Annual Winter Springs Festival of the Arts

Save the Date: 4th Annual Winter Springs Festival of the Arts October 15 and 16, 2011
Oviedo-Winter Springs Regional Chamber of Commerce and the City of Winter Springs Host Upscale Art Festival

Established as a signature event in an affluent Central Florida suburb, the Winter Springs Festival of the
Arts, presented by Bright House Networks, celebrates the appreciation of art, wine, and jazz, attracting an estimated 20,000 art connoisseurs, residents, and visitors to Winter Springs, Florida.

Fine art presentations include sculpture and clay, drawing, graphics, pastels, crafts, jewelry, mixed media, painting, photography, digital media, and performing arts.

With 125 juried and invited artists participating, this annual festival is a true representation of the various artistic and creative personalities that comprise the greater Central Florida region with more than $13,000 in cash prizes awarded to participating artists.

Designed for the entire family to enjoy, a variety of food and beverages will be available for purchase plus live entertainment and a kids' activity area.

Saturday and Sunday, October 15 and 16, 2011 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Daily Festival of the Arts


Festival location is at Blumberg Boulevard at the Winter Springs Town Center Northwest corner of SR 434 and Tuskawilla Road in Winter Springs, Florida (Three miles west of the SR 417 / Central Florida GreeneWay) and the cost is FREE and open to the public.


For more information visit www.WSFOTA.org

Best Sushi Experience in Orlando

DragonFly Robata Grill and Sushi Lounge located at restaurant row in Orlando in the Dellagio Plaza across the street from Barnes & Noble is a great sushi experience. We recently visited the restaurant and was blown away by the top notch service from AJ our server and Dave the general manager. We were prepared to try anything new so we started with their specialty rolls "The Bomb" and "Dragonfly".

These specialty rolls are a must to try out you will certainly love the flavors compared to the traditional sushi rolls. Our sushi experience also included the following items which I highly recommend for your next visit to DragonFly

Shrimp and Vegetable Tempura
Garlic Rub Escolar
Butter Edamame
Top it up with a nice glass of Merlot or Cosmo.

DragonFly concept is outstanding and it centers around sharing of tapas style dishes in a relaxed atmosphere with top notch service.Thumbs up for DragonFly, see you soon.

DragonFly Location:
7972 Via Dellagio Way, Orlando, FL 32819
Tel: 407-370-3359

DragonFly Highlights
The first Robata Grill in Orlando.
Lounge after you dine.
Ladies Night.
Private Dining.
Modern Izakaya Dining.
Bincho Tan Charcoal.

The only place where you will find the The Bomb and DragonFly

Disney’s Dreamers Academy

Plans are underway for the 2012 Disney’s Dreamers Academy with Steve Harvey and Essence Magazine. Parents, teachers, mentors and youth can nominate U.S. high school students ages 13-19 to attend this innovative outside-the-classroom educational and mentoring program. Nominations must be submitted on www.disneysdreamersacademy.com by October 31, 2011.

Entering the search for its milestone fifth “class,” Disney’s Dreamers Academy continues to hold true to its mission to inspire and fuel the dreams of teens, help them discover a world of possibilities and help them prepare for the future. Each year, 100 students – selected from thousands of applicants – experience notable personal and professional advancement. Students participate in hands-on, full-immersion workshops related to a bevy of career paths ranging from Animation to Zoology. Each participant learns important interview skills, communication techniques and networking strategies.

It all takes place in an unusual and magical setting: The Walt Disney World theme parks. Both on stage and behind the scenes, the parks become vibrant ‘classrooms’ leading to career discoveries, the pursuit of dreams and fun memories to cherish for a lifetime.

Hotels in St. Croix - Top 10

Planning a trip to St. Croix, and trying to find out which are the best hotels in St. Croix? This post will examine and rank for you the top 10 hotels in St. Croix based on reviews.

St. Croix is the largest of the U.S. Virgin Islands, the others being St. Thomas and St. John. St. Croix is not as well known or traveled as the other islands. Charlotte Amalie being the capitol an cruise ship stop ensure an abundance of tourism for St. Thomas that St. Croix doesn't enjoy. Unless of course you want to go somewhere where there are less tourists and no hoards being dumped on the shores by cruise ships. This gives St. Croix a more remote and quieter pace.



The island of St. Croix has two distinct climates as the east end of the island is very dry with not a whole lot of vegetation, whereas the west end is very lush and tropical. Similar to Maui in that the west side of Haleakala is dry and the east side is wet. It is very interesting how such small islands can have such a variable climate.

