Florida Creatives - Creating a Community of Innovation

With summer right around the corner, EPCOT has a couple major projects going on right now and a lot of little details being added or upgraded. First a couple things that aren’t pictured:

• EPCOT’s Flower and Garden Festival wraps up this weekend with a special tribute concert by Mickey Dolenz for his friend Davy Jones. There’s not going to be a dry eye in the house.
• A new entrance for Turtle Talk with Crush is still under construction at the Seas with Nemo pavilion.
• There are some new menu items in Mexico’s La Hacienda.
• Habit Heroes inside Innoventions is still closed.

As with the Magic Kingdom update, I’ve hosted the photos I took over on Google+. I hope you’ll go check them out and see what else is new.

EPCOT Photo Update: Summer’s Coming originally posted on
The Disney Blog - Disney News and Information -- by fans, for fans

                          

ARTS ON THE PARK MEMBERS SHOW A Juried Exhibition May 30th – July 6th Arts on the Park invites all of our artist members to participate in the Members Show. The juror will select work to be exhibited.   Receiving is Thursday-Saturday, May 24th-26th from noon-8pm. If you need to make other arrangements, please call ahead [...]
Polk Arts Alliance

Latest Events – Downtown Arts District of Orlando

vrigsbee

Now that this season is officially over, we thought it worth taking a look at the shows who have announced Broadway runs for the 2012-13 season. First up is an adaptation of Bring It On with music by Tom Kit of Next to Normal and Lin-Manuel Miranda of In the Heights. This show has been [...]
The Broadway Musical Blog – Musical theater news and gossip from the Great White Way

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Here’s Thursday’s schedule for the Orlando Fringe Festival. Shows are arranged chronologically. The format for each line is Time: Venue: Title: Price: Rating: Length in Minutes.

Orlando Theater Blog

Here's Thursday's schedule for the Orlando Fringe Festival. Shows are arranged chronologically. The format for each line is Time: Venue: Title: Price: Rating: Length in Minutes.

Rain showers couldn't stop the party Wednesday evening as the 21 s t Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival began its 13-day run at Loch Haven Park. (Come to think of it, has anything ever stopped a Fringe party?)

0n May 10th and 11th, Central Florida Community Arts presented, "The HeART of Theater, An Evening on Broadway." The event featured the Central Florida Community Choir, orchestra and Dance Team, at the Northland Church (530 Dog Track Road). When I pulled into the church parking lot, I saw a mini van unloading seniors in front of the venue. My NYC snobbery kicked in and I expected to experience an amateurish production. Most folks waiting in the lobby did have grey hair but I had to do a reality check, so do I.  The worship center was huge and the large crowd in the lobby filled maybe a third of the available seats. I sat midway back so I could capture the immensity of the space.

Joshua Vickery, the founder and Executive Director introduced the evening. He stressed that Central Florida Community Arts positively influenced the community by connecting, serving and performing. The group has a vision to make the performing arts more accessible and to help local charities achieve their missions. This volunteer singing group has performed for the Coalition of the Homeless, Runway to Hope, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Hope for the Nations, Florida Hospital and many other great local organizations.

The ongoing theme to the Broadway Musical numbers performed, was how the arts inspire and enrich the artists who perform. Staged scenes, and dance numbers punctuated the evening between choral performances. I was swept along by the shear power and enthusiasm of the performances. This was an energetic evening of music that far exceeded my expectations. The last piece called "You Can't Stop the Beat", had everyone standing, clapping and singing along. Beach balls floated down from the catwalks high over head and the audience batted them about. This was an energetic, wild evening, with CFCA splashing on the Orlando Arts scene like a tidal wave reaffirming the creative spirit. I'm indebted to Sharon Hegedus, who first introduced me to this amazing group.

Upcoming performances include, American Pops on May 19th, The Classical Music of John Rutter on August 11th and a choral concert version of the musical, Titanic on September 7th to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the sinking. On August 4th there is The Heart of the Arts Gala, held at the Gaylord Palms, which will raise funds to help CFCA impact the community where we work and live.Thorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03590800758325814585noreply@blogger.com0

I got a look at the progress at Mad Cow Theatre's new home on Church Street this afternoon — and, man oh man, this is going to be cool.

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The new Central Florida Community Orchestra will perform its debut concert, titled “American Pops,” this Saturday, May 19.

