Weekend Preview August 9th - 11th, 2013: Things to Do in Orlando

What's going on in downtown Orlando this weekend? We have our sights set on free beer, urban art, opera, roller derby matches, science, live music, food trucks, and TV parties.

Friday, August 9th

Skipping school--uuh, work--has been a lot more fun the past six years, thanks to the annual City Skip Day. Starting Friday at noon, ditch your office and head down to Wall Street Plaza for free beer, lunch specials, and raffles.

What will the Urban Art Museum look like?  Well, come to the Urban Art Museum Kickstarting Party, Friday night from 6:00 to 9:00pm, to find out! Jai Gallery (101 S Garland Ave) will host a free event with complimentary wine where visitors can learn about the project aimed at creating meaningful art installations in Orlando's artistically neglected areas.

Quantum Leap Winery (1312 Wilfred Dr) is hosting Wine Down Friday from 7:00pm to 10:00pm with live music, food by Food Truck Crazy, and, of course, lots of wine.

This Friday at 7:00pm kicks off the first of three Florida Opera Theatre: Opera in the Park performances. Tickets are $20 and events are held at the Winter Park Community Center (721 W New England Ave).

Saturday, August 10th

For a more literal take on "I ate that book right up," check out Book Tastings: Eat this Book at the Orlando Public Library (101 E Central Bvld) this Saturday at 11:00am. At this free event your challenge is to guess which book matches the snacks paired by your downtown bibliophiles.

While you're at the Library, be sure to check out The Night Sky: A Cultural Perspective & Beyond, a special presentation by astrophysicist and former NASA consultant Kevin Manning; free, 2:00pm. (Note: hashtags have invaded the Public Library [clearly the product of an overachieving summer intern]. This event's tag is #vivaflorida)

I love a good deal like anybody else~ fight the garage-sailing nuts at the Orlando Fringe Festival/Ivanhoe Village Junk in the Trunk Rummage Sale on Saturday. 9:00am-2:00pm. DO IT. 

Sunday, August 11th

Our Pick

FREEBIE ALERT! Make sure you see the Orlando City Soccer Club take on the Seattle Sounders Reserves at the Citrus Bowl this Sunday at 7:30pm because each ticket stub will give you FREE entry to LegoLand Florida from August 12th to the 26th. That's right! Your $15 OCSC ticket gets you into LegoLand, which can cost up to $66. Expect to see us looking like creepers at a kid's park soon!

Ready for a roller derby triple-threat? Then head over to the Semoran Skateway  (2670 Cassel Creek Blvd, Casselberry) this Sunday from 4:30 to 7:00pm to see the Serial vs. Sunnyland vs. Arkham battle. Tickets are $10 pre-sale / $13 at the door. Food, beer, raffle tickets, merch, and more available inside. And for the love of Shiva, bring your own chair (or Falcon Punch B will kick your ass).

Sunday night is the Breaking Bad Premiere Party at The Falcon (819 E Washington St), starting at 7:00pm. Come for the trivia, stay for the costume contest. The season premiere will be shown from 9:00 to 10:00pm. If you're getting bullied by your posse for not having seen the show [*coughcough* like us *cough*], don't worry--there's a series recap at 8:00pm.

Orlando Brewing (1301 Atlanta Ave) has some great live music, especially Sundays with Old Time Music Jam, playing live Appalachian bluegrass favorites and improvisations from 4:00 to 7:00pm. Dogs welcome!

Sunday at 1:00pm it's time for the Enzian's monthly FilmSlam '13 Showcase. Watch a series of short films, vote for your favorite, and see who moves on to the Brouhaha Film & Video Showcase in November.

Lastly, don't miss this month's Food Truck Bazaar at the Orlando Fashion Square Mall from 6:00 to 9:00pm. (Hey, it's only a high of 92 that day! ಠ_ಠ )

What are you doing this weekend, Orlando? Leave a comment below!