Here on this blog post as I said, I will be ranking the top 10 hotels in St. Croix. I use several review sources to provide a complete picture of how travelers have rated these hotels. I then merge the rankings together giving more weight to the hotels with more reviews to produce a very accurate ranking of the hotels in St. Croix.

Here you go....


1. Arawak Bay Hotel - Search Here for Hotels.com Best Hotel Deals!

2. The Palms at Pelican Cove

3. The Buccaneer

4. Carrington Inn

5. Hibiscus Beach Resort

6. Sand Castles on the Beach

7. Hotel Caravelle

8. Club Comanche

9. Chenay Bay Beach Resort

10. Renaissance St. Croix Caramola


There are the top 10 hotels in St. Croix. The Arawak Bay Hotel is actually a B&B but is run like a hotel and so I put it on the list as it was so highly rated. If you prefer sticking to a traditional resort hotel, the Palms at Pelican Cove or the Buccaneer would be the top choices. The hotels in St. Croix tend to be more affordable than some other Caribbean islands.


View Larger Map

When compared to some other islands like Jamaica or Dominican Republic, St. Croix is not full of resorts to choose from. This is rather curious as the island is great, it could be restrained from developing too much due to a lack of fresh water. With no mountains to provide fresh water run-off, most of the local drinking water comes from a desalination plant.

I am finding the best rates on these hotels at Hotels.com and you can Make sure you get the best price with Hotels.com Best Rate Price Guarantee!

If you are interested I have also ranked the top 5 hotels on St. John and the top 10 hotels on St. Thomas!

Magic Kingdom Special Events

Special Events at Magic Kingdom Each Year

• Grad Nite – Seniors celebrate the end of high school each spring during multiple nights of high-energy fun, which include concerts by popular performers.
• Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party – Mickey and the gang invite guests to this all-ages celebration of fun frights held on multiple nights each October.
• Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party – Each holiday season, Mickey and his friends celebrate the season on several special nights with exclusive entertainment and a holiday-themed parade starring Santa Claus.

View more information about Events at Magic Kingdom

Gaylord in Orlando

Stay Longer, Save More with Orlando Summer Savings

Select dates through August 28, 2011, book the best summer rates in the Sunshine State! Discover our signature glass atriums where you will be awestruck by 4.5 acres of three distinct Florida environments just waiting for you to explore.

• Join us for Key West fish feedings
• Experience baby alligator and stingray feedings
• Watch dive-in movies at our Clearwater Cove water playground (Friday and Saturday nights)
• Explore the hotel through an interactive video scavenger hunt — The Great Florida Treasure Adventure
• FREE shuttle service to Walt Disney World ® theme parks
Make your Gaylord in Orlando hotel reservations today so you do not miss all the fun in Orlando

Disney World July 4th Celebration

Spectacular fireworks synchronized to a symphonic score burst above Epcot's World Showcase Lagoon during IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth. Lasers, a revolving Earth globe and leaping flames co-star in the spectacle, which features a special finale on the Fourth of July.

Walt Resort will pixie dust the night skies July 4 with special pyrotechnic shows, including a patriotic display at Magic Kingdom, a rock’n'roll spectacular at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and a classic sky show at Epcot infused with an Independence Day finale. Here’s what’s in store:

Magic Kingdom will present “Disney’s Celebrate America! A Fourth of July Concert in the Sky.” This patriotic fireworks spectacular, paying homage to the hopes and dreams of America’s forefathers, will light the skies at 9 p.m. July 4 – and for guests who would like to begin the Independence Day celebration early, the show also will bhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gife presented July 3 at 9 p.m.

At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, traditional Fourth of July fireworks take on a different spin when Mulch, Sweat, and Shears perform for the all-new “Rockin’ 4th of July Celebration“! These resident landscapers – with serious rock and roll ambitions - take Disney guests on a musical road trip across America that will highlight each region’s contribution to rock and roll. Fireworks, lighting and special effects – backed by the driving live rock and roll of Mulch, Sweat, and Shears – combine to bring a new twist to celebrating Independence Day. Showtime July 4 is 9:45 p.m. Before or after the show, Disney’s Hollywood Studios guests can thrill to Disney’s Fantasmic!, performing July 4 at 9 and 10:30 p.m. Book your Orlando hotels near Disney World today and get in on the celebration