As saddening (and mildly alarming) as it was to witness dozens of iconic swans at Lake Eola die off in an outbreak of bird flu, a clip of a city leader’s advice to visitors to ward off the illness cut through in a stark moment of comic relief. At a press conference at Lake Eola Dec. 29 of last year, Orlando city commissioner Patty Sheehan informed the media, “The protocols are, don’t eat poop!” And maybe that advice shouldn’t really need to be said out loud, but we aren’t going to pretend some of you out there don’t need the common-sense check. Thanks for the heads-up, commissioner.

If you’ve been leaving your house with any regularity for the past few months, you’ve probably noticed a swarm of empty electric vehicles with spinning tops on their heads, clumsily buzzing about looking for work, just a few more drops in the tsunami of 2026 facepalms. But sometimes, especially down in Touristan, you might catch a sighting of some hanging out and “recalibrating,” aka just sitting at a gas station. A gas station.

The grassroots Immigrants Are Welcome Here coalition — made up of over 65 faith leaders, immigrant rights groups, labor activists and other social advocacy orgs — sprung up in early 2025 to help protect immigrants here at home, as Gov. Ron DeSantis directed police agencies in Florida to serve as ICE agents. The coalition has advocated for immigrants’ rights at county meetings week after week after week, and has used public pressure to help meaningfully better the conditions of immigrants held in the local jail on behalf of ICE and ensure their due process rights are upheld. instagram.com/immigrantsrwelcome

Is it even Best of Orlando® if we don’t pick on the Majesty Building somewhere in the issue? The infamous I-4 Eyesore has been immortalized in many forms: sticker, T-shirt, stand-up bit. But this one takes ingenuity and, forgive us, stick-to-it-iveness: Orlando Brick Co. sells a 203-piece kit that allows the real love-to-haters to create their very own 4-inch-tall LEGO model of the never-finished Altamonte Springs landmark. 480 S. Ronald Reagan Blvd., Longwood, atlbrick.com

For 101 years, the cow mural-adorned T.G. Lee dairy plant has remained one of Orlando’s most iconic pieces of architecture. It’s a significant part of the city’s history; the whole neighborhood is named in its honor, it’s long acted as a beacon in the night for Robinson Street’s most inebriated, it’s in the background of all your favorite Milk Mart photos. It’s one of our most treasured oddities, and we don’t really know what’s going on in there … and we’re fine with it staying that way. 315 N. Bumby Ave.

First place: Bainbridge the Grand, bainbridgegrand.com

Second place: Lake House Apartments, lakehouseapartmentsorlando.com

Third place: Milk Stacks, milkstacksapts.com

First place: The Alfond Inn, thealfondinn.com

Second place: The Wellborn, thewellbornorlando.com

Third place: Lake Nona Wave Hotel, lakenonawavehotel.com

First place: Runway to Hope Spring Soiree, runwaytohope.org

Second place: The Event, Crew Health, crewhealth.org

Third place: Paws in the Park, Pet Alliance, petallianceorlando.org

First place: Lake Eola Park, orlando.gov

Second place: Pirate's Cove Adventure Golf, piratescove.net

Third place: Kres Chophouse, kresrestaurant.com