It’s time again to give thanks for all the things we love about the community we all call home.
Readers offered hundreds of suggestions for the 15th annual installment of “101 Things to Love about Central Florida.” Some are old favorites. Some are new entries. All help make Central Florida unique.
Among the many things Central Floridians enjoy …
Art festivals in Maitland, Mount Dora and Winter Park.
Birds that winter here, including white pelicans, warblers and the occasional painted bunting.
Giant oaks that shade our yards and frame our roads … when they’re not falling on our homes during hurricane season anyway.
The end of hurricane season.
The Asian lantern festival at Sanford zoo.
The Festival of Trees at the Orlando Museum of Art.
And the giant “tree” of lights that St. John Lutheran Church has been stringing to the top of its bell tower for nearly four decades as a holiday greeting to motorists buzzing along Mills Avenue.
Since 1988, St. John Lutheran Church in Orlando has been stringing lights to the top of its bell tower during the Christmas season to form a lighted “tree” along Mills Avenue. (Photo courtesy of St. John Lutheran Church)
Cruise ports that many families fly thousands of miles to reach but which we can access in under 90 minutes.
Orange County National Golf Center and Lodge.
The Winter Park Scenic Boat Tour and the St. Johns Rivership Co.
College bowl games in Camping World Stadium and the Florida Citrus Sports group, which this year is celebrating its 80th anniversary of putting on the games.
South Carolina and Illinois faced off in last year’s Cheez-It Citrus Bowl at Camping World Stadium.(Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
The plantain pancakes topped with coconut whipped cream at Lamp and Shade. Cocktails or brunch at the AC Marriott’s Skybar, overlooking downtown Orlando. The half-off-nearly-everything menu at Johnny’s Other Side on Tuesday nights.
Unique clubs — like the Silent Book Club in Orlando and Joy Ukele, the happiest entrant you will ever see in any local parade.
All the local parades.
Judson’s Live and Steinmetz Hall.
The Timucua Arts Foundation and the Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts.
Free fireworks shows most every night for anyone who lives near Disney.
Universals’ increasingly impressive collection of high-tech thrill rides.
The slower, more relaxed pace of SeaWorld and Epcot.
You can theme park at your own pace during Epcot’s annual Food and Wine Festival. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)
The network of YMCAs and the staffers there who have a special knack for helping kids learn their first sports and helping seniors stay active and connected.
The Orlando Magic, Orlando Pride and Orlando City soccer.
The region’s network of biking and walking trails, including the West Orange, Orlando Urban, Lake Underhill, Cady Way and Cross Seminole.
Also, the volunteers with the Central Florida chapter of the Florida Trail Association who put in long hours to keep those trails clear and clean.
And for those who don’t want to walk or pedal, wildlife drives like Black Point in Brevard and Lake Apopka’s North Shore where you can catch gators, bobcats and herons without ever leaving your car.
That this community has a professional opera, symphony and ballet.
The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra performs with Opera Orlando and the Orlando Sings chorus in Steinmetz Hall. (Courtesy Opera Orlando)
Linda’s La Cantina, Reel Fish Coastal Kitchen and the Tap Room at Dubsdread
Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, the Christian Service Center of Orlando and SALT.
The diversity. More people stressed their appreciation for this aspect of Central Florida than just about anything else. The food. The people. The culture.
Orlando Wetlands Park, which was this year’s other most popular suggestion. Also Rock Springs Run and the Oakland Nature Preserve.
Gatorland.
Local leagues of Women Voters.
The exhibit celebrating Orlando’s 150th birthday at the Orange County Regional History Center.
Birders are big fans of Orlando Wetlands where a juvenile Great Blue Heron can be seen here grabbing the bill of one of its parents, hoping to get a meal. (Roger Simmons/Orlando Sentinel)
The many chains of lakes, including Butler, Clermont, Conway, Harris and Winter Park.
Shepherd’s Hope medical clinic and the Orange County medical clinic.
Sunrises at Lake Baldwin dog park.
The Orlando International Fringe Festival
Orlando Shakes, Theater West End and the Winter Park Playhouse.
Downtown Winter Garden. Downtown Winter Park. Downtown Mount Dora. And downtown St. Cloud.
Habitat for Humanity, Camp Boggy Creek and Give Kids the World. Plus the opportunity to volunteer at all these places.
Audubon Center for Birds of Prey and the Central Florida Animal Reserve.
That this region still has a major daily newspaper that employs a team of dedicated journalists who watchdog city halls, spend Friday nights on the sidelines of high school football games and cover everything from community theater to mom-and-pop restaurants.
This community’s response to the Tallahassee-led crackdown on rainbow-colored crosswalks.
Murals that celebrate rainbows. And love. And everything from Mr. Rogers to Freddy Mercury.
The mural at the east entrance of the third-floor pedestrian bridge at CNL Center City Commons in downtown Orlando.(Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)
A wide array of churches, synagogues and temples that care for both their congregants and those who will never set foot on their properties.
The Inter-Faith Council of Central Florida and the Peace and Justice Institute.
Mainstreet districts like Mills50, the Milk District and Ivanhoe.
That we have easy drives to both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.
That we don’t have to drive anywhere if we want to experience a world-class staycation.
A culinary scene with Michelin starred restaurants.
The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum, Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens, Orlando Museum of Art and the Mennello Museum of Folk Art.
The rise in local doughnut shops
Lake Eola park.
It doesn’t get much more iconic for downtown Orlando than Lake Eola Park. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)
The Orange County Library System — and the fact that it offers way more than just traditional books, including sewing classes, lectures and audio books you can “check out” and listen to right on your smart phone.
Hyperlocal news sites like the Oviedo Community News, Winter Park Voice and Winter Garden’s Vox Populi.
Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.
Park Avenue CDs and Kiwi Camera Service.
Honor Flight Central Florida.
The way our nonprofit sector collaborates instead of competes.
Farmers markets in Orlando, Winter Park, Winter Garden, Celebration and the uniquely quirky one in Audubon Park Monday nights.
Great health care options.
Access to Brightline.
WMFE and WUCF.
Rollins College and UCF, offering higher-ed options both big and small.
Manatees.
The Central Florida Foundation, Hope Community Center and the Neighborhood Center of South Lake County.
Split Oak preserve.
East End Market.
Even during record cold snaps, there’s nothing to shovel when you wake up.
Pristine wetlands on the western side of the Split Oak Forest Wildlife and Environmental Area in St. Cloud, (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)