Best of Orlando 2017 – Fun & Leisure
Our readers voted online for their top picks in dozens of categories, from sweet shops to car dealers, bloggers to wedding venues. We carried our snazzy "Best of Orl" sign to various winning spots for photos, then had a "blast" coloring it for the cover.
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Best of Food & Drink |
Big Picture
To Pat Greene, art is about challenging people. He considers the exhibitions inside the forest green, Queen Anne-style building housing the Gallery at Avalon Island to be a surprise, not unlike a wrapped gift. "Why would you go to something if it's predictable?" says Greene, the gallery's director. He mines his surprises by researching all mediums of art—a habit he learned from his grandmother, Edee Greene, a journalist and women's rights advocate who lived to age 87 with her thirst for knowledge intact. "It's not just putting up pretty pictures,'' Greene says. In addition to the contemporary exhibits of paintings, sculpture and mixed media, Greene welcomes boundary-pushing music, film and literary readings to maintain a revolving door of new experiences. "I do want people to learn something," he says. "That's what people appreciate."
—Megan Stokes
ART GALLERY
1 Gallery at Avalon Island
South Magnolia Avenue, Downtown Orlando
avalongallery.com
2 CityArts Factory
Downtown Orlando
orlandoslice.com
3 Boom Art by Rogers Studio
Ivanhoe Village
facebook.com
(search Boom-Art)
NON-THEME PARK ATTRACTION
1 Orlando Science Center
Loch Haven Park
osc.org
2 Coca-Cola Orlando Eye
I-Drive 360
officialorlandoeye.com
3 Gatorland
South Orange County
gatorland.com
PLACE FOR A STAYCATION
1 Walt Disney World
Lake Buena Vista
disneyworld.disney.go.com
2 Grande Lakes Orlando
Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott
grandelakes.com
3 Universal Orlando Resort
Orlando
universalorlandoresort.com
PUBLIC GOLF COURSE
1 Dubsdread Golf Course
College Park
historicaldubsdread.com
2 Shingle Creek Golf Club
Universal Boulevard, Orlando
shinglecreekgolf.com
3 Winter Park Golf Course
North of Downtown
cityofwinterpark.org
PRIVATE GOLF COURSE
1 Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club and Lodge
Bay Hill
bayhill.com
2 The Country Club of Orlando
Country Club Drive, Orlando
countrycluboforlando.com
3 Isleworth Golf & Country Club
Windermere
isleworth.com/golf
Orlando Museum of Art (ORLANDO MUSEUM OF ART)
MUSEUM
1 Orlando Museum of Art
Loch Haven Park
omart.org
2 Orlando Science Center
Loch Haven Park
osc.org
3 Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art
Winter Park
morsemuseum.org
BUSINESS HOTEL
1 Grand Bohemian Hotel Orlando
Downtown Orlando
grandbohemianhotel.com
2 Courtyard Orlando Downtown
North Magnolia Avenue
marriott.com
3 Rosen Hotels & Resorts
Orlando
Rosenhotels.com
PLACE TO GET MARRIED
1 Harry P. Leu Gardens
Orlando
leugardens.org
2 Disney’s Wedding Pavilion
Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
Lake Buena Vista
disneyweddings.com
3 Historic Dubsdread Ballroom
College Park
dubsdreadcatering.com
TRIVIA NIGHT
1 Graffiti Junktion
Multiple Orlando-area locations
graffitijunktion.com
2 Curtis Earth at Bikes, Beans and Bordeaux
Audubon Park
bikesbeansandbordeaux.com
3 Doug Ba’as at Hamburger Mary’s
Church Street
hamburgermarys.com
ENTERTAINMENT EXPERIENCE
1 Walt Disney World (including Disney Springs)
Lake Buena Vista
disneyworld.disney.go.com
2 Universal Orlando Resort (including CityWalk)
Orlando
universalorlandoresort.com
3 Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts
Downtown Orlando
drphillipscenter.org
Enzian (ROBERTO GONZALEZ)
MOVIE THEATER
1 Enzian
Maitland
enzian.org
2 Epic Theatres at Lee Vista
South Orlando
epictheatres.com
3 Cobb Plaza Cinema
Café 12
Downtown Orlando
cobbtheatres.com
LIVE MUSIC VENUE
1 House of Blues
Disney Springs
houseofblues.com/orlando
2 The Plaza Live
Milk District
plazaliveorlando.com
3 The Social
North Orange Avenue, Downtown Orlando
thesocial.org
CHARITY GALA
1 Runway to Hope Spring Fashion Soiree
Benefits children and families affected by pediatric cancer
runwaytohope.org
2 Headdress Ball
Benefits Hope & Help Center of Central Florida
hopeandhelp.org
3 Hats and Heroes Ball
Benefits Kids Beating Cancer Pediatric
Transplant Center
kidsbeatingcancer.com
FESTIVAL
1 Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival
Park Avenue, Winter Park
wpsaf.org
2 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival
Walt Disney World
disneyworld.disney.go.com
3 Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival
Loch Haven Park
orlandofringe.org
