Daily Loaf

Welcome to On the Radar, where we preview up-and-coming arts events to mark your calendar for. In the aftermath of last year’s presidential election, some cultural critics wondered if political humor might suffer in the Age of Obama. Regular viewers of HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher know that hasn’t been an issue with this cable talk show host/comic (who visits Tampa next week) — but fans of Sarah Palin, George W. Bush, and other GOP icons should not think they’ll get off any easier.

Although Bill Maher once described himself as a Libertarian, in the Bush years he became an icon to many in the progressive movement. His 2003 appearance in Tampa, where he skewered Bush shortly after he had declared “mission accomplished” in Iraq, led some supporters of the former President to the exits. Read the rest of this entry »

Doug Stanhope is a balls-to-the-wall tact-free modern-day outlaw comic who says exactly what’s on his mind to great (if highly uncomfortable and nearly always offensive) comic effect. He recently admitted to being a “techno-retard” on his blog and to becoming “every hackneyed old comic who talks about these kids and their gadgets today. Take your apps and iPhones and leave me sitting here with my thumb stuck in my oldy-fashioned vibrating latex anus.” Expect some related techno-bashing at his Crowbar show. Sat., Nov. 21, 8 p.m., Crowbar, Ybor City, $20 (ages 21 and up), dougstanhope.com. –Leilani Polk

Tony Soprano and Groucho Marx would be in heaven: The 11th annual Cigar Heritage Festival includes an attempt to break the Guinness Book’s World’s Longest Cigar record by master cigar makers Wallace and Margarita Reyes, who try for a 180’ cigar. The nationally syndicated Cigar Dave Show is on site to report the festivities, a game zone offers big screen TVs, leather couches and casino tables (it doesn’t matter how many cigars there are, you still gotta catch the game), a beer and wine garden, a kid’s corner, access to the Saturday Market, myriad ethnic food vendors, and, of course, an enormous selection of the world’s finest cigars and accessories — all in the heart of Ybor. Sat., Nov. 21, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Centennial Park, Tampa, $5, free for children 12 and younger. Read the rest of this entry »

Looking for something green-related to do this weekend? Look no further than our own Green Community Calendar.

Dunedin Green Market- Every Friday; 8 am- 1 pm. The Dunedin Green Market is located in Pioneer Park at the cross streets of Douglas Avenue and Main Street in Downtown Dunedin and runs every Friday.

Tampa Downtown Market- Fridays October-May; 10 am-2 pm. The vision of the Tampa Downtown Market is to provide local residents and businesses of the community with the freshest, highest quality, most nutritious, and most reasonably priced food & gourmet products. The mission of the Tampa Downtown Market is to serve as a community-gathering place where local farmers, producers, and artisans can offer fresh agricultural and related products to generate a sense of local pride and further the economic development of Downtown Tampa. With a strong focus on sustainability, the Tampa Downtown Market intends to provide a vehicle to educate the community on the importance of good health as we create more business opportunities and residential benefits. Located in Lykes Gaslight Square- Tampa St. & Kennedy Blvd., Downtown Tampa.

22nd Annual Hillsborough River and Waterways Cleanup and Picnic- Saturday, November 21; 8 am-1 pm. Free breakfast, lunch, and t-shirts for volunteers. Rollin’ on the River Picnic at 11 am. Environmental education booths from 11 am-1 pm. Bring a canned good for America’s Second Harvest Food Bank to help us help families in need. To volunteer, contact the Mayor’s Beautification Program: 813-221-8733, volunteer@mbptree.org. Lowry Park boat ramp- North Blvd. at Sligh Ave., Tampa.

Ellenton Farmers Market- Saturdays; 8 am – 1 pm. Ellenton Farmers’ Market will be the largest year-round market in florida that specializes in “green” natural, organic and environmentally friendly products that makes for a healthier lifestyle and a better environment. Located just North of the Prime Outlet Mall in Ellenton, Florida (exit 224, Old Exit 43, off I – 75).

