The Ocoee Founder’s Day Festival is the most well-rounded community-based event in Central Florida. With a variety of great activities and entertainment, the phrase “There’s something for everyone!” is not just a valid marketing pitch, but the actual truth. There’s a 5K run/walk, fishing tournament, classic car show/parade, carnival rides, beer garden, arts & crafts marketplace and fireworks display that will light up the night sky from the middle of Starke Lake.

Oh yeah, there’s two full evenings of great music lined up, too. Bands like .38 Special, Jim Van Fleet & The Reign, Earl Thomas Conley and Rodney Atkins will all take stage. More than 10 hours of free live music to enjoy as a family.

So here’s what you need to do.

The entertainment begins at 6pm on Friday evening, so load up your car that morning with folding chairs for the entire family, and plan on doing dinner at the festival. With over 20 vendors on site, you won’t need to worry about food selection. In addition to the music, kids can participate in various contests, play midway games and ride a few carnival rides.

Don’t wear yourselves out, though, Saturday is a much busier day.

If you act now, you can register for the Louis Fazio, Jr. 5K Walk and Run for only $19 (thru Oct. 17, race-day $25), which takes place at 7:30am on Saturday morning. Otherwise, the classic car show and free fishing tournament both begin at 10am, while the main-stage entertainment gets going just after 3pm. You could also do some shopping at the arts & crafts marketplace, or enter your dog into the “Howl-O-Ween” Doggie Contest. Just make sure to pick a spot to watch the concerts (and eventually the fireworks) by 5:30 or so, because the place is going to get packed.

At the end of the day, Founder’s Day in Ocoee is the type of event that local residents should support. It’s not overly extravagant, but it is true to the area and does an excellent job of bringing the local community together.

If you want all of the details, complete information is available online.

For those of you who aren’t residents of Winter Garden, Windermere or Ocoee, pack a small cooler and drive the extra few miles to downtown Winter Garden for a stop at Sweet Traditions. This French bakery is full of amazing baked goods and sweet treats that should not be missed.

Finally, if you can find a few spare minutes during all of the excitement, you might want to pay the small fee (adults $3; students $1) to walk through the Withers Maguire House & Museum. This building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is only open a few times per year.

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The 8th Annual Wiggle Waggle Walk was kicked off this morning by WFTV Channel 9 / TV 27 meteorologist Tom Terry at Heathrow’s Oval Park in Colonial Center.

I’d estimate that there were 200 or more dogs at the event, which featured costume contests, local vendors and an awards ceremony for individuals and “packs” who raised the most money for the SPCA of Central Florida.

Here are some additional photos …  send yours to Living Orlando!

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Tuesday, October 14^th will be a busy day for one local Orlando leader and difference maker.

Lee Cockerell, former EVP at Walt Disney World, is releasing his 1^st book, Creating Magic, 10 Common Sense Leadership Strategies From A Life At Disney, which describes how we all can become better leaders in our organizations, communities, and personal lives. In addition, Lee will present the keynote address at Create Chaos, a one-week, 10-show creative monstrosity that is hitting the Orlando World Center Marriott from October 13^th – 17^th.

As a pivotal leader at Disney for the past 10 years, Lee is now working to share his magic with others through speaking engagements, teachings and his book. Currently, he is offering up a free chapter from “Creating Magic” to everyone that signs up for his mailing list. He can also be found “Twittering” and blogging on LeeCockerell.com. To see Lee at Create Chaos, head on over to the event’s official website and grab a conference pass today!

The week long event features a creative job fair, the Annual Create Awards, Design Conferences, the Motion Graphics Festival and much more. Not to mention some great parties and local initiatives like BarCamp Chaos, an ad-hoc session that invites participants to control the programming by preparing a 20 minute talk on any creative topic and presenting it to other conference attendees. Create Chaos will also play host to doterati’s, “Juggling Creativity and Business,” where local business leaders Ted Murphy of IZEA, Sterling Raphael of NFi Studios, Scott Allen from MonkeyFoot.com and Chuck Southworth of the Southworth Group will all speak on starting creative businesses from the ground up. Both of these events are free to attend and will be great for knowledge and local networking!

Lee’s book is available for pre-order at all major book outlets and will be officially published on Tuesday, October 14^th.

It sure is an exciting day for Disney and this community and an exciting week for the creative community!

Guest author Greg Rollett, from Endagon Innovations, can be found on his blog at gregrollett.blogspot.com and can also be followed on Twitter

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Celebration’s 2nd Annual Ocktoberfest
Watch the leaves fall on Market Street during this fall festival in Celebration. Live music, including traditional old-world German and current hits, will take stage on Friday and Saturday evening. Hayrides, dancing and pumpkin painting are just a few of the activites to be enjoyed lakeside. Parking and admission are free, and the leaves fall daily at 6, 7, 8 and 9pm.

