Downtown Orlando: the final frontier.
Every spring, the Dr. Phillips Center is invaded by otherworldly talent when the UCF College of Arts and Humanities presents UCF Celebrates the Arts, a two-week cultural extravaganza. Showcasing the creative, innovative abilities of both faculty and students, this festival offers our community the chance to experience and engage with the bright minds and big ideas incubating at UCF.
Part of the festival’s goal is to provide greater arts access to the community, a project that’s also important to Orange County Library System. Last year, for the first time, tickets to select events happening at UCF Celebrates the Arts were made available for free with your library card through OCLS’s Local Wanderer program. The library is excited to say Local Wanderer passes for UCF Celebrates the Arts events are available again this year! Passes for various ticketed events are still available now to give everyone a chance to experience the creativity on display at the festival.
The imagery for this year’s festival features a capture from the UCF Robinson Observatory of the Orion Nebula. These images show the rosy hues of the nebula, a “stellar nursery” where stars are quite literally born. Likewise, UCF Celebrates the Arts offers the opportunity to see newly minted stars in our own community – stars of the stage, actors, dancers, musicians, artists, technicians, and everyone in between.
And if learning about the incredible output of these passionate performers drives your own desire to rise to greater heights, the library has you covered! Explore our collection at your local branch or use our online resources to dive into whatever topic catches your interest. Sign up to take a class on stargazing or browse the Science Online database for experiments you can try at home. Visit the Melrose Center and sign up for a performing arts class, or swing by the Makerspace during a Family STEM Saturday. Or, of course, use your library card to explore Orange County (and beyond!) with a Local Wanderer pass. The possibilities are endless.
