Celebrate the opening of Artegon Marketplace with ribbon cutting on November 20

The community is invited to attend the grand opening of Artegon Marketplace Orlando, a 1.1 million-square-foot shopping attraction and artisan marketplace on International Drive.

The celebration begins with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, Nov. 20 at 10:30 a.m. with Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and other dignitaries representing the region’s tourism and hospitality industries. Grand opening entertainment and activities continue through Nov. 22 from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily, with operating hours of 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

Guests will be treated to continuous live entertainment ranging from African acrobats to the Blues Brothers and will be among the first to experience Artegon’s expansive “Sky Trail” ropes course and collection of 165 artisanal shops and stores featuring locally sourced products and services.

The full line-up of grand opening festivities also includes:
• Street Beatz, an urban musical rhythm performance.
• Anti-Gravity, an acrobatic show featuring athletic and dance performers.
• Street Breakz, a high energy audience participation breakdance show.
• Caricaturists, henna and jawa tattoo painters, and canvas airbrush artists.
• Stilt-walkers, power jumpers, cirque acts and other edgy performers.
• Radio remotes with K92FM, XL 106.7, Rumba 100.3 and MAGIC 107.7.
• Complimentary swag bag for the first 200 guests.

Located in the former Festival Bay Mall, Artegon Marketplace Orlando is a new shopping concept for the region inspired by such famous marketplaces as Seattle’s Pike Place, Boston’s Faneuil Hall, New York’s Chelsea Market and the London Flower Market.

Unique to the shopping attraction is Florida’s largest daily indoor artisan marketplace. The Village at Artegon Marketplace Orlando houses 165 artisanal shops and stores where local craftspeople sell and demonstrate their products and services. They include Florida Soap Company, Poca’s Hottest, Vagabond Traveler, David Ramirez Chocolates and Kathryn McHenry of SOS Art Studio, along with a variety of other one-of-a-kind artisans offering eco-friendly handbags and accessories, jewelry, sculpture, mixed media artwork, custom clothing and locally-sourced foods.

Complementing The Village at Artegon Marketplace Orlando are some of the biggest brands in dining and retail. These anchor tenants include Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World, Ron Jon Surf Shop, Cinemark Theaters, Sheplers Western Stores, Radbourne Center, Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill and Berghoff’s Oktoberfest. The latter two venues are scheduled to open by spring 2015.

Rounding out the guest experience are more than 20 in-line retailers. Highlights include the nation’s first International Hot Glass, a glass gallery showcasing artists from around the world and a studio where guests can work with a professional glass blower to create their own piece of art.

Beyond the artisan marketplace, anchor tenants and in-line retailers, other defining features include:
• The Great Hall with an expansive “Sky Trail” ropes course (paid admission) and a variety of food offerings, from coffee and Danish to pizza, sandwiches and salads.
• Free Wi-Fi both indoors and in the outdoor plaza
• Streetmosphere performers, from jugglers to singers to stilt walkers, strolling throughout the shopping attraction on weekends.
• An industrial-chic environment punctuated by heavy wooden support beams, exposed brick and weathered steel.

Operating hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday. Artisan studios will be open Monday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Artegon Marketplace Orlando is located at 5250 International Drive, Orlando, FL 32819 with easy access for local residents via W. Oak Ridge Road, Sand Lake Road, and other alternatives to I-4. The center also provides free surface parking with 5,800 spaces.

To learn more about Artegon Marketplace Orlando, visit ArtegonMarketplace.com.