Orlando Arts Blog

World Record Lego Tower built in Korea for Lego's 80th birthday
In celebration of Lego Group's 80th birthday, Lego Korea built a tower to beat the previous 103-foot, eight-inch record in France. Armed with over 500,000 bricks, 4,000 children contest winners and five days of building time, the event attracted more than 50,000 visitors. The Crown Prince of Denmark placed the last record breaking brick on the tower that reached 104-feet and seven inches. Subscribe to our YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=attractionsmagazine Subscribe to our Print magazine: http://attractionsmagazine.com/subscribe Visit our Blog: http://attractionsmagazine.com/blog Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/attractions Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/attractionsmagazine Watch our TV show: http://attractionsmagazine.com/theshow Find more Videos: http://www.youtube.com/attractionsmagazine Download our free iPhone and iPad app: http://tinyurl.com/attractionsapp From: AttractionsMagazine Views: 272 15 ratings Time: 02:19 More in Travel & EventsAttractionsMagazinehttp://gdata.youtube.com/feeds/base/users/AttractionsMagazine

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Yesterday, ABC rolled out its new fall season of shows to whet the appetite of fans and open the pocket books of advertisers. Rather than run down the litany of shows, I want to highlight a few of the ones I think will be big hits. Up first is ‘Last Resort’. This one seemed a big unlikely to work as a series to me, but then I watched this sizzle reel and now I’m really anticipating the show.

Here’s the set up: 500 feet beneath the ocean’s surface, the U.S. ballistic missile submarine Colorado receive their orders. Over a radio channel, designed only to be used if their homeland has been wiped out, they’re told to fire nuclear weapons at Pakistan.

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Last Resort has some star power too. Captain Marcus Chaplin (Andre Braugher) demands confirmation of the orders only to be unceremoniously relieved of duty by the White House. XO Sam Kendal (Scott Speedman) finds himself suddenly in charge of the submarine and facing the same difficult decision. When he also refuses to fire without confirmation of the orders, the Colorado is targeted, fired upon, and hit. The submarine and its crew find themselves crippled on the ocean floor, declared rogue enemies of their own country. Now, with nowhere left to turn, Chaplin and Kendal take the sub on the run and bring the men and women of the Colorado to an exotic island. Here they will find refuge, romance and a chance at a new life, even as they try to clear their names and get home.

“Last Resort” stars Andre Braugher (“Men of a Certain Age”) as Captain Marcus Chaplin, Scott Speedman (“The Vow”) as XO Sam Kendal, Daisy Betts (“Sea Patrol”) as Lieutenant Grace Shepard, Dichen Lachman (“Being Human”) as Tani Tumrenjack, Daniel Lissing (“Crownies”) as SEAL Officer James King, Sahr Ngaujah (“House of Payne”) as Mayor Julian Serrat, Camille de Pazzis as Sophie Gerard, Autumn Reeser (“Hawaii Five-O,” “No Ordinary Family”) as Kylie Sinclair, Jessy Schram (“Falling Skies,” “Once Upon a Time”) as Christine Kendal.

Recurring guest star is Robert Patrick (“The Gangster Squad”) as Master Chief Joseph Prosser.

“Last Resort” was written by Shawn Ryan (“The Shield,” “The Unit,” “The Chicago Code”) and Karl Gajdusek, who are also executive producers along with Martin Campbell and Marney Hochman Nash. The pilot for “Last Resort” was directed by Martin Campbell. “Last Resort” is produced by Middkid Productions in association with Sony Pictures Television.

What do you think? Will you be watching?

ABC Previews New Fall Series: Last Resort originally posted on
The Disney Blog - Disney News and Information -- by fans, for fans

                          

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Central Floridian Clay Rivers will on Wednesday, May 16, present a book signing and publishiing party to celebrate “Walking Tall,” his new book chronicling his life’s journey outside the mainstream.

Orlando Arts Blog

The results show began with an encore performance of William and Cheryl’s perfect scoring samba. Next, we saw that Katherine’s back was feeling much better as she jumped for joy upon hearing that she and Mark, this week’s low scorers, made it to the finals. The Macy’s Stars of Dance performance was the design-a-dance featuring a samba danced by Tristan and Chelsie.

After a performance by Alanis Morissette, Maria and Derek, this week’s leaders, learned they were in jeopardy. WHAT THE WHAT? “Rock of Ages” stars Julianne Hough, Mary J. Blige, and Diego Boneta rocked the ballroom with a medley of songs, and Carrie Underwood performed one of her new songs.

Tom revealed that William and Cheryl were safe, which left Donald and Peta in jeopardy. The ballroom erupted in boos when it was announced that Maria and Derek were leaving the competition. Perhaps less people voted for them since they seemed like a sure thing for the finals? Yikes. I thought they were going to win the whole thing!

