Follow ourĀ Sanford365 Date Night AmbassadorsĀ as they take on Date Night #8 in Sanford, FL. Thank you for sharing your experience, Tracy and Mike! Be sure to follow Tracy & Mike on their many adventures on Instagram atĀ @tracytakesiton

A BIG Thank You also to Hollerbach’s Willow Tree CafĆ©,Ā Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens andĀ Chianti’s Pizza and Pasta – Italian RestaurantĀ for donating the perfect date night for our ambassadorsā€™ October Date Night!

Where to begin?!?!? This is another one of our favorite, canā€™t-miss events in downtown Sanford. And honestly, how could it not be?!?! The streets fill with vendors, the air fills with the smell of pretzels, brats, and biers and my heart fills with GemĆ¼tlichkeit!

We decided to make our Oktoberfest date night a family affair, so much so that we invited friends and their kids to join in on the festivities. It all started the night before when I decided that I needed to make the kids shirts to profess their love for the German culture. Thank goodness for Hobby Lobby, because in no time I was able to whip up some awesome, homemade German flag-heart shirts for the little boys.

After getting all dressed up in dirndls, hats and homemade shirts, we headed to downtown Sanford and of course the kiddos insisted that the first stop be the Kidā€™s Zone. If you havenā€™t experienced a Kid Zone during one of the many events, you are surely missing out. The ladies of the 327 Supper Club put on a great block of activities to keep the kids entertained; from beading bracelets, to bounce house and even a video game trailer, there is something for every age and interest.

After the kids got sweaty from the bounce house we decided to stroll the streets to grab some biers and brats! There were so many options for food! The Hollerbach staff did a great job at streamlining the process for food and beverage purchases! It was set up so well and very easy to navigate. After stuffing our faces full of brats and kraut we took in the music and festivities in the main square. I even got to participate in a fun little ā€œperformanceā€ of sorts! Every single one of us had a smile from ear to ear the entire day!

If attending Oktoberfest wasnā€™t enough of a date night, we also got to visit the Central Florida Zoo while they held their Sunset at the Zoo event. I was looking forward to going since I havenā€™t been to the zoo in while – my son went to summer camp but I havenā€™t been in years.

It was nice to walk around and take in the exhibits while sipping an adult beverage (yup, you heard me right!). Many animals were out and about, too! The sea otter decided to show off a bit for us and swim by the glass viewing area a lot! It was so cool to see that up close and personal! We got to see the giraffes (from a far), the cheetahs were peeking at us from the fence line and the goat even jumped up and was chilling on a shed in its habitat! If you didnā€™t make it to Sunset at the Zoo this year, donā€™t worryā€¦ it will be back in Spring 2020.

Seeing all those animals made us very hungry, so we headed over to Chiantiā€™s for a late dinner and drinks. The food was so tasty and really hit the spot! And did I mention the wine pour was very generous, which is a plus in my book!

All in all, October was an absolute blast and we canā€™t wait for our next ā€œdate nightā€ adventure in November!

To see where Mike and Tracy went last month for their September Date Night, check out their last blog postĀ HERE!

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