If you are looking for a romantic date spot, a place to go with friends, a place to bring kids, or something to do on your own, and that is FREE, the Enzian Winter Park Popcorn Flicks are a fabulous option.

They either take place in the Shady or Central Park in Winter Park and it is an outdoor movie that is free! Enzian helps sponsor it and they play classic favorites on a huge projector and hundreds (maybe thousands) of people show up with their chairs and blankets and watch the movies under the stars. So much fun.

I have seen many of these Enzian Winter Park Popcorn Flicks. Most recently I went to the one on June 11th and they played the first Back to the Future movie, so much fun! I usually go with a group of friends, this time one friend of mine brought her son, and we had a blast. We sipped on wine and snacked on cheese and chocolate and caught up with each other before the movie started. Once it started, we shared laughs at some of the 80’s music and yelled out the infamous quotes (”1.21 gigawatts? 1.21 gigawatts? Great Scott!”) We weren’t the only ones loving it. At times the audience would burst into laughter, start clapping at well-known moments, hooting and hollering.

You look around and see people in all stages of life: couples cuddled up, kids nestled in their parents arms, everything. If you are looking for a wonderful warm summer night FREE outing, the Enzian Winter Park Popcorn Flicks are a lot of fun.

Upcoming Winter Park Enzian Popcorn Flicks:

Superman 2 – July 23, 2009 at 8:30pm in Central Park, Winter Park. (Not gonna lie, I will probably be there. I love Superman.)

The Pink Panther Strikes Again – August 13, 2009 at 8:30pm in Central Park, Winter Park.

Fourth of July is around the corner, and fireworks are a fun way to celebrate Independence day. We thought it would be a good idea to give you a list of locations of the fireworks displays in Central Florida that have FREE admission! All of these events have other things going on during the day as well like live music and food available normally at an additional price.

St. Cloud: 4th of July Lakefest Celebration – 6pm to 10pm on Lakeshore Blvd. Fireworks begin at dark.

Downtown Mt. Dora: Old Fashioned Fourth of July Parade & Celebration – Begins at 10am and goes to the evening in Downtown Mount Dora’s Donnelly Park

Sanford: Star Spangled Sanford on the Riverwalk – 5pm to 10pm on Sanford’s Riverwalk.

Kissimmee: July 4th Celebration – 5pm to 9:30pm at the Kissimmee Lakefront Park.

Daytona Beach: Daytona Beach Main Street July 4th Block Party and Barbecue – 6pm to 12am, fireworks at 9:30pm. Event takes place on 8 blocks along Main Street.

Celebration: A Flashback 4th of July – 5pm to 11pm at the Celebration Town Center

Downtown Orlando: Big Fun at the Fountain, Fireworks over Lake Eola – 4pm to 10pm Fireworks start at 9:15pm.

Altamonte Springs: Red Hot & Boom – Taking place on July 3, 2009, the celebration goes on from 4 to 11pm at the Cranes Roost Park Area. Fireworks go off at 9:30pm.

Avalon Park: 5pm to 9pm. Fireworks begin at 9pm.

Deltona: Deltona 4th of July Celebration at Dewey O. Boster Park – 4pm to 10pm. Fireworks will begin at 9:15pm. This all takes place at the Park and Sports Complex.

Free Wifi, Deliciously strong coffee, fabulous munchies, retro paint and movies along the walls, ahhhhhh. Austin’s Coffee. Such a great place. If you just want to drop by and pick up a coffee, and people do this all day long, I highly recommend Austin’s Coffee. If you have a HUGE test and you need to study all day, I highly recommend Austin’s Coffee. If you just want to hang out with friends and talk to the fun people behind the counter, I highly recommend Austin’s Coffee. You get the picture. Austin’s Coffee is a great place.

When you have your coffee there, they give you this HUGE fun painted mug. It is great to sit at a table and sip from your massive mug of coffee…I recommend going slow though, the coffee is strong – drink it too fast and you might get the shakes. They even roast the beans in shop! It is so good and it is organic and fair trade. How about that. So basically, you have a delicious cup of coffee, you support ethical coffee harvesting conditions, and you save yourself from more pesticides. Not a bad deal.

