By Peter Covino
Lifestyles Editor

There is more to the 20th annual International Epcot Flower & Garden Festival than roses and topiaries.

Sure the popular topiary displays and gardens, featuring everything from an Oz Movie Garden to floral versions of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and more, are back, but for the first time, the annual garden event is taking a cue from the fall food and wine festival.

By Peter Covino

Lifestyles Editor

With nine films nominated for Best Picture in 2012 it is no small feat to see them all.

You can catch up on your Oscar viewing with the debut of two stellar films from the class of 2012, Zero Dark Thirty and Les Miserables, both debuting soon on DVD and Blu-ray.

The 2013 Florida Film Festival, sponsored by Full Sail University, has its selection of international feature films for the upcoming festival.

Here kitty, kitty.

Two cats of the great big variety will be calling Gatorland home soon as the theme park that has specialized in alligators for decades opens up the all-new Panther Springs exhibit in April.

By Peter Covino

Lifestyles Editor

If you like nothing better than spending an evening watching Cats or Les Miserables, Smash Season One (Universal Studios Home Entertainment) just might be the perfect TV series.

I am not a fan of either musical, but there is something very addictive about this Steven Spielberg-produced series (season two is currently airing on NBC) that revolves around a theatrical company and its efforts to get a Marilyn Monroe musical on Broadway.

The exposure is almost over.

There is only one week left to view some of the best photograpy of Osceola County by Osceola County photograghers at the Osceola Center for the Arts.