🌱 King Bao Plans 3rd Location + Epcot Flower Garden Fest 2022 Dates Announced

Happy Friday, Orlando! Here's everything you need to know to get this day started off right. Here's everything you need to know about what's happening today in Orlando.

First, today's weather:

Mostly sunny. High: 83 Low: 65.

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Here are the top five stories in Orlando today:

1. King Bao will open its third restaurant location, this time in Winter Park at the former location of Bad As’s Sandwich at 1881 West Fairbanks Avenue. The expected opening date is mid-January 2022. (Bungalower)

2. Former Bucs player Vincent Jackson was diagnosed with stage 2 CTE following a posthumous study of his brain. Jackson suffered from memory loss, paranoia, erratic behavior, and was relying on alcohol before his death at a Brandon hotel, according to his wife. CTE is caused by repetitive trauma to the head and is common among NFL football players. The family said they wanted to publicly release the findings of his brain study to help raise awareness for CTE and risks. (Patch Tampa)

3. Disney World has revealed details about the next Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival. It will run from March 2nd through July 4th of 2022. The Garden Rocks concert series will return to the festival and there will be 50th anniversary topiary on display. (Spectrum News 13)

4. 64-year-old Patrick Grimaldi of Volusia County is charged with felony animal cruelty for killing a pet python. Grimaldi is accused of killing his roommate's python after pouring poison on it, according to police. Neighbors said they could hear a rattling noise, which was probably from the snake trying to escape. (WESH)

5. Seminole County nursing home residents at Lake Mary Senior Center are donating 700 hand-knitted hats and scarfs to elementary schoolers at Wicklow Elementary School this holiday season. (WFTV)

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Today in Orlando:

• L. Claudia Allen Senior Center Mobile COVID-19 Vaccine Site. (9:00 AM)
• Holiday Movies In The Park – The Santa Clause at Lake Eola Park. (7:00 PM)
• Meet Me in St. Louis at Central Florida Community Arts. (7:00 PM)
• Lady Braves Basketball vs. Lake Minneola at Lake Minneola. (7:00 PM)
• Live at Timucua: CuBop! (In-Person) at Timucua Arts Foundation. (7:00 PM)

From my notebook:

• Orlando City SC has revealed its MLS schedule for 2022. Orlando City will opens its eighth MLS campaign on Sunday, February 27th, 2022 at 1 p.m. and host CF Montréal. (Orlando City SC)
• Several tours are returning to Disney World in 2022 including the Keys to the Kingdom tour, Caring for Giants tour, Wild Africa Trek, Savor the Savanna tour, and more. (Click Orlando)
• Orlando Science Center is giving away a Family 4 pack of general admission tickets on its Instagram page. Entries must be received today by 12:00 p.m. on its page. (Instagram)
• Yelp Orlando celebrated the 2021 Yelpies on Wednesday night with its Yelp Elite Squad. The event benefitted the Orlando Science Center. (Instagram)
• The Orange County testing site at Barnett Park was closed an hour early due to long lines on Thursday. (Twitter)

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You're officially in the loop for today! See you tomorrow morning for another update.

— Carlos Hernandez

About me: Hello my name is Carlos Hernandez and I am a food writer with over 10 years of experience in the industry. I write the food blog Carlos Eats (http://www.carloseats.com) and also contribute to several newspapers and magazines with food-related blogs and articles.