Austin’s Coffee is a great place to read a book, study, write, whatever. However you may want to not visit Austin’s Coffee for that purpose at night because every night of the week they have open mic night and live bands playing. I need to add that Austin’s Coffee also sells beer and wine, which may be more to your liking at night…but maybe not after you have Austin’s Coffee… soo good.

Austin’s Coffee is so much more than a coffee shop. Live music, delicious coffee, tasty snacks, beer, wine, and an eclectic atmosphere. Great place to relax and have fun on your own and with friends.

Hot homemade pancakes you make at the table. (Yep you make your own… kinda like fondue… but with pancakes…) A huge choice of toppings including chocolate chips, berries, peanut butter, and many others. A massive container of molasses and maple syrup ready to be poured. All inside a little wood cabin in the beautiful state park of Deleon Springs.

The pancakes are amazing and you get massive portions (Come hungry) and it is only $4.50 a person. If you are a bacon fan, I highly recommend ordering a side of it… it is the nice thick cut kind that you rarely find at restaurants. Yum!

Now, if you want to work off the pancakes or maybe get a workout in before… there is hiking, canoeing, kayaking, and other fun things to do in the park. It is also a lot of fun (and cold) to swim in the springs. But if it’s a hot day, it can be very refreshing.

Deleon Springs is a beautiful park and you’ll love the historical Old Spanish Sugar Mill Restaurant (aka where you eat the pancakes). At $5.00 a car entrance fee, a day at Deleon Springs is a fun and inexpensive way to spend a day with family and friends.

Going on tonight and ending the 25th, the Orlando Fringe Festival is back again! In their words “100% unscensored. 100% accessible. 100% non-juried.” If you have a problem with that, don’t go…but you should anyway, it’s a fun time.

Beautiful, Wild, and Fun – the Orlando Fringe Festival is for everyone. There are plays for children and a variety of shows for adults… from risqué to conservative, there are a lot of choices. You start out by purchasing your Fringe Button for $8 and then you wonder around at your leisure checking out the tents, having a glass of wine,trying a bite to eat, and shopping around. I went with friends years ago for the first time to Orlando Fringe Festival and we continue to come back every year.

Orlando Buzz Tips:

Wear your Fringe Button Around Town! After visiting the Fringe, wear your button to Dandelion Cafe and get a free beer from Orlando Brewing Company by June 1st! Check out Funky Monkey Wine Company (an Orlando Buzz fave) and get a free glass of house wine with your Fringe button while the festival is going on. Seven Sisters Coffee, Tastings, Eden Bar, and Hard Rock Cafe are also having specials on their menu if you wear your Fringe Button so check it out!

Downtown Orlando, parking is across the street, indoor and outdoor seating, extensive wine and food list…excellent combination. Welcome to Tastings of Orlando.

If you want to try new wines, Tastings is a wonderful choice. Not only do they have an extensive wine list of over 100 bottles (and they like to include that each bottle is sold at retail price.) They will even cork it for you if you want to enjoy it in rather than take it home. I recently enjoyed happy hour and enjoyed the last few hours of sun with a couple of close friends. We had a blast.

From the fun and engaging waiters to the delicious choices of house wines and beers to the large proportions of size and quality appetizers. Happy Hour at Tastings is a fun experience for those who love wine bars and love them more when they are cheaper.

Outside of the Happy Hour Menu, Tastings has flights of wine  – basically they bring out three 2 oz portions of wine so that you can try each one. I liked how they even had the wine flights for sparkling wine. I have not seen that before.

Tastings is all about tasting – and they make that clear in their name and their menu. The menu has all types of delights. They have these samplers (perfect for wine tasting) of 2 to 8 cheeses and meats from 22 choices including Brie, Jarsberg, Port Salut, Prosciutto, Chorizo, and other yummy options. If you want just a salad, sandwich, or entree, Tastings also has a unique menu for you to try. I usually like to nibble on appetizers and small plates when I go to Wine Bars, so I find things like the samplers and platters more appealing.

