The 27th-annual Orange City Blue Spring Manatee Festival will take place this weekend (January 28 & 29, 2012) at Valentine Park in Orange City, Florida (W. French Avenue, off Highway 17-92 – I-4 Exit 114 – follow signs). Highlights will include a free shuttle bus to Blue Spring State Park to see the manatees, Central Florida Zoo presentations and ambassadors, arts & crafts, dancing, face painting, shows & rides, children’s fingerprinting by V.I.P.S., walk-on-water balls, SPCA Adopt-a-Pet, great food, live entertainment and sand sculpting.

Star Wars Weekends returns to the Walt Disney World Resort during May and June 2012, as Disney’s Hollywood Studios celebrates the Star Wars film saga and the hit animated television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

The annual special event, included in regular theme park admission, will be held every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from May 18-June 10, 2012.

The power of the Force and magic of Disney combine as plenty of out-of-this-world characters – including Wookiees, droids, Ewoks, bounty hunters and Jedi – roam the streets of Disney’s Hollywood Studios for meet-and-greet opportunities with guests.

The centerpiece of the celebration is the spectacular 3-D attraction, “Star Tours – The Adventures Continue.” The attraction, which opened last spring at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, uses eye-popping 3-D, a dramatic musical score and motion simulator-based technology to immerse guests in the Star Wars galaxy like never before.

“Jedi Training Academy,” one of the interactive entertainment experiences at the theme park, allows young guests to learn from a Jedi Master before testing their newly acquired skills in a battle with Darth Vader.

Also featured at Star Wars Weekends: the chance for fans to purchase one-of-a-kind Star Wars memorabilia, Star Wars games, plus there’s special Star Wars parades and motorcades, star conversations and autograph sessions with Star Wars actors and creative talent (celebrity lineup will be announced at a later date). The ever-popular “Hyperspace Hoopla” ends each Star Wars Weekends day with a show filled with comedy, dancing, high-energy music and many of the famed Star Wars characters.