Start the year off right by enjoying your community, and saving your money while you do it! Here is the list of this weekend’s free and cheap activities going on in the Orlando area.

Gorilla Theater

• Thursdays and Fridays
• 9:30 p.m.
• SAK Comedy Lab
• CityArts Factory
• 29 S. Orange Ave, Orlando, FL, 32801
• More Info: 407-648-0001

Just when you thought it was safe to go to the Comedy Lab, things are about to get hairy! Four improv directors battle it out on the SAK stage for the highly coveted Gorilla trophy. The stakes are high and there’s no monkeying around as each director competes to have his/her vision reign supreme in a series of spontaneous scenes, songs and games. This is no-holds-barred improv at its finest!! Will you, our audience and judge go “bananas” for the successful scene, or demand a “forfeit” for our slips? Our fate is in your hands, as only one director can claim the gorilla as his/her own at the end of the night.

Choreographed Fountain Show

• Friday, Jan. 18 – Sunday Jan. 20
• 7 pm – 9 pm
• Cranes Roost Plaza
• 274 East Central Parkway, Altamonte Spgs, FL
• Free event

Lights, sound, water, action! Come to Cranes Roost Park to see the beautifully choreographed fountain program with classical and current tunes for your enjoyment.

Great Toy Build Off

• Saturday, January 19th
• 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
• Orange County Regional History Center
• 65 E. Central Blvd., Orlando, FL, 32801
• Free event
• More Info: 407-836-7010

At the Great Toy Build Off, assemble a team or go at it alone to design and build an object of your choice in two hours, using LEGOs, Erector Sets, or Tinker Toys. Building materials will be randomly assigned on the day of the event. Structures will be scored on a 20-point maximum scale and judged for originality, creativ¬ity, resourcefulness, teamwork, and overall presentation. Overall winner, Outstanding Effort winner, and winner in each category: Family, Elementary School, Middle School, High School, and Adult. Space limited. Call for more information or to register for this free event.

Butterflies!

• January 19 – February 3
• Oviedo Mall
• 1700 Oviedo Mall Blvd
• Oviedo, FL 32765
• More Info: 248-885-0447

The live butterlfy house returns to Oviedo Mall! Come take a tour and interacet with over 150 of live butterflies! Let them land on your finger as you learn about their life cycle. Take home a kit and watch one grow in your own home! Butterfly House presentations are scheduled approximately every 30 minutes. Times may vary. Partial kit proceeds benefit HOPE Helps, Inc!

Orlando Home & Garden Show

• January 18th : noon – 8 p.m.
• January 19th : 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
• January 20th : 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
• Orange County Convention Center
• 9800 International Drive, Orlando, FL, 32819
• $8 adults, $5 seniors and retired military, free active military and ages 16 or younger
• More Info: 407-685-9800 (Phone)

Don’t miss your opportunity to turn your home and garden dreams into reality! The entire Orange County Convention Center will be completely transformed, for one weekend only, into a Home and Garden Extravaganza. From the front door to the backyard you’ll find it all at the Annual Orlando Home & Garden Show. Click here to find schedules and buy tickets.

 

Antique Telephone/Insulator Show and Sale

• Saturday, January 19th
• 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.
• Maitland Civic Center
• 641 S. Maitland Ave., Maitland, FL, 32751
• Free event
• More Info: 407-365-4686

The Art & History Museums, Maitland, antique-telephone and insulator show features collectors exhibiting rare and historic telephones and insulators of all sizes and colors. Memorabilia also will be on display. The public is asked to bring antique telephones to sell and trade. Restored working telephones will be for sale. Admission and parking are free. The A&H operates the Early Telephone Museum two blocks from the civic center. The museum contains artifacts that chronicle the history of telephone service in the Maitland area from the early 1900s to the present. The museum will be open and tours will be given throughout the day.

Otronicon

• January 18 – 19 : 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.
• January 20 -21 : 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
• Orlando Science Center
• 777 E. Princeton St, Orlando, FL, 32803
• $27 adults, $20 ages 3-11
• More Info: 407-514-2000

A four-day event, Otronicon is a celebration of interactive technology using video games to demonstrate the future of how we live, learn, work and play. The event features: Larger-than-life video game experiences, state-of-the-art medical and military simulators, Game design workshops taught by industry pros, and so much more! Whether you’re a video game fan or just wondered what it is your kids are doing in front of that computer, there’s something for everyone at Otronicon, Orlando’s biggest interactive technology expo!

Central Florida Scottish Highland Games

• Saturday, January 19 – 8 a.m. – 9 p.m.
• Sunday, January 20 – 8:45 a.m. – 5 p.m.
• Central Winds Park
• 1000 E. State Road 434, Winter Springs, FL, 32708
• adult admission $12-$17 advance, $15-$20 at the gate, $10 students, $5 ages 6-11

Come out to cheer the athletes tossing rocks and trees. Watch dancers and listen to bands. Dance to the olde tribal rhythms. Meet distant kin in Clan Row. See how far you can carry a boulder. Click here to buy tickets and get a schedule of events.

Unity Heritage Festival

• January 20 : 1 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
• January 21 : 10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
• Shady Park
• 721 W. New England Ave, Winter Park, FL, 32789
• Free Event
• More Info: 407-599-3275

Residents and local businesses will come together to celebrate the City of Winter Park’s 11th annual Unity Heritage Festival on Sunday and Monday. The annual festival will promote family history and raise funds for the Educational Fulfillment Fund for local economically disadvantaged youth. Activities will include children’s games, food and retail vendors, entertainment by various gospel artists, and the presentation of the annual Heritage Award.