Ringling Fully Charged
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is coming to Orlando January 13-17 ONLY! The new show “Fully Charged” features breathtaking dare-devilry, superhuman stunts and never-seen-before performances! Buy your tickets, book your room at our Central Florida bed and breakfast and enjoy the show!
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.
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!
There is much in the way of festivities near our Maitland bed & breakfast this time of year. Enjoy the latest exhibit at the Maitland Art Center – Robert Reedy’s DooDah DADA… Tour the beautiful Waterhouse Residence Museum, dressed in all it’s holiday glory… Go ice skating outside in Winter Park… Enjoy watching the Winter Park Parade of Boats 12/11 at the Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Garden… Or just drive around the beautiful old neighborhoods and look at all the gorgeous lights & decorations.
1858 Chickering Square Grand piano
There are many restaurants with special holiday menus too, including one of our guest favorites – Antonio’s la Fiamma. They are just completing a long awaited addition that includes more seating, including wonderful outdoor dining spaces too! Book your room now and come see how special this area is. Thurston House is all decorated too!
That’s right, Zumba has come to town! Zumba is a fusion of Latin and International music & dance that creates a dynamic, exciting, and effective fitness system. Music is the key ingredient to Zumba classes. The score, created with specific beats and tempo changes, transitions the workout from one toning, strengthening or cardio move to another, and targets every major muscle group in the body. The Zumba program borrows Latin flavor from the following dance styles: Salsa, Merengue, Chachacha, Samba & Tango, to name a few.
The City of Maitland graciously host these classes at 11am Tuesday and Thursday at the Maitland Community Park. The cost is $10 at the door, and $7 by advance reservation.
Sher're - Zumba instructor
Come join the fun and get a grat workout too! Instructor Sher’re will keep you laughing and moving to the music. Call 407-539-0042 for more information or to reserve your space. The Maitland Community Park is convenient to Thurston House, the only bed & breakfast in Maitland or Winter Park.
Coming in September – Exquisite Harmony, works in collage by Elizabeth St. Hilaire Nelson. There is an opening reception Friday, September 10 from 6-8pm, then “Meet the Artist” on September 11th at 1pm. There is even a collage workshop planned for Friday-Sunday, October 22-24, from 10-4pm. Come and learn from the best, the artist herself!
The Maitland Art and History Association at the Maitland Center has a lot of great events planned in the upcoming months!
The Great Florida Birding Trail is a program of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, supported in part by the Florida Department of Transportation and the Wildlife Foundation of Florida. This 2,000-mile, self-guided highway trail unifies nearly 500 birding sites throughout Florida. Modeled after the successful Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail, this ambitious project features detailed guide booklets and special highway signs identifying Birding Trail sites. Free guide booklets contain site descriptions, directions, and maps showcasing the wonderful birding opportunities in Florida. Each Birding Trail section consists of a series of clusters, with each cluster containing 1 to 15 sites highlighting communities and special ecosystems like the Lake Wales Ridge.
The Audubon Center for Birds of Prey is two streets from Thurston House B&B in Maitland, and an amazing facility! They even hold baby owl showers yearly. Come see!
Date Night Movie – “Duplicity”
August 6 – Movie begins at dusk.
Oscar® winner Julia Roberts and Clive Owen star as two sexy spies-turned-corporate operatives in the midst of a clandestine love affair. When they find themselves on either side of an all-out corporate war, they’ll put everything on the line to remain one double-cross ahead in a high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse. From writer/director Tony Gilroy (seven-time Oscar®-nominated Michael Clayton) comes the film critics are raving about. (2009, PG-13)
These date nights are a wonderful way to enjoy Leu Gardens in an evening setting. Pack your blanket & dinner basket, and enjoy the show.
Thurston House yard in the morning
Make it an even better night out and book a room at Thurston House too! This Maitland B&B is just 15 minutes from the gardens. We are like a mini Leu Gardens, with our beautiful lakefront setting. Come see!
Osprey
Last week guests really enjoyed going to this wonderful facility in Maitland, just two streets away from Thurston House bed & breakfast. Sometimes we think our yard is a birds of prey center as we often see owls and osprey flying around!
Audubon Center for Birds of Prey
Founded in 1979 in Maitland, FL, the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey has treated over 12,000 injured or orphaned birds of prey (raptors), releasing more than 40% of these former patients back into the wild. The Center handles the largest volume of eagles, owls, falcons, hawks, and kites east of the Mississippi River–averaging more than 650 admissions, or injured or orphaned birds of prey, each year—and is a leader among all North American rehabilitation centers for specialized eagle care.
The Center also provides environmental education programming to over 20,000 local students, teachers, and visitors annually, while promoting a culture of conservation towards birds of prey and their habitats. A nationally renowned research institute, the Center is an influential voice in the ongoing fight to save endangered and threatened birds of prey.
Leu House
Their mission statement says it all – The mission of Harry P. Leu Gardens is to inspire people to appreciate and understand plants, the enviornment of Central Florida, and the gardens’ historic significance.
This botanical garden is just a short 15 minute drive from Thurston House in Maitland. Their over 50 acres are filled with a varitey of gardens, from tropical to sculpture to roses to fruit…there is lots to see. A historic house tour awaits you too…Leu House. Almost every day someone gets married in the gardens. There are a lot of little quiet areas with benches and gazebos, as well as a boardwalk and covered benches overlooking Lake Rowena. The garden house has special event facilites, a research library and a wonderful gift shop.
Camellia
Monthly events may include Date Night, Story Time, Orchid Auction, Central Florida Folk Concerts, Orchid Society meetings, Tarflower Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society meetings and our personal favorite – Jazz Stroll. A variety of classes and workshops are offered year round too!