St. Pete Saturday Morning Market- Every Saturday; 9 am to 2 pm. Downtown St. Petersburg in the Al Lang Stadium parking lot / 1st Ave. S and 1st St. Open October 3 through May 29.
Read the rest of this entry »

As everyone in the world that possesses a television knows, New Moon, the second installment of Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight Saga is in a theater near you at midnight tonight. My guess is most fans are going to watch Twilight right before they go see New Moon, just for the thrill of it. However, if they want to do it in the company of other “Twihards” and “Twimoms,” Regal Cinemas University 16 is showing the first film before the opening of the new flick for the Twilight Saga Festival Night. There’s also a Twilight/New Moon costume contest (costumes must have shoes, a shirt and no mask) along with a Twilight poster design contest. Winners of both receive prizes (please let it be Edward Cullen in a box, please let it be Edward Cullen in a box…) Read the rest of this entry »

Welcome to On the Radar, where we preview up-and-coming arts events to mark your calendar for. Next week brings to the stage The Color Purple, a heart-wrenching/warming story, penned by Alice Walker and famously acted by Whoopi Goldberg, and now an Oprah Winfrey-produced Broadway hit (Oprah also joined Whoopi for the onscreen production).

The story, subtitled “The Musical About Love,” follows Celie, who finds inner strength and beauty despite a lifelong affair with adversity. Read the rest of this entry »

Hot on the heels of her appearance in Jobsite Theater’s And Baby Makes Seven, recent Tampa Bay area transplant Jessica Rothert slips into Stageworks’ production of Bad Dates, which previews tonight at the Shimberg Playhouse. Theresa Rebeck’s one-woman show, which premiered Off Broadway in 2003, is about Haley Walker, a Texas transplant living in Manhattan with her teenage daughter. And lots of shoes. Six hundred, in fact. Having found a measure of success in the big city as a restaurateur, single Haley is ready to dip her feet and their fashionable footwear back into the dating pool. From her bedroom, Haley addresses the audience as she prepares for or reacts to her titular encounters with the opposite sex. Read the rest of this entry »

Welcome to On the Radar, where we preview up-and-coming arts events to mark your calendar for. Nothing says holiday cheer like spending time with the author of In Cold Blood (about the brutal murder of an entire family) and Breakfast At Tiffany’s (about a high-class hooker). But sometimes, Christmas traditions are re-imagined — like in A Truman Capote Christmas, which opens next week at American Stage.

This is the autobiographical story of the author’s childhood in which he is sent from his comfortable, familiar home to live with the father he has never met. Along the way, Capote (pictured left, with his father) discovers the truth about his past, his father and Santa Claus. Not From Texas acoustic band accompanies the show. Nov. 23-30, 7:30 p.m. Sun.-Mon., 8 p.m. Weds. and Fri.-Sat., American Stage, 163 Third St. N., St. Petersburg, “pay what you can” admission, americanstage.org. – Franki Weddington

Welcome to On the Radar, where we preview up-and-coming arts events to mark your calendar for. When I became a certified barbecue judge a few years back, I realized that there’s more to the art of smoked meat than most people realize. Luckily, you won’t have to worry about that when you head out to the 7th annual Plant City Pig Jam this weekend.

Instead, you can just cruise the field, sampling championship char from more than 70 barbecue teams, ranging from local yokels to semi-professional ‘cue cooks. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s a rare pleasure to indulge in the tradition of High Tea (and by that we do mean afternoon tea, not drug-infused drinks), and today pinkie-lifting tea lovers  can enjoy the tea traditions of four cultures with samplings of drink and cuisine from around the world: cucumber and mint sandwiches, goat cheese and watercress on raisin bread and scones with clotted cream and jam from England; smoked salmon sandwiches, roasted pepper and cream cheese sandwiches and tea cookies from Russia; curried chicken salad in pita, fennel and apple sandwiches and coconut puffs from India; and hummus on flatbread, pistachio baklava and date nut bread from Palestine. Bring your favorite tea cup and a story to share at this elegant oasis from the usual buzz of mid-week activity. Call Anne White at 813-253-7478 to make reservations. Tues., Nov. 17, 2:30 p.m., HCC Dale Mabry, Tampa, $15. Read the rest of this entry »

Welcome to On the Radar, where we preview up-and-coming arts events to mark your calendar for. This weekend, The Frenzie Theatre company offers Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead, an angsty adolescent show that asks what might happen to the Peanuts gang if they ever reached teenagerhood.

