CitySurfing Orlando

It’s here! The 20th anniversary of the Orlando Fringe Festival starts tomorrow and it definitely promises some interesting and fun shows to see.

This year’s Orlando Fringe runs from May 18 to 30 and offers up a variety of original, uncensored and experimental art, theater, music, dance and more. In fact, Orlando’s Fringe is the longest running US Fringe festival.

There are over 70 shows. Due to the nature of Fringe, some will be totally awesome and some, well, won’t. That’s the nature with any live arts/theater festival. The Orlando Fringe website has a complete listing of shows, and you can also check out the awesome guide to Fringe at The Daily City blog.

Admission to any of the shows requires the purchase of an $8 Orlando Fringe button. This helps raise funds to put this whole shindig together and you won’t be let into any show without it. Then each show requires a separate admission ticket, that can cost from free to up to $10, depending on what you see, plus a $1 surcharge per ticket.

Buttons and tickets can be bought at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater or Orlando Rep ticket booths, both at Loch Haven Park, where the Fringe is being held.

If you go to any of the shows, please drop us a comment with what you saw and whether you liked it.

Improv comedy is truly an art form. No scripts to follow, quick thinking on the feet, playing off one another – it’s not an easy form of comedy (not that comedy is easy to begin with).

If you enjoy improv, then you’ll want to check out “A Night of Long Form #2” on Monday, April 25, 2011.

Produced by the Orlando Improv Festival (which runs September 25 – 27, 2011, this year), the show will feature three long form improv formats performed by two local improv groups (The Early Show and Offsides Improv), a special guest appearance by Orlando Sentinel writer Kelly Fitzpatrick, a formal question and answer period with all of the performers and beer, wine and liquor for purchase.

Tickets are $10 if you purchase online by noon on April 25 (plus a service fee) and $15 cash only at the door.

The event takes place at 8pm – no late seating so get there on time! – at the Winter Park Playhouse (711 Orange Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789).

ANOLF #2 was produced by Mark Baratelli, of The Daily City blog.

Orlando has a lot of festivals dedicated to the arts, but one of my favorites is the annual Florida Film Festival, which runs from April 8 to 17 this year.

Produced by Enzian, one of the best places to catch a movie in Orlando, this fest is a perfect blend of indie and lesser-known films, food and parties.

2011 is the 20th anniversary of the Florida Film Festival, and as such, it will celebrate all things Florida, from film to food.

Among the highlights of the festival are the Opening Night Film and Party, which takes place on April 8. Tickets for this event are $20 to see the film only, $80 to only attend the party, and $100 for both the film and party. The party will feature food from several area restaurants, including Enzian/Eden Bar, the Ravenous Pig, 4 Rivers Smokehouse and more.

There are two celebrity events to attend. The first is “Victor in Paradise: An Afternoon with Victor Nunez, featuring Ruby in Paradise.” Following a screening of the film on April 16 at the Enzian, director Victor Nunez will do a Q&A with the audience. Tickets are only $10.

The second is “An Evening with Alan Arkin,” also at the Enzian on April 16. This event will begin with a special 45th anniversary screening of the classic Cold-War comedy “The Russians are Coming! The Russians are Coming!” – a film that earned Arkin his first Oscar® nomination in 1966. Following the film, the actor will do a Q&A with the audience. Tickets for this are only $30, but this may be postponed due to Arkin’s health following a recent car accident.

There are several food and film events worth noting, too. Enjoy a night of Italian cinema on April 11, along with an intermission of food provided by Olive Garden. Tickets are $10 for each film (La Pivellina and Amarcord), but the tasting reception is free.

The “Peroni & Popcorn: Hitchcock Happy Hour,” happening April 13 at the Enzian/Eden Bar, sounds like fun. It features gourmet popcorn paired with select brews while classic Hitchcock films play on a large outdoor screen. The films are free; the popcorn/drinks are available for purchase.

|: Rainn Wilson Stars in Super

Let’s not forget the films, either. Among the ones I’m interested in catching are:

• Mutant Girls Squad (a Japanese splatter flick described as “a cross between the Powerpuff Girls, the X-Men, and a Gwar concert”)
• The People vs. George Lucas (a Star Wars fan documentary)
• The Troll Hunter (a Norwegian fantasy/horror flick)
• Midnight Son (a horror film with a twist)
• Hesher (a dark drama featuring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rainn Wilson and Natalie Portman)
• Super (a dark superhero comedy directed by James Gunn and featuring Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Liv Tyler, Kevin Bacon and Nathan Fillion)

Individual tickets to most films are $10, or you can buy them in groups of 4 for $40, 8 for $75 or 16 for $140, all of which include an official program voucher. For film fanatics, there is also the Platinum Pass, which at $650, includes priority seating, party invitations and a swag bag, among other benefits.

All tickets and the platinum pass are available for purchase online at the Florida Film Festival website or in person at the Enzian box office.

[Images courtesy of Florida Film Festival and Ambush Entertainment/James Gunn]

The Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival is one of the nation’s most prestigious outdoor art festivals, and is one of the largest outdoor events held in Orange County drawing approximately 350,000 visitors during the three-day show.

The 52nd edition of this festival, which originated in 1960, will take place this weekend, March 18-20, 2011.

From over 1,100 artists who applied for space, only 225 were selected to exhibit during this art festival. They represent a multitude of artistic mediums, including clay, digital art, drawing/graphics, glass, jewelry, metal, painting, photography, and more.

In addition to the art, musical entertainment is supplied each day. Headliners include Rick Braun (Friday), Chieli Minnuci and Special EFX (Saturday), and Brian Simpson (Sunday).

The Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival takes place at Central Park (401 Park Avenue South) in Winter Park. The event is free to attend.

This weekend should be nice and sunny, but not too warm, making it perfect weather to check this out.

Next Wednesday, March 16, 2011, students from Lawton Chiles Preparatory School will be performing a show at SAK Comedy Club in downtown Orlando.

From what I understand, the students will perform both together and in individual projects they’ve been working on.

This quarterly exhibition will run from 6pm to 8pm and admission is completely free. So come on out and support some young local talent.

Lawton Chiles is a private school located in Winter Springs. For more information on this event, please call them at 407-327-5300.

SAK Comedy Club is located on the 2nd Floor of CityArts Factory, 29 S. Orange Ave.