Beertoberfest 2008
Join the “Monsters of the Morning” at Beertoberfest, a celebration including over 40 beers from around the world on Saturday, October 11th. The party will take place in front of the newly opened “Ember”, a beautifully designed restaurant-bar located on Central just north of Orange in Downtown Orlando. Tickets are $10 at the door and giant drafts will be sold for only $3 each.

Harmony’s 6th Annual Harvest Festival and Lunafest
The Harvest Festival will include face painting, trail hikes, field games, a bounce house, pumpkin carving, pie eating contests, food, drinks, and more. The festival is a FREE event. Donations will be accepted at the movie showing (7pm), and all net proceeds benefit the Breast Cancer Fund and Women in Film & Television Florida (WFIT-FL). The event takes place on October 25th at Harmony’s Lakeshore Park, beginning at 3:00pm.

Halloween At Cassadaga
If you’ve never been to Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp, you’re missing out one of Central Florida’s most interesting communities. Over 100 years of history with spiritually-minded people lives on in the mediums and spiritual healers that call Cassadaga home. For Halloween, visit Cassadaga’s “Haunted Walk and Orb Tour” or sit down to a “mini-reading” for only $10 and $20, respectively. Don’t forget to bring your camera! Cassadaga is the place every body wants to be on Halloween!

Oktober-Feast Beer Dinner
Orlando Brewing, one month after pairing up with Graze, joins Funky Monkey Wine Company for “stylish yet unconventional cuisine paired with locally produced Organic Beer” on Wednesday, October 15th at 6:30 PM. Tickets to the four-course dinner are $50 per person and must be purchased in advance at Orlando Brewing (1301 Atlanta Ave) and at Funky Monkey (912 North Mills Ave).

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Covering the local music scene has never been a strength of Living Orlando. We’ve mentioned a couple shows at The Social over the past year, but much like pointing out a couple grains of sand at the beach, two posts do nothing to uncover the amount of live music being performed in Orlando. For that reason, I’m very happy to have found Scene Central.

Scene Central is an Orlando-based website that aims to bring musicians and music-minded people together. Specifically, they hope to bring more people to the music scene by posting information about all of the shows and music-related events going on around town. They’ve even gone so far as to publish a monthly newsletter with concert listings, band interviews, venue information and more. October’s issue, which is actually the very first issue, lists 32 shows at places like The Social, The Haven, Central Station and Back Booth.

In addition, the’ve included some advice for booking a band and some “Do’s and Don’ts When Going To Shows”. Of the latter list, here is my favorite:

Don’t Be That Guy/Girl In The Pit
Anyone who has ever been in or around a circle/mosh pit knows who that guy is; he’s the guy that leaves the wake of trampled teens in tight pants dazed on the floor with the other half left conspiring how to end the reign of tyranny. THE PIT IS NOT A CONTEST. Your don’t WIN the pit, you respect it and the others involved. [AND EVEN IF] you could win the pit, it wouldn’t be done via douche baggery. The point of the pit is to COME TOGETHER in a union with the music, not to go on search and destroy missions until you’ve had your fill.

It’s actually a very sensible newsletter and a very useful tool for finding out about live music in Orlando. I found mine at Panchero’s Mexican Grill on Church St., but you can download one of your own, or just visit their website for all of the good info. A link to Scene Central will be placed permanently here on Living Orlando, too.

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The AST Dew Tour is coming to Orlando in a couple of weeks, bringing the world’s best action sports stars to the Amway Arena. In addition to the competition, the Playstation Pro event schedule also includes a concert, with this year’s headline act being the alternative band, “Boys Like Girls”.

During a recent visit to the Orange County Public Library’s main branch in Downtown Orlando, I noticed a few flyers advertising activities designed specifically for kids and teenagers in association with the AST Dew Tour event. If you’re creative, good at video games, or just want the opportunity to win some cool prizes, one of these contests may be for you.

Win a Mongoose BMX Bike
For kids and teenagers between the ages of 6 and 18. Simply sign-up for a library card (or show your current card) and check out three items to be entered for a chance to win a free BMX bike. Entries can be submitted at your local library, just look for a flyer with the words “AST Dew Tour: CHECK IT OUT!” on the front. Entries are due by Friday, October 10th and are limited to Orange County residents. One winner will receive their new bike on Thursday, October 16th at the “Celebrity Gaming Night” event listed below.

AST Dew Tour - Design a Skate-Deck Contest
For teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18. Use your artistic abilities for a chance to win a skateboard with your very own design. Entry forms can be found at your local library, and need to be submitted by Friday, October 10th. The winner will be recognized during the AST Dew Tour event.

Celebrity Gaming Night
For kids between the ages of 6 and 12. Play video games with a celebrity athlete from the AST Dew Tour on Thursday, October 16th at the Orlando Public Library. Registration is required and can be made by calling 407-835-7323.

For more information about these events, or the AST Dew Tour’s connection with the Orange County Library System, check out www.ocls.info.

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