OK, friends, as promised we would post the results of the winning entry in our promotion to give away a pair of FREE tickets to Van Halen’s performance next week at Amway Center. Of those who entered (boo…we got no fun photos or videos!) we utilized Random.org to…well, randomly select, and the winner is Karlajane! Congratulations! She is the 11th comment in the comments field (obviously if myself or Kim would’ve come up in the results we would’ve drawn again).

If you’re Karlajane or know this individual, please contact us by noon this Friday (4/6) for instructions on how to redeem your tickets. If we do not hear from you by this time, we’ll select another winner.

Thanks to all who participated! Hopefully we’ll have another awesome promotion like this again in the near future.

Van Halen is Coming!

You can win tickets to see Van Halen for free at Amway Center Next Month!

Seriously. We’re not kidding. We’re giving away a pair of tickets to see Van Halen (yeah, you know ‘em) live in concert at Amway Center on April 12th.

No catch*. You don’t even have to be a California Girl (see what we did there?).

To enter, simply leave us a comment here in this post about why you’d like to win the free tickets. Leaving a comment does not ensure a win. Those leaving a comment will be included in a random drawing.

Increase your winning chance! If you’re a die-hard Van Halen fan and want to increase your chance of winning, make a video of yourself jumping 80′s style, or take a picture of yourself jumping (or just submit an old one). We’ll post it on the blog for all of our readers to see. Submitting a video or photo to pulseofcentralflorida@mail.com will give you two entries into the random drawing. Perhaps this will give you a little inspiration?

Tweeting is not required nor does it increase your chance of winning. However, if you chose to Tweet about this contest please include the hashtag #VHNA2012.

Contest runs through 6pm (EST) on April 3rd, and winners will be announced by 6pm the following day. Good luck! Additional details about the Van Halen tour are available here.

*OK, tiny catch. Only open to U.S. residents. Also, we have no input as to where the seating is located.

I know many, many Jimmy Buffett fans in this world. Personally, I’ve never been able to get on the Buffett Train and definitely am very far from being a Parrothead. That being said, I totally appreciate and respect both his talent and what he’s contributed to music history. Not to mention the little bit of business he contributes to our local economy.

So I’m sure my Parrotthead friends living here in Central Florida will be completely stoked to learn Mr. Buffett is brining his live music experience to our Amway Center in early February of 2012. Saturday, February 4th, to be exact. Now, I’m familiar with popular songs like “Cheeseburger in Paradise” (duh, obviously) and a couple of others, but what’s your favorite Buffett track? What would you expect to hear him sing at a live show?

You can purchase tickets for the Jimmy Buffett concert at Amway Center here*.

* Not an affiliate link.

Could there be anything more entertaining than watching people dressed as mascots competing in a variety of games? (Well, maybe, but stick with me here.)

*Photo Credit: Orlando Sentinel

The Orlando Magic mascot, Stuff, along with dozens of other mascots from around the country, are set to participate in the Celebrity Mascot Games at the Amway Center, July 29 & 30.  General Admission tickets are only $10!  Sounds like a fun way to spend a Friday or Saturday night.

Are you planning to go, or have you been?  We’d love to hear your thoughts!

No, you’re not loco. That Ricky Martin. He’s still around, and bringing his current live show, M.A.S. Musica Almo Sexo World Tour 2011, to Orlando this April (April 8th; Amway Center). A week before Ms. Gaga, actually.

Ricky Martin Tour Promo

Ricky will be at the new Amway Center, belting out current songs and certainly old hits. Maybe William Hung will join him as an opener?

If you’re interested, tickets can be purchased before they’re available to the public this Friday (see image above for promo code). Tickets officially go on sale to the public this coming Saturday, and can be purchased here.

Rock is definitely not one of my “go to” genres of music. Actually, rock and rap are my two least favorites, but I can’t deny the awesomeness of Bon Jovi. They’ve managed to stay relevant and current over several decades, and have had a huge impact on the music industry. They’re certainly not getting any younger, either, so if you’ve ever wanted to see the band perform live I’d say now’s your chance!

Bon Jovi is bringing their show to the Amway Center (man, Amway is really steppin’ up their game!) on Sunday, May 15th.

Everyone knows this classic:



Do you have a favorite Bon Jovi tune?

Tickets can be purchased here.

If you read our post from last year’s Lady Gaga show at UCF and were sad you didn’t get to experience it, now’s your chance! The Lady returns to the Orlando area on Friday, April 15th (perhaps this’ll be a way to forget about all the taxes you’re paying, or a time to celebrate all the money you’re getting back?!) to the new Amway Center, with her worldwide Monster Ball Tour.

This show will undoubtedly big much bigger than her show in early 2010, which did have some impressive video screens and lighting effects but in quite a humble manner.

There are tickets still available for the show, and can be purchased here.

Before last Wednesday’s Orlando Magic game, I had the chance to sneak up to the Amway Center’s newest addition, One80. Situated atop the Amway Center, One80 provides one of the most amazing views of downtown.

With its sleek white walls, it definitely has an upscale vibe that feels more like South Beach than Orlando, but it’s a welcome addition and could give one of our favorite rooftop bars a run for its money.

Managed by Church Street Entertainment, One80 is still in the soft opening phase, but their staff says they plan to be open on non-event nights as well as during Magic games and scheduled concerts at Amway.

Fortunately, last Wednesday provided not only a great view of downtown Orlando, but a beautiful full moon, too!

The Gorgeous View from One80.

YES! The Circus is coming, and it’s been so long since I’ve been I just might have to make it a point to go this time-a-round! Do you have a childhood memory from the circus?

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey are bringing their all-new “Fully Charged” event spectacular to the new Amway Center this coming January 13-17. Using this link and the code AMWAY you can actually save 20% off the purchase of your tickets now (note: this is not an affiliate link; we receive no revenue from promoting this).

So…will we see you there?!

I’m a big fan of Chelsea Handler. I could see how she would annoy some folks, but her humor is definitely not lost on me. So I was pretty excited to recently see she’ll be making her way to Central Florida in a few months, to promote her new book “Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang” (it’s very funny).

Chelsea will be bringing her concert to the new Amway Center on Friday, October 22nd (what a perfect way to end the week!). You can purchase tickets here, or get more info on the tour at ChelseaHander.com.

Here’s a little exerpt from the book:

What a nightmare. I pulled all the drapes shut. I wanted to be alone and lie in bed for a long period of time. I didn’t need to be reminded that other people were outside swimming through life like Nim and Jodie Foster, making the most out of their Saturdays, doing cartwheels and high-fiving each other on rollerblades. I also didn’t need anyone looking in my window and seeing me wearing nothing but a visor with the “E!” logo, sunglasses, and a bra I had bought three years ago from Walgreen’s. At this point it was more like a backpack.”