History center events salute famed Floridians, Church Street, ‘cow culture’

[Disney4me]

Programming at the Orange County Regional History Center in July includes sessions on the history of downtown Orlando’s Church Street, famous Central Floridians such as astronaut John Young and artist Bob Ross and Florida’s “snubbed cow culture.”

The museum’s Lunch & Learn event, set for noon on July 11, looks back at the cattle industry and how an 1895 smear campaign presented it in a bad light. The talk will cover ranching traditions and stories about people “who shaped our cow past and continue to influence our cow present,” according to the history center’s website.  Cheyenne Stastyshyn, public programs coordinator at the museum, will be the speaker. (Cost to the general public is $5 without lunch or $17 with a pre-ordered meal.)

On July 5, the History Alive event will feature family-friendly activities based on famed Floridians, including poetry writing — on a typewriter — a la Zora Neale Hurston, oil painting like Bob Ross might guide and NASA boxes that mimic training for astronauts such as Orlando’s own John Young.  The event also offers four rounds of guided museum tours.

On July 17, writer Rick Kilby will speak in a session called “From Railroads to Rosie’s: The Evolution of the Church Street Block.” Think railroad depot to Garland Avenue, along with Bob Snow and the Bumby brothers. The program is tied to the museum’s “Orlando Collected” exhibition, which marks the 150th anniversary of the city’s incorporation. The Church Street chat is folded into downtown’s Third Thursday event, which translations to free history center admission from 5-9 p.m. (Kilby’s talk begins at 5:30 p.m.)

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The Sensory Sunday for the month covers the history of Orlando soccer teams.  The event, set for July 20 from noon to 4 p.m., is designed as a comfortable experience for visitors with autism spectrum disorder and sensory processing sensitivity.

A three-part series on genealogy begins July 23. Participants meet with an expert and get a starter packet for exploring family histories.  It’s also tied with the “Orlando Collected” exhibition. (The follow-up sessions are on Aug. 27 and Sept. 17.)

For tickets and more information, go to thehistorycenter.org.

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