Things To Do In Mount Dora

The IceHouse Theatre has been delighting audiences with professional productions for more than 60 years. From March 18 through April 9, critics can soak up the drama juices of Bingo. This Groupon is valid for any showing on Thursdays (7:30 p.m.), Fridays (8 p.m.), and Saturdays (8 p.m.). Bingo tells the story of three female friends who encounter danger, romance, and a mysterious stranger as they soldier through hurricane warnings to finish their weekly bingo game. Attendees can expect energy, laughter, and a curse upon anyone whose paper-cup-and-string phone rings during the show.

Adventure Cove’s miniature golf swaps turf-piercing tees and runaway golf carts with tropical obstacles and putting greens that welcome linksmen of all levels. Players can work on their short game or settle longstanding fairway feuds by challenging a friend to an 18-hole battle navigating water hazards and beached boats or by distracting opponents mid-putt by juggling coconuts from the course’s plethora of palm trees. A rock-piercing tiger-striped airplane marks the epicenter of the island, inviting golfers to bank shots off the fuselage to make up for bogeyed holes and denied mulligans.

At Masters of All Terrain events, participants may vie for the title for top finisher on a wide variety of surfaces as they complete races such as fierce 5Ks or half marathons. Racers can also compete in each race’s fitness challenge where they complete exercises such as flipping tires, tossing a keg, or shredding paperwork for collateralized debt obligations. Photographers stick around to snap high-res action shots along the way, all of which are available free afterward through the event’s Facebook page.

Festivals of Speed has been parading a fleet of the world’s snazziest automobiles before crowds at several fancy Florida hotels and resorts for a full decade. The who’s who list of cars includes vintage and contemporary models from Porsche, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Rolls-Royce, and Aston Martin, some so frighteningly aerodynamic that the wind refuses to blow on them.

To complement the automotive elegance, the event planners have made arrangements for soft jazz, luxury lifestyle displays, and sumptuous snacks perfect for tossing to Bentleys as they hop up on their hind wheels. The festival also attracts speedy species of watercraft, aircraft, and custom motorcycles, as well as classic and restored cars submitted by local auto enthusiasts. Alongside its vehicle lineup, the festivals also showcase jewelry, fine art, real estate, and culinary gems to cater to all manner of luxury aficionado.

Sweetwater Golf & Country Club's 18-hole Highlands Course weaves over 6,771 yards of fairways and greens stitched by mature oaks. The player-friendly, par 72 course puts clubbers face to face with the Loch Ness Monster—which is the name bestowed upon the course's signature hole, a 625-yard par five that double-doglegs around a lake. Golfers can prepare for their round with a stint at the club's driving range, where practice balls await to be launched in the stratosphere while commenting on the tense relationship between golf balls and sheets of glass. The club fosters more competitive fun at its tennis complex, which boasts eight lighted, outdoor Har-Tru—green clay—tennis courts.

After a day spent reading putts or thrashing forehands, guests can unwind at one of the club's three dining facilities. The relaxed vibes of the Fife & Drum Pub and the Carnoustie Café welcome casually-clad guests fresh off the course, and the more formal, chandelier-lit confines of the Highlands Dining Room provides an apropos backdrop for dinner parties or a romantic setting for date night for golfers and their caddy.

When picking the location for the championship course at Zellwood Station Golf Club, architect George Maddox discovered hilly terrain not often seen at Floridian links. He made the most of this undulating ground as he designed four doglegs that loop around a dry lake, nicknamed Crater Junction, and also devised a treacherous ninth hole. Known as the Train Wreck, this obstacle is infamous for its long fairway and sharp dogleg left. Today, head golf professional Christopher C. Tyler presides over the course’s bermuda-grass fairways and its expansive greens, which putt fast and true. Before facing down the landscape, golfers can figure out which of their balls are afraid of heights by sending them flying from one of a dozen hitting stations at the driving range.

Despite its impressive course and welcoming clubhouse, Zellwood Station Golf Club isn’t resting on its laurels; the club has plans to debut four new holes, a 10,000-square-foot practice chipping-and-putting facility, and a new driving range before the end of 2012.