I loved the wine, beer, and food that I had at Tastings. I also loved the ambience of sitting on the covered patio enjoying the spring breeze as the sun set. I think what was one of the most appealing parts of this bar was the parking lot across the street. It can be such a pain to park downtown, and Tastings makes it easy with their own parking lot. Love it.

I live in Orlando, but I like to go on adventures to nearby cities -aka mini vacations. Especially when I want to go to the beach. In Cocoa Beach lies one of my favorite seafood restaurants. It is not the nicest restaurant, I actually have never sat inside…The view though. It will take your breath away. 

I first stumbled upon Sunset Waterfront Cafe & Bar when I went to the beach with my college roommates to celebrate one of their birthdays. We were looking for a local waterfront seafood place and we found what we were looking for on the West Cocoa Beach Causeway – it was not beachfront, but it was bayfront. When we sat down it was light out and we were given a seat outside with a beautiful view of the water. Music was playing and everyone was enjoying the fried shrimp and crab legs. The sun began to set and we had a perfect view of the beautiful colors spreading out in the sky over the calm water. Wow. We took photos, others left their seats to check it out and take photos, couples came out to enjoy the romantic moment. This was a sight you don’t see everyday, and it was easy to see where the name of the restaurant came from. 

I have gone back to that restaurant more than any other seafood place. The food is tasty, the prices are decent, the service is so-so (of course when you go to a restaurant to enjoy the gorgeous view, you probably are not in a rush), and the view over the water is gorgeous. Go enjoy a full dinner after a day at the beach (bathing suits and cover ups are normal here along with dresses and slacks) or enjoy a delicious cocktail while listening to your favorite beachy tunes. 

Orlando Buzz Tip:

You may have to wait for a seat outside, so call ahead or make sure you arrive with plenty of sunlight left. This is an oceanfront seafood dive you won’t forget.

The closest thing to a real Irish Pub in Central Florida on St. Patrick’s day is Fiddler’s Green in Winter Park. It has the atmosphere, the authentic live music, and even the beer. If you don’t like Irish beer, they have a large variety of other Brews, Cocktails, and Wine you can enjoy.They even have all kinds of tasty authentic Irish foods including the classic St. Paddy’s Day favorite Corned Beef and cabbage and the less well known Irish dish, Bangers and Mash. (Free to get in.)

Now if you want something a little more wild, downtown Wall Street Station has a double celebration of St. Patrick’s day with live dueling pianos and drink specials on Saturday, March 14th and on Tuesday, March 17th. The music will play from 8 to 11pm, but the party starts at 4 on Saturday and 5 on Tuesday. ($10 to get in, $6 after 9pm)

In the theme park area? Citywalk has a St. Patrick’s day party going on at Pat O’briens. They will have a live rock band and dueling pianos plus beads and leprechauns out and about. Maybe you will find the end of the rainbow? $12 to get in on the party (Get there before 7 and it’s free) or $20 for VIP. (Access to the balcony, front of the line, and lots of beads)

Don’t get pinched, wear green!

Moonlight. Live Music. Botanical Gardens. The perfect romantic picnic dinner spot for this Valentine’s day.

Leu Gardens is hosting a live concert this Valentine’s day from 7:00pm to 10:00pm in their botanical gardens.

The Buzzcatz, the Julie Lyon Quartet, and the Beautiful Bobby Blackmon blues band will be playing during this romantic concert in the gardens.

Bring a few blankets, maybe some chairs, and pack a picnic basket with dinner, treats, and wine to sip on. Cuddle under the stars and enjoy the delicious live music and beautiful surroundings.

Tickets are $20 at the Leu Gardens gift shop or by phone: 407-246-2620 ext. 0.

Extra tip:Want to add some style to your picnic? Bring along a delightful picnic basket, complete with silverware, dishes, wine glasses, and napkins.