When CB’s dog dies of rabies, it causes him to question the existence of an afterlife — but with a burnout for a best friend, a sister who’s gone goth, an ex in the loony bin, and a load of inebriated buddies — he has no one to turn to for enlightenment on his existential questions. When he meets an artsy new friend, the limits of teen turmoil reach maximum levels in this darkly optimistic exploration of drug use, suicide, eating disorders, teen violence, rebellion and sexual identity. Read the rest of this entry »

Just in time to miss Halloween (thanks, Steve) the master of macabre, Stephen King, visits Sarasota to promote his new novel, Under the Dome, in an on-stage interview with the Sarasota Harold-Tribune’s Susan Rife. The author, who imbues many of his characters with his personal bad habits (think Jack Torrance in The Shining, but minus the attempt to hack up his family), has scared the bejeesus out of millions of fans – I’ve never been back to the circus since reading IT. The first 250 horror-heads in the door also get a voucher to buy a signed copy of Under the Dome, and unsigned copies are also available for purchase. Mon., Nov. 16, 7:30 p.m., 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, $15-$20, vanwezel.org. – Franki Weddington Read the rest of this entry »

Welcome to On the Radar, where we preview up-and-coming arts events to mark your calendar for. As everyone in the world that possesses a television knows, New Moon, the second installment of Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight Saga is in a theater near you next Fri., Nov. 20. My guess is most fans are going to watch Twilight right before they go see New Moon, just for the thrill of it. However, if they want to do it in the company of other “Twihards” and “Twimoms,” Regal Cinemas University 16 is showing the first film before the opening of the new flick for the Twilight Saga Festival Night. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s hard enough to wrangle a hip group of artists/musicians/designers/models together at the same place and time, but it’s even harder to convince anyone to come see the spectacle. The visionaries at Square One do just that with scenester-crowded, can’t-miss-‘em shindigs — like Saturday’s eco-themed Magnum Opus — that draw party people in droves. More than 75 visual artists display their work (among them CL faves like Bluelucy, Kat Wilson, KLAAREN and Robert Wegmann), Jeremy Gloff hosts his album release party, and dance and fashion shows by Bella Danza, Enigma Dance Kru, Kinetic Dance Group and Wear To The Tear Fashion mean that there’s always something shiny and new to look at onstage. The cherry on top is that this nightlong shindig is completely gratis. Sat., Nov. 14, 7-10 p.m. , The Ritz Ybor, 1503 E. Seventh Ave., Ybor City, free, squareoneflorida.com. – Franki Weddington

What goes together better than wine and blues? The holy union (which drew more than 30,000 folks downtown last year) gets its due this weekend at Dunedin Wines the Blues, when the Suncoast Blues Society heats things up at Dunedin’s Second Friday Art and Wine Walk and a blues jam takes the stage to accompany the arts and crafts, food and wine vendors. The real party gets started on Saturday, with an all-day jazz and blues jam-session that welcomes Grammy-nom John Lee Hooker, Jr., The Steve Arvey Horn Band, Kathy Jo and The Bluzification Band to the stage. Visit dunedinwinestheblues.info for more info. Nov. 13-14, 5:30-10:30 p.m. Fri., 5-11 p.m. Sat., Downtown Dunedin, free. Read the rest of this entry »

[5]art Gallery continues its mid-week pick-me-up art events with another installment in the Sleep of Reason Cinema Series, which was curated by Brian Taylor and Bradley Valentine with a dream of “providing a contemporary venue for a delirious brand of cinema.” Tonight’s offering is a variety of short movies by Kelly Benjamin, Todd Lynne, Jeffrey Ruble and other local filmmakers, accompanied by live soundtracks by Then and Than and Haves and Thirds, and S2K. Thurs., Nov. 12, 7:30 p.m., Old Santaella Cigar Factory, 1906 N. Armenia Ave, #210 Tampa, five-art.com.

