The start of a new year always brings some interesting events to Central Florida. Our Maitland bed & breakfast is a great place to stay while taking in all there is to do and see.

manatees at Blue Springs Park

Have you ever seen a manatee? Guests already have enjoyed seeing record numbers at this Florida State Park – Blue Springs. It is a designated manatee refuge and winter home to increasing numbers of West Indian manatees. The yearly manatee festival is January 22 & 23rd. Orange City, where the park is located, is a short 30 minute drive north of Thurston House.  

For something completely different, Culture & Cocktails is a new monthly event at the Maitland Art Center. The first one will be held January 14th from 6-9pm. The event will have featured artists, musicians and even some food & drink! The center is a nice stroll or a short drive from Thurston House. 

Zora flag

Just down the street from our Central Florida bed & breakfast is the yearly festival to honor Zora Neale Hurston. The street party will take place 1/29 &30, and is free and open to the public. Come enjoy ethnic food, art and music! 

Keep tuned for information on more wonderful events near Thurston House!

The Town of Eatonville is proudly sponsoring another festival in honor of Zora Neale Hurston. This yearly event is packed with all sorts of lectures, school class events and museum displays. The end to it all will be this weekend when a street festival closes Kennedy Blvd. to traffic. All sorts of merchandise such as art, clothing and food will be for sale, and a variety of music will be heard all day. The weather is supposed to be beautiful so take advantage of this long planned event.

Thurston House sign

Thurston House bed & breakfast is just a few minutes down the street in Maitland! Stay with us, enjoy the festival, stroll around Maitland, head in to Winter Park….so much to do here!

We have a very active Maitland Historical Society and they are always offering wonderful exhibits and lectures. I just attended a very interesting lecture and viewed a documentary about the historic town of Goldsboro. It is an African American community that is part of Sanford,  just to the north of us. This documentary was done by Valada Flewellen, VP of the Sanford Historical Society and University of Central Florida students involved in the Zora Neale Hurston Institute for  Documentary Studies College of Arts & Humanities.  Zora Neale Hurston had a very strong link with my area, especially Eatonville, and also the area of Goldsboro and Sanford. All very interesting connections!

Zora Neale Hurston