Under the City’s code, it is not prohibited to solicit people for money in Downtown Orlando, unless in a designated Exempt Zone, otherwise known as a Blue Box. Blue Boxes are simply squared-in areas on the City sidewalk made with dashed lines of blue spray paint. Offenders caught soliciting outside of a Blue Box could receive a $500 fine and/or 60 days in jail. There are approximately 27 Blue Boxes painted in the right-of-way in Downtown Orlando as shown in the map below. You can read the ordinance HERE.
According to the City, street performers and artists, not participating in solicitation, are allowed to operate outside of the designated Blue Boxes if they are not blocking access to a sidewalk or interrupting traffic.
The City of Winter Park recently announced that they would also be putting into action a similar plan to contain solicitors but that they would also include street performers, artists, and musicians. We wrote about that announcement HERE. The City of Winter Park will be pushing artists and musicians off of Park Avenue and into Central Park, which they have now labeled a “Free Speech Zone.”
Local artist Thomas Thorspecken (Website) is looking for artists, dancers, and musicians to join him in a project called the Orlando Blue Box Initiative. Thorspecken will be placing artist in every Blue Box in town and asking them to work/perform live.
There will also be an impromptu Funeral for Winter Park Arts Scene on January 29 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Winter Park’s Central Park, also hosted by Thorspecken. Attendees are requested to wear black.
For more information, contact Thorspecken at analogartistdigitalworld@