Next week we’ll see the last three couples freestyle their hearts out as the quest for the mirrorball trophy comes to a close. Yay freestyle! See you back here!

Final Answer. Dancing With the Stars, Week 9 Results Show originally posted on
The Disney Blog - Disney News and Information -- by fans, for fans

                          

Whats going on in Winter Park? We know. Wednesday, May 23, 2012    WINTER PARK POLITICAL UPDATE BREAKFAST 7:45 a.m., Rachel D. Murrah Civic Center Friday, June 8,...

Turkey Legs. Or are they?

Walt Disney World is known for attracting tourists from around the world to visit it’s beautiful parks and resorts, but in the sports world it’s also known as a world class training facility. Competitors like Olympic Medalist David Payne stop by to train and try to win another medal at this year’s London Summer Olympics.

Of course, this being Disney World it’s hard not to engage in a little bit of good natured fun too. Disney’s Gary Buchanan is a fan of Payne’s and challenged him to a race with a Disney character… but not, as it turns out, one of the fab five, instead Buchanan dressed up in his Turkey Leg Halloween costume, seen last the the Trick or Tweet event in the Magic Kingdom, and attempted to run in that.

Here are the hilarious results.

For some reason I’m really hungry now.

Olympic Competitor David Payne at ESPN Wide World Of Sports in a Lighter Moment originally posted on
The Disney Blog - Disney News and Information -- by fans, for fans

                          

Latest Events – Downtown Arts District of Orlando

Shubert Organization Chairman and Co-CEO Phil Smith sings the praises of Broadway’s own Boy from Oz, 2012 Special Tony Award recipient Hugh Jackman.
TonyAwards.com – The American Theatre Wing’s Tony Awards – Official Website by IBM

Nearly three years ago, Disney fans and comic book geeks alike did double takes as they looked at the latest news: Disney bought Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion. While this was less than Disney spent for PIXAR, there were no previous projects between Disney and Marvel, other than Disney having acquired Stan Lee’s POW Entertainment in 2008. After the success of Marvel’s The Avengers (distributed by Walt Disney Pictures), let’s take a look at who owns the characters and a glimpse at the future:

This purchase did come with a lot of tangled red tape, as the rights to many of the most popular Marvel Characters were spread out across the film distribution universe (not to mention theme-park rights). Currently, 20th Century FOX owns rights to the X-Men universe, Daredevil, Elektra, and Fantastic Four; Sony has hold of Ghost Rider and Spider-Man; and New Line Cinema’s hold on the Blade property and Lionsgate’s rights to The Punisher have reverted back to Marvel.

Unfortunately, it’s going to be difficult to get the rights to any in-park Avengers rides, walk-arounds, etc, at Walt Disney World as Universal and Marvel have signed a long-lasting contract for Iron Man, Thor, The Hulk, and Captain America at their Universal Orlando park. However, Universal did allow their contract for Universal Hollywood to lapse, so an attraction or meet-and-greet characters in Disneyland Resort, most likely Disney California Adventure (or perhaps that empty strawberry field down Harbor Blvd) is possible.

Should Disney ever buy-out Marvel’s contract with Universal Orlando, I do have a few ideas for the use of Marvel’s hottest property at the moment: 1) Use the empty Wonders of Life Pavilion in EPCOT’s Future World as a new home to the Stark Expo (could also be housed in Innoventions) 2) A new Marvel-themed area in DHS, with one E-ticket and maybe a stage show or side show (a-la Jedi Training Academy). Those Streets of New York are awfully empty these days… 3) I do not foresee an attraction being added to the Magic Kingdom, because, well, it just wouldn’t fit, unless WDI decides to future-ize Tomorrow Land 4) With the addition of Pandora on hold at the Animal Kingdom, Marvel has a few animal-like heroes that could fit the area.

So, three years later, the purchase of Marvel is just beginning to pay off for Disney. The future is bright for the company, especially as rights for the tent-pole characters come back. In the next two years have The Amazing Spider-Man (Columbia Pictures July 3, 2012), Iron Man 3 (Spring 2013), The Wolverine (20th Century FOX: Summer 2013), Thor 2 (Fall 2013), Captain America 2 (Spring 2014) and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Columbia Pictures 2014).

Do you think Disney should buy out Universal soon? Where would you place Marvel Characters in the parks? Which characters should have their own movie?

Three Years Later: A Look at Disney’s Acquisition of Marvel originally posted on
The Disney Blog - Disney News and Information -- by fans, for fans