Things to Do in Wekiwa Springs

The Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando was founded to give those who share the Jewish tradition a communal setting in which to exercise, play, and learn with one another. Between them, the two locations boast full fitness facilities, tennis courts, and an outdoor pool. Group exercise classes and a gymnasium aid adults in acquiring fitter bodies, and sports leagues provide a venue for grownups to compete and ceremoniously dump sports drinks on each other. The center also puts on its own full-blown theatrical productions.

The center’s staff tailors certain events to the needs of senior citizens, helping them with exercise regimes such as yoga. Staff members also assist the Senior Nite club in organizing trips to new restaurants or the theater and help pintsize guests by helming a preschool, kids' camps, and extracurricular programs. Staffers can even pick up youngsters from school and ferry them to one of the facilities for afterschool development programs, which, like backyard mazes, are designed by the child’s parents to challenge young ones.

Snap! Orlando unravels a city-wide canvas for more than 50 renowned photographers and emerging local talents to showcase their shutterbug prowess. Stretched across a dozen different venues, including art galleries, cafés, and exhibition spaces, the multi-day celebration unites both photography novices and veteran collectors under the same creative banner. On Friday, an artist reception launches the festivities with live talks from featured visionaries, and on Saturday, a fashion show shifts the spotlight from portraits to patterns with bold new styles inspired by some of the event’s creative minds. Attendees can also drop in on a lineup of lectures, workshops, and guest speakers who will be on hand to discuss their areas of expertise or demonstrate their go-to dance moves for developing a Polaroid.

Although Orlando Shakespeare Theater gets its name from the Bard himself, the ensemble of thespians produces a wide variety of shows. Shakespearean tragedies, comedies, and space operas anchor their season, but newly developed works also make their way onto the bill, as do plays for young audiences. Kids learn how to create their own pieces of theater during summer camps and classes, hosted both offsite and in school.

Spun sugar crystals float by spinning horses and pools of docile magnetic sharks beneath the glittering midway lights of Carol Stream Amusements' lively traveling carnival. The nearly 110-year-old fair company's third-generation of stewards bring rides, games, and snacks to states such as Florida, North Carolina, and New York, where it operates the state fair in Syracuse. A 65-foot century wheel soars above the bustle of the music-filled midway, where LED lights twinkle in patterns of white, green, blue, and red around its gondola cars. A merry-go-round sends fantastical steeds cantering around in a stately circle, while bumper cars careen around their nearby enclosure. Carnival games such as squirt-gun races and fishing for magnetized sharks yield prizes such as stuffed animals and inflatable Scooby-Doo, SpongeBob, and Henry VIII dolls, while flurries of corn dogs, cotton candy, popcorn, and taffy apples fall constantly on hungry fair-goers.

Moviegoers kick back in tiered stadium seats and absorb unobstructed views of Hollywood’s latest studio releases at Cobb Plaza Cinema Café 12. A Dolby Digital audio system ensconces audiences in a seamless cocoon of sight and sound while couples raise the armrests on their high-backed leather chairs for optimum cuddling. The concession stand entertains taste buds with theater classics such as popcorn, candy, and Coca-Cola along with a full menu of beer and wine options. Drivers can snag parking spots in the attached garage for $2.50 with validation, and youngsters can pedal their tricycles over to the theater in the summer months for free kiddie showings.

Even though flakes rarely brave the Florida sun and Jack Frost will never be grand marshal of the Citrus Bowl parade, some winter traditions are the same no matter where you live. One look at Winter in the Park confirms that. Spanning the holiday-packed days from November 16 to January 6, the festival decks out a portion of Central Park with frosty fun for the entire family. The centerpiece is a chilly ice rink, where skaters loop through delicate figure-8s and wreaths and other decorations help visitors capture the end-of-year spirit without having to find a local polar-bear adoption center. Additional events in Winter Park range from a harvest festival and holiday pops concert to a pancake breakfast, a Christmas parade, and a Hanukkah celebration.