Orlando than theme parks, outlet malls and chain restaurants.

Previous articles:
Is Orlando America’s Favorite City?
Orlando Food / Dining

Classical music
The two best options for classical music in Orlando are the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra and the Bach Festival Society. Featuring more than 80 professional musicians from around the globe, the Orlando Philharmonic appears in more than 115 performances each year. Their flagship series, Phil at Carr, brings classical compositions by Mozart, Verdi, Berlioz and Gershwin to the downtown performing arts center.

The Bach Festival Society is Central Florida’s oldest operating performing arts organization. Since its inception in 1935, the Society has expanded its offerings to include the annual Winter Park Bach Festival, Visiting Artist Concert Series, Choral Masterworks Concert Series, Fred Rogers Family Series, and a variety of educational and community outreach programs to encourage youth participation in music at all levels. Unlike the Orlando Philharmonic, the Bach Festival’s performances are held in Winter Park, on the campus of Rollins College.

In addition these world-class organizations, programs like the Young Composer’s Challenge ensure that the future of Orlando’s classical music scene will only get better.
My rating: 3

Live music / bands
Live music can be heard at numerous clubs and bars throughout the Orlando area. Most notably, the Social in downtown Orlando has been bringing in major bands and underground rock artists for a number of years. In addition to these smaller locations, Orlando regularly hosts top artists at the major performance venues around town. Bruce Springsteen, Tim McGraw and P. Diddy are just a few of headliners with an upcoming concert.

As for local bands, Orlando used to be home to many pop groups and artists, although those days have long passed by. I’m sure there’s still a number of great local bands, but I’ll need the readers of Living Orlando to help me identify the best.
My rating: 3

Theater
If I only had space to list the number of local theaters around town. There’s the Orlando Shakespeare Theater, Orlando Repertory Theater, Mad Cow Theater and Winter Park Playhouse, just to name the easy ones. For the past 17 years, the Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival has offered uncensored, accessible theatre, music, dance, art and madness to all types and ages.

To top it all off, the Broadway Across America Tour brings broadway shows to the Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre. This year’s tour featured Wicked, Monty Python’s Spamalot and Jesus Christ Superstar. I should also probably mention the live entertainment available out at the theme parks. This is especially true for the world-class entertainment that can be found at Disney.
My rating:4

Museums / galleries
Big museums are not the norm in Orlando. Even the Orlando Museum of Art is relatively small compared to museums in other major cities. What Orlando lacks in size, it more than makes up for in number. Little museums are peppered all over greater Orlando. For example, the Museum of Florida Art in DeLand has hosted exhibitions such as Ansel Adams, Icons of the Twentieth Century: Portraits by Yousuf Karsh, The Spirit of Africa, Audubon in Florida, and Audubon Treasures, and It’s a Dog’s Life: Photographs by William Wegman from the Polaroid Corporation.

My favorite museum in Orlando is the Orange County Regional History Center (the “History Center”). Just take a look at this recent post on the Toys and Video games exhibits, for example.
My rating: 3

Historical sites / monuments
There are 38 listings on the National Register of Historic Places in Orange County. Among the more famous of these are Knowles Memorial Chapel on the Rollins campus, Dr. Phillips House in downtown Orlando and Tinker Field next to the Citrus Bowl. Not exactly the Statue of Liberty or the Golden Gate Bridge, but we do have Cinderella’s Castle.
My rating: 2