Loch Haven Park in Ivanhoe Village has long been a place for exploration, not only of science and nature but also of imagination and creativity. Today, its theaters draw audiences to experience the arts, but the park’s role as a hub of discovery began decades earlier.

Orlando Shakes began in 1989 as the Orlando‑UCF Shakespeare Festival, a collaboration between Orlando’s emerging theater community and the University of Central Florida.

Its early seasons focused on Shakespeare’s classics and educational outreach, bringing professional theater to local audiences and schools. Today, the theater resides in the John & Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center, which once housed the original Central Florida Museum in Loch Haven Park, producing a full season of plays. You can still see the observatory today!

Across the park, the Orlando Family Stage is one of the oldest continuously operating theater institutions in the Southeast. Its story begins in 1925 as the Orlando Little Players, producing community plays and pageants. By 1934, it was incorporated as the Orlando Little Theatre, continuing productions like its first Christmas Pageant in 1932. In 1968, it became the Central Florida Civic Theatre, establishing a permanent home in Loch Haven Park. The 1970s brought new spaces and expanded youth-focused programming, including the Edyth Bush Theatre and Tupperware Children’s Theatre.

A 2000 partnership with UCF professionalized the organization as the Orlando Repertory Theatre, and in 2023 it rebranded as Orlando Family Stage to reflect its mission serving audiences of all ages. Today, it stands as Florida’s only professional theater devoted exclusively to young audiences and families, celebrating nearly a century of storytelling and education.

Every spring, the Orlando International Fringe Festival brings a burst of creativity to Loch Haven Park. Founded in 1992, it is the longest-running Fringe festival in the United States. We wrote more on the timeline of Orlando Fringe here.

From professional Shakespeare productions to family-focused storytelling and experimental Fringe performances, Ivanhoe Village has long been a place where creativity, education, and community come together.