Orlando Event Calendars

Whether you live in Central Florida or are visiting for a few days, Orlando and Orange County maintain several surprisingly useful event calendars that can help you find everything from festivals and farmers markets to free classes, public programs, job fairs and neighborhood events.

One of the advantages of living in the Orlando area is that there is almost always something happening somewhere.

The problem isn’t necessarily finding things to do.

It is finding out about them.

Major concerts, theme-park events and professional sports are easy to discover because they are heavily advertised. Smaller community events can be much easier to miss.

A free outdoor concert might be happening downtown.

A park could be hosting a nature walk.

There may be an art exhibition, farmers market, cultural festival, community cleanup, senior activity, free class or family event taking place only a few miles from your house.

Fortunately, both the City of Orlando and Orange County maintain official event calendars that are worth bookmarking.

City of Orlando Events Calendar

One of the best places to start is the City of Orlando Events Calendar.

View the City of Orlando Events Calendar

The city’s calendar includes events sponsored, hosted or permitted by the City of Orlando. That means it covers considerably more than government meetings.

Depending on the week, you may find:

• festivals;
• live music;
• art exhibits;
• farmers markets;
• food events;
• community activities;
• workshops;
• senior programs;
• fitness activities;
• neighborhood events;
• volunteer opportunities;
• public meetings;
• family activities.

The calendar can be searched by keyword and date, making it particularly useful when you’re trying to figure out what is happening on a specific weekend. The city describes Orlando as a regional events capital and uses the calendar to collect hundreds of cultural, music, sports and community activities throughout the year.

One event you will regularly find there is the Orlando Farmers Market at Lake Eola, along with downtown entertainment, community programs and activities at city parks and senior centers.

For Orlando residents, this is a calendar worth checking at least once a week.

Orange County Events Search

Orlando represents only part of the Greater Orlando community.

For activities outside the city limits, Orange County maintains its own searchable event database.

Search Orange County Events

The Orange County event search is particularly useful because you can narrow results by:

• category;
• date;
• location;
• event name.

That makes it easier to search for activities closer to where you actually live rather than scrolling through a giant regional list.

If you live in unincorporated Orange County or communities elsewhere around the county, this should probably be one of your regular event resources.

Orange County’s County Calendar

There is also a second Orange County resource that is somewhat different.

The Orange County County Calendar combines community activities with government meetings, public programs and civic events.

View the Orange County County Calendar

At first glance, a government calendar may not sound like somewhere you would look for something to do.

Take another look.

The calendar can include things such as:

• community-center programs;
• health screenings;
• job fairs;
• classes;
• volunteer opportunities;
• public workshops;
• recreation programs;
• community meetings;
• development meetings;
• Orange County Convention Center events;
• Board of County Commissioners meetings;
• planning and zoning hearings.

For example, recent listings have included community health screenings, job fairs and English-language classes alongside county-government meetings.

That mixture makes this calendar particularly useful for residents, because not everything worth knowing about is entertainment.

Sometimes the most useful local event might be a job fair, a free public service, a neighborhood development meeting or an opportunity to learn about a road or construction project planned near your home.

Don’t Ignore Community Meetings

This is an area where I think residents sometimes miss an opportunity.

You don’t have to wait until construction equipment appears down the street to learn what is happening in your neighborhood.

Orange County’s calendar includes links to development-related meetings and planning activities, including the Development Review Committee, Planning and Zoning Commission and community meetings associated with development projects.

If a major development, road project, apartment complex, commercial center or zoning change is being discussed near your neighborhood, these meetings can give residents an opportunity to learn about it much earlier in the process.

That is something we plan to pay much more attention to here at Lifehappens2us.

Look Beyond the Big Attractions

Central Florida has some of the world’s largest entertainment attractions, so it is easy for smaller events to disappear underneath them.

But there is another Orlando happening at the same time.

Neighborhood festivals.

Art exhibitions.

Local theater.

Cultural celebrations.

Public markets.

Outdoor movies.

Food events.

Community classes.

Sports.

Nature programs.

Volunteer opportunities.

Live music.

Public meetings.

And plenty of activities that cost little or nothing.

You simply have to know where to look.

A Good Weekend Habit

If you live in Greater Orlando, try something simple.

On Thursday or Friday, check the three calendars above.

See what is happening Saturday and Sunday.

You don’t necessarily have to plan an entire day around an event.

Maybe you discover a farmers market you haven’t visited.

Maybe there is an art show downtown.

Maybe a park near your house is holding a nature program.

Maybe there is a cultural festival somewhere you’ve never explored.

Pick one.

Go see it.

That’s one of the best ways to gradually discover the enormous community that exists outside your normal daily routine.

For Visitors, These Calendars Can Improve Your Vacation Too

These resources aren’t only for residents.

If you are planning a trip to Orlando, check the City of Orlando calendar before arriving.

There may be something happening during your visit that you never would have discovered through a traditional tourism guide.

Spend the morning at a theme park and the evening at a downtown festival.

Visit Lake Eola during a farmers market.

See a local art exhibition.

Attend a community celebration.

It can give you an opportunity to experience a little bit of the real Orlando while you’re here.

Bookmark These Three Orlando-Area Event Resources

For easy reference:

City of Orlando Events Calendar
City-sponsored, hosted and permitted events, including festivals, markets, arts, recreation and community activities.

City of Orlando Events

Orange County Events Search
Search Orange County activities by category, date, location or event name.

Orange County Events Search

Orange County County Calendar
Community programs, public meetings, job fairs, development meetings, government events and other county activities.

Orange County County Calendar

Bookmark them.

Check them regularly.

You may be surprised by how much is happening around you.

And as Lifehappens2us expands its coverage of Orlando, Orange County and Central Florida, we’ll be watching these calendars too—looking for interesting events, useful programs, community improvements and other things worth knowing about around Greater Orlando.