⛸ This Orlandoan is literally rollin' through the pandemic

Plus, we're back with another round of I Spy Orlando.

By Katie Johnston

It’s Tuesday y’all, and a special one at that — it's my mom's birthday! (Happy birthday, mom! Hopefully, you're reading this. 🤞 )

It's also a cooler one — we're looking at a high in the mid-70s today. We’ll even see a low of 52 before warming up to 81 degrees tomorrow. The pollen count is predicted to be extremely high through the weekend so if you suffer from allergies like me, consider this your fair warning to take your meds and stay the heck indoors. 🙄

But let's move from the weather to the news, shall we? That is, right after we all ooh and ahh over local photographer Steven Madow’s capture of a sunrise over Lake Eola. Wow, right?

If you had to choose, is it Orlando's sunrises or sunsets that you love the most? 📸: @stevenmadow | Wanna see your photo here? Tag either #pulptown or @pulptown on Instagram to be featured as our IG of the Day!

What Orlando is talking about

⚽️ The U.S. Women's National Team has been winning big on and off the field these last few weeks. After securing a 2-0 win over Brazil in the SheBelieves Cup on Sunday, Rapinoe celebrated her goal by “rocking” baby Sloane on Twitter. As we learned last week, Baby Sloane is Ashlyn Harris and Ali Krieger’s new adorable daughter. The USWNT plays Argentina tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Exploria Stadium. (USA Soccer)

🏗 The University of Central Florida is launching a new master’s degree program in themed experiences this fall. It’s the first program of its kind for a public university, and the two-year program will focus on designing environments with storytelling in mind at settings like theme parks, zoos, aquariums, museums, and more. (Orlando Business Journal)

🍝 Local Chef Bruno Fonseca is bringing back his 5-course omakase dinners to The Heavy in Winter Park. Fonseca still plans on opening a brick-and-mortar in Audubon Park later this spring but for now, he’s back at The Heavy with more COVID-19 measures in place to ensure a safe experience. Tickets start at $100. (Fonseca on Facebook)

🚫 Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried said state offices will not be forced to lower their flags to honor the passing of radio host Rush Limbaugh, even though Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a directive to do so on Friday. However, flags will be lowered to half-staff this week to honor the 500,000 Americans that have died from COVID-19. (Orlando Sentinel)

🗣 Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to speak in Orlando on Sunday at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference. The event was moved from Maryland to Florida over COVID-19 restrictions and will take place at the Hyatt Regency Thursday through Sunday. This will be Trump’s first public appearance since he left office. (WFTV)

🏠 Although Orange County ended its COVID-19 eviction diversion program on Friday, it’s planning to launch a new emergency rental assistance program in its place starting March 1. The new program will target the county’s most vulnerable tenants who are in imminent danger of eviction due to economic hardships wrought by the pandemic. While the plans are similar, there are key differences like length of time behind on rent versus amount of assistance available. (WKMG)

👀Guess where?

(📸: @pulptown)

We're testing our members’ knowledge of the city this week with a good old-fashioned game of I Spy. Do you know where you can find the view above?

Embrace the FOMO and join our Pulptown+ membership program today for just $8 a month (or $80 a year). 🙌 Our members get exclusive perks and messaging — like curated weekend itineraries, job recommendations, and cool housing finds.

Promotion from Orange County Regional History Center

Plan your visit to learn more about this exhibit

⏳ See this exhibit before it closes March 7

The 1920 Ocoee Massacre in Orange County remains the largest incident of voting-day violence in U.S. history.

The Orange County Regional History Center marked the 100-year remembrance of the Ocoee Massacre with a special exhibit, “Yesterday, this was home” and it’s currently on display through March 7.

The exhibit explores not only this horrific time in our community’s history but also recent acts of racism, hatred, and terror.

“Yesterday this was home” encourages reflection, the power of perspective, and the importance of exercising the right to vote, while asking what lessons history can inspire for moving forward.

Plan your visit to learn more about this exhibit

5 Questions with Dorsa Vaziri of WOW Rolling

I first met Dorsa at her place of work, Whippoorwill Beerhouse in the Milk District. We bonded over mutual friends and a glass of wine. Later on, she whipped up tasty zero-proof cocktails for an event Pulptown held at The Heavy during “dry” January a few years back.

But she doesn’t just excel at drink-making — this girl is a wonder woman on some skates. I mean it! I’ve been following her since she first debuted her passion project, WOW Rolling, to the rest of the world. And I’m loving the direction she’s heading in and the traction she’s getting. Enough that I wanted to introduce her to you. Because if you’re anything like me, the pandemic has greatly increased your appreciation for old-school rollerskating videos too.

So here goes nothing:

When/why did you start skating? The same question goes for WOW Rolling. My mom would take me to Semoran Skateway in Casselberry as a child and while she worked on her laptop, I would twirl around the rink and take lessons.

In the last three years, roller skating has become more consistent for me when I needed a healthy outlet for my mental health issues and wanted a way to move my body and express myself. I posted about starting up skating again and a few friends reached out to connect me to their friends who were also skating and we slowly started growing with meet-ups and skating sessions at various parks around town.

WOW Rolling was a page I started to track my own personal progress and just celebrate the simple pleasures of rolling around, being on wheels, and having fun with your friends. I went to Moxi Skate Camp in Woodward, PA, which is hosted by Moxi Roller Skates, in 2019 with three of my skate friends from Orlando and we had the most influential and incredible time amongst skaters from all over the nation and the talented coaches who shared their knowledge with us that we were inspired to keep that energy going here in Orlando.

Thus, a star was born.

Dorsa, what tips would you give someone looking to get back on wheels?

Find the right wheels/gear for you! Ask around, do some research and get what you like.
Find friends to skate with! I swear I get better each time I skate with my pals because we can all show off what we're working on to each other.
Practice! Be kind to yourself! Take care of your body by stretching, drinking water and taking breaks so you can skate as often as you'd like and crush all your skate goals.

What is your go-to skate song? “Casio” by Jungle for when I want to groove and find a good dance beat. If I just want to put my headphones on and cruise, I'll play the Disclosure "Energy" album.

Who would you like to “partner skate” with? Neon Keon! She's an Iranian skater in California and I love her style, her bold curls, and her dance moves! (Editor’s note: Same girl, same.)

What’s next for WOW Rolling and where can we find Dorsa? I'll be hosting more WOW Wear & Care Pop-Ups soon. Find me on Instagram or over on my website where I sell sustainable, secondhand, skateable wears and gear, including skate leashes, skate gear, and cute outfits to roll around in. WOW Wear is slow fashion for fast skaters!

I also have the WOW Rolling Guide to Skating where peeps can check out parks in the area, trails to skate, and what to buy if they're just starting out. In the guide, I've highlighted some important points about the influence of the Black community in roller skating. It's important to recognize that roller skating isn't "alive again" or "re-emerging," just because it's in the mainstream again. The Black and BIPOC folks of the roller-skating community are what keep rinks open and the community rich in culture and history — they have always been skating and creating a scene for this sport and activity.

Things to do

Submit your events to our calendar.

Today

🖼 Attend a virtual tour of Roland Rockwood's exhibit at the Mennello Museum of Art (Online)

🍿 Head to the Enzian for a night of romance as they present "Romeo + Juliet" (Maitland)

📚 Hear from award-winning author Tayari Jones on her writing process, her career, and her novel, "Silver Sparrow" (Online)

Tomorrow

🎟 Go "Down the Rabbit Hole" on this walking theatrical experience through Mead Botanical Garden now through March 25 (Winter Park)

🌱 Shop the Orlando Vegan Night Market at The Veranda every other Wednesday (Thornton Park)

🗣 See the year's first in-person Story Club outdoors at the CityArts Courtyard (Downtown)

⚽️ Watch Canada take on Brazil and the US face off against Argentina in the 2021 SheBelieves Cup (Parramore)

🎟 Grab your tickets for "Josephine", an outdoor musical/cabaret about the life of the legendary Josephine Baker now through March 21 (Loch Haven Park)

Thursday

🛍 See if your favorite local maker is popping up at this Thursday night market every Thursday (Thornton Park)

🍿 Celebrate Black History Month with the City District and a viewing of "Black Panther" (Parramore)

🎶 Venture out to the Plaza Live for a night of live music, food trucks, and fun outdoors (Milk District)

Friday

🚲 Get on two wheels (or one, hey!) and bike around Orlando at the monthly Critical Mass meetup (Loch Haven Park)

🍻 Head to Oviedo Brewing Company for tasty brews and its pop-up night market featuring local vendors (Oviedo)

Saturday

🚚 Head to Camping World Stadium to watch big trucks race at the Monster Jam (West Oaks)

🍿 Grab a blanket and settle in for an outdoor movie night at Nora's Sugar Shack complete with buckets of booze (Ivanhoe)

🎶 Get over to Palmer's Feed Store for an outdoor concert celebrating Black History Month (Parramore)

🛍 Shop small and support local at this all-day sidewalk sale (Winter Garden)

♻️ Put on your walking shoes and gloves and go clean up the neighborhood (Milk District)

Sunday

🎨 Get your good eatin' on at Yellow Dog Eats before taking a visit to see the grave of legendary painter Bob Ross (Gotha)

🍿 Watch "Guardians of the Galaxy" on the big screen from the comfort of your socially distanced box on the lawn of the Dr. Phillips Center (Downtown)

🛍 Shop the Sanford Mini Indie Market at Tuffy's every last Sunday of the month through April (Sanford)

Monday

🎶 Opt for a classy night outdoors as the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra presents Beethoven's Emperor Concerto (Milk District)

One more thing

Who’s ordering White Castle for lunch? The national food chain is debuting its delivery-only service in Orlando today ahead of opening its brick-and-mortar in the tourist district later in the year.

Sliders, anyone?

‘Til tomorrow, folks.

– ✌️ Katie at Pulptown

P.S. Wish you had known sooner about a possible lunch from White Castle? You could’ve if you had listened to yesterday’s 15 Minutes in Pulptown podcast. It comes out every Monday around 7 a.m. to whatever platform you stream your favorite pods from. There’s still time to tune in. 😉

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