Welcome to On the Radar, where we preview up-and-coming arts events to mark your calendar for. Next week, Ybor City sets the stage for two worthy comedy shows, and neither takes place at the Improv.

Four furry Southeastern funnymakers bring their “Beards of Comedy” tour to New World Brewery to entertain the beer-loving masses with their alternative brand of humor. Each comic – Dave Stone, Andy Sanford, TJ Young and Joe Zimmerman (pictured) – presents a set of his own stand-up and participates in collaborative performances of music, sketch, and improvised comedy with the rest of his comrades. Topics and styles range by comedian; Stone touches on subjects ranging from Facebooking his Pop Tart eating habits to getting warned by his dad about the perverts on “Myspaces” (“Dad, I’m a 30-year-old bearded fat man poking around on Myspace, I think I’m the predator not the prey”), Read the rest of this entry »

Looking for something green-related to do this weekend? Look no further than our own Green Community Calendar.

Dunedin Green Market- Every Friday; 8 am- 1 pm. The Dunedin Green Market is located in Pioneer Park at the cross streets of Douglas Avenue and Main Street in Downtown Dunedin and runs every Friday.

Tampa Downtown Market- Fridays October-May; 10 am-2 pm. The vision of the Tampa Downtown Market is to provide local residents and businesses of the community with the freshest, highest quality, most nutritious, and most reasonably priced food & gourmet products. The mission of the Tampa Downtown Market is to serve as a community-gathering place where local farmers, producers, and artisans can offer fresh agricultural and related products to generate a sense of local pride and further the economic development of Downtown Tampa. With a strong focus on sustainability, the Tampa Downtown Market intends to provide a vehicle to educate the community on the importance of good health as we create more business opportunities and residential benefits. Located in Lykes Gaslight Square- Tampa St. & Kennedy Blvd., Downtown Tampa.

Ellenton Farmers Market- Saturdays; 8 am – 1 pm. Ellenton Farmers’ Market will be the largest year-round market in florida that specializes in “green” natural, organic and environmentally friendly products that makes for a healthier lifestyle and a better environment. Located just North of the Prime Outlet Mall in Ellenton, Florida (exit 224, Old Exit 43, off I – 75).

St. Pete Saturday Morning Market- Every Saturday; 9 am to 2 pm. Downtown St. Petersburg in the Al Lang Stadium parking lot / 1st Ave. S and 1st St. Open October 3 through May 29.
Read the rest of this entry »

At this week’s Musical Festival feat. Samuel Adler, the renowned composer (who has written compositions for the Cleveland Orchestra, National Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, American Brass Quintet and more) visits Tampa to perform, observe and teach. Three Adler events are open to the public this week: the UT music faculty performs Adler’s chamber music at 7:30 p.m. on Thurs., Nov. 12 in Plant Hall’s Fletcher Lounge; Adler leads an orchestration seminar at 4 p.m. on Fri., Nov. 13 in the Ferman Music Center; and the UT Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, Glee Club, and Collegiate Chorale perform Adler’s music at 7:30 p.m. on Fri., Nov. 13 in Fletcher Hall. University of Tampa, Tampa, visit ut.edu for more info, free.

At tonight’s Children’s Home Fundraiser, Chris Markowski, (aka America’s Watchdog on Wall Street) and the Mortgage Banker’s Association of Tampa Bay host this fundraiser for the Children’s Home that includes live and silent auctions, butlered hors d’oeuvres, hand-rolled cigars, an open bar, a carving station and delicious desserts, valeted parking and live entertainment. Visit mbatampabay.org for tickets and info. Thurs., Nov. 12, 6:30-10:30 p.m., Westin Tampa Bay Hotel, Tampa, $50. Read the rest of this entry »

Welcome to On the Radar, where we preview up-and-coming arts events to mark your calendar for. Next Monday, and just in time to miss Halloween (thanks, Steve) the master of macabre, Stephen King, visits Sarasota to promote his new novel, Under the Dome, in an on-stage interview with the Sarasota Harold-Tribune’s Susan Rife.

The author, who imbues many of his characters with his personal bad habits (think Jack Torrance in The Shining, but minus the attempt to hack up his family), has scared the bejeesus out of millions of fans