Patrick Connolly

5 days ago | orlandosentinel.com | Patrick Connolly

While Orlando is known far and wide as the "theme park capital of the world," what many visitors may not know is that the City Beautiful has a dark and storied past. Tales of murder and mystery adorn the pages of Orlando's history books, including appearances from serial killers and ghosts who are said to haunt the city's downtown. U.S. Ghost Adventures, which offers tours in haunted cities across America, is throwing a "halfway to Halloween" celebration through Saturday, May 17.

5 days ago | orlandosentinel.com | Patrick Connolly

Although the former Winter Park library building has sat unoccupied for years, Chris Cortez saw it as a blank canvas for building a brand new performing arts space and as a chance to breathe new life into the city's live entertainment scene. His nonprofit, Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts, announced the organization's reopening on June 22 in its new home two blocks east of Park Avenue. The announcement came after months of permitting, demolition and construction in the previously vacant building.

6 days ago | orlandosentinel.com | Patrick Connolly

Ocoee Mayor Rusty Johnson, who has lived in the city for 70 years, has always considered the West Orange County community as a "great place to live."The longtime Central Floridian has watched the city grow from around 12,000 people when he started his tenure as mayor to around 51,000 now. Johnson will join the growing community in celebrating Ocoee's centennial with a big birthday party at Bill Breeze Park this weekend and a time capsule celebration next week.

1 week ago | orlandosentinel.com | Patrick Connolly

Mother's Day is May 11, presenting a day dedicated to expressing gratitude and love toward moms, grandmothers and other maternal figures. It's a day often filled with family time, gifts, good food and great company. In Orlando, there are many events that offer the chance to bond with mom. Here are a few. Graham's U Pick Peaches offers a Mother's Day weekend on the farm featuring peaches, blackberries and sunflowers available to pick. Mothers will receive a free gift.

1 week ago | orlandosentinel.com | Patrick Connolly

" May the Fourth be with you" has become a common way of greeting fellow Star Wars fans during the annual celebration of the spacey franchise, May 4. What started as a grassroots celebration and a clever pun has now been transformed into a global holiday to celebrate Jedis, the force and all that George Lucas started with the Star Wars franchise. Here are some suggestions for aspiring Jedis and fans to celebrate Star Wars Day in Orlando.