A new travel guide by cult darlings A24 delves deep into the weird and wonderful state.
There ’s a scenenear the origin ofthe 2017 filmThe Florida Projectwhere the three immature admirer tool around Kissimmee ’s Route 192 holidaymaker striptease on a mission to mark free ice emollient . Behind them , kitschy scene float by : a mammoth genius head attached to a gift shop , a memory shaped like half an oversized orange tree . “ I love the lid of the orange , ” pronounce one kid . “ That ’s call apeel , ” says another . Finally , they arrive at their destination : the ice - cream shop class , fibreglass mold into a stubby vanilla crank - cream cone .
They ’re fleeting present moment , a tribute to both the hazy obliviousness of childhood and the patchwork technicolor outlandishness that makes up their Disney - adjacent domain . In the movie , Central Florida is bare scope scenery , but a new , hefty scout by cult film studio A24 — Florida ! A Hyper - local Guide to the Flora , Fauna , and Fantasy of the Most Far - out State in America — provide all the context .
In those pages , you ’ll find that the gigantic wizard head belongs to theMagic Castle Gift Shop , which , despite its outward appearance , is ostensibly a pretty ordinary shiller of touristry good ( though youcanbuy a preserved alligator school principal for $ 12.99 ) . You ’ll also memorise that the Twistee - Treat methamphetamine hydrochloride cream workshop from the film is an iconic land chain with only a few remaining location — and not all of them currently purvey quick-frozen desserts .
Courtesy of A24
And though the mammoth half - orange ofEli ’s Orange Worlddoesn’t make it into the book of account , theCitrus Tower of Clermont , built in 1956 , does . There , you may still get a coffee with orange cream at the ground level coffee store . It represents a prison term when oranges were the region ’s main economic driver , back before Walt Disney rase a majority of the 80,000 air mile of orange groves to make fashion for thehappiest place on earth .
look for “ Florida”on our website and an eclectic bunch of results number up — the shipwrecks and mangroves ofBiscayne National Park , the best places tospot sea turtle nesting , the psychic and spiritualists that make up the townsfolk ofCassadaga , and the next openhanded thing in Miami competitions : professional pillow fighting . The wedding of the state ’s raw wonders and permit ’s say … iconoclastic quality are best put in the introduction to A24 ’s ledger by Tyler Gillespie , generator ofThe affair about Florida : explore a Misunderstood State , andFlorida Man : Poems . He describes skinny dipping at Clearwater Beach and encountering newsflash of bioluminescence in the water . “ This must be magic , ” he thinks . “ Or mayhap it ’s toxic . ”
In addition toThe Florida Project , some of A24 ’s most famous films make use of the state ’s splendor — Spring Breakers , Zola , andMoonlight(the Pasco County nudists fromZolalet it all string up out in their very own spread ) . But a few movie acknowledgment are all you ’ll see of the studio in the scout . Rather , they ’ve pass on the reins to the folks that live and breathe the Sunshine State in an almost 600 - Thomas Nelson Page tome of a love letter .
Courtesy of A24
Essays by authors likeJeff VanderMeer , and Tim Gilmore ofjaxpsychogeo.comdive into day-to-day living , from appreciate wildlife safety to taking circus course of study to go to fiend truck rally . The Three D ’s of Jacksonville are also spotlighted : writers Dawnie Walton , Dantiel W. Moniz , and Deesha Philyaw , whose works illustrate the trials of Black type in North Florida were published within months of each other to cracking acclaim , incessantly connect them together .
The professional mermaid ofWeeki Wachee Springs State Parkheadline a section , complete with directions on how to know the mermaid aliveness as an ordinary landlubber ( just in time forthe newLittle Mermaidmovie ) . The Space Coast chapter prove prime locations for tailgating liftoff at the Kennedy Space Center , and staple Florida supermarket chain Publix is given its due ( along with its own ode , by Orlando podcaster and author Nick D’Alessandro ) . The country ’s loco mascots also make an appearance ( patently not everyone was too keen on rename the Jacksonville Suns baseball game team theJacksonville Jumbo Shrimp ) .
There are event ( Tampa ’s Gasparilla Parade of Pirates ) , inclusive roller skating club ( Gay Commie Skate Crew in St. Petersburg ) , a map to sunken hoarded wealth , and if you require story ? Oh , boy , there ’s history , including a focus on those preserving ethnic legacies like Miami diarist Nadege Green of@blackmiamidade .
Courtesy of A24
And lest you think they ’re keep the secrets to themselves , all newcomers are call for , with instructional page on partaking in local festivity . Want to enroll the annualInterstate Mullet TossatFlora - Bama ? A chart on page 28 spells it out : Arrive ahead of time , pick out your dead , wet fish , kiss your mullet ( as per tradition ) , and fling .
Culinary wonders sport both backstories and recipes . Try a Honeydripper , straight out of Jacksonville , or , of course , a Key Lime Pie — which amount with its own controversy . get word what it ’s like to worm oink , and why earthworms from the panhandle forest are the good . There ’s even an annualWorm Gruntin ’ Festivalto add to your calendar .
you may find your best slant atDevil ’s Den prehistorical springor wave a cigar and hone the art of the Cuban sandwich in Tampa ’s Ybor City . And though you hopefully wo n’t ever have to fight a shark , if you happen to find yourself in that situation , there ’s instructions for that , too . Mainly punch it , and hope for the best .
Courtesy of A24
“ My version of Florida always set forth at the beach because it ’s where I first fell in love with the res publica ’s nature and saw its legerdemain , ” say Gillespie in the intro . “ But it also lives in the souvenir shop that sell alligator heads as gifts . ” Florida has been the keister of some ( deserved ) ridicule , to the head where the Florida Man trope has take on a life of its own . But by putting the book in the hands of those who enjoy – and flourish – with its quirks , it score us want to , as well .
Courtesy of A24
Courtesy of A24
Courtesy of A24
