By Peter Covino
Lifestyle Editor

Living in Central Florida, we’ve got an advantage over the rest of the world — Disney is in our backyard. Most of us are veterans when it comes to the theme parks.

Still, when it comes to the big annual events at Epcot (the flower and garden festival and the food and wine festival) most people are creatures of habit.

We go, we drink wine, eat food and say how lovely the flowers looked this year.

But there is a lot more to Epcot this time of year, than beautiful, arranged flowers and topiaries sculpted like Minnie and Mickey Mouse.

Even before you head out to the gardens, your first stop should be the Festival Center. Open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., there is something going on pretty much continually during the center’s operating hours.

If you are new to the festival, the center is a great place to start to find out what is going on during your visit to Epcot.

But even more importantly,  the center has workshops, stages and other events where you can even work on a take-home project.

For fans of HGTV, this is your chance to see the stars of the cable channel and ask them questions about home and gardening.

This weekend, for example, you can listen to Sabrina Soto (The High Low Project) talk about decorating design tips and savvy shopping secrets.  Next weekend, Jason Cameron (DIY Network’s Desperate Landscapes and Man Caves) will talk about working makeover magic for desperate landscapes.

Other guests on tap include Antonio Ballatore (The Antonio Treatment); Carter Oosterhouse (Million Dollar Rooms);  and Monica Pedersen  (HGTV Dream Home 2012).

All HGTV presentations take place at the Designers’ Stage with shows daily at noon and 3 p.m. Friday-Sunday.

Monday through Thursday at the Designers’ Stage there are more guest speakers, both local and nationally recognized, speaking on a variety of topics including how to garden with bamboo;  attracting butterflies, bees and birds to your landscape; new plants for 2012; and how to create striking container gardens.

Elsewhere at the  Festival Center the Greenhouse Stage hosts a variety of gardening experts talking about everything from topiary in miniature; prehistoric plants fro your yard and roses at the Walt Disney World Resort.

The center is also a nice place to escape from the hot afternoon temperatures of a Central Florida spring day.

Wandering around the festival, topiary lovers will delight in the several themed areas this year including Peter Pan,  Pixie Hollow Fairy Garden, Fantasia Topiary and Classic Characters.

Youngsters have some places of their very own as well at Bambi’s Butterfly House, backyard play gardens and more.

New at the festival this year is Haiti: Garden of Many Colors. Located next to Germany, the area features Haitian art and culture and various refreshments.  This also is the first night garden at the festival.

If you want a behind-the-scenes tour of the gardens, Epcot has that as well.

From 9 a.m. until noon Tuesday-Thursday, the guided tour is designed especially for garden enthusiasts. There is a $60 fee for the tour  and theme park admission is required. To register call 407-WDW-TOUR.

The popular Flower Power Concert Series also returns with retro musical guests performing. This weekend is Starship starring Mickey Thomas and March 23-25 is The Guess Who. Future guests include The Spinners, Chubby Checker, Paul Revere & The Raiders, The Orchestra with fromer members of ELO; and the Turtles.

Performances are Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 5:15, 6:30 and 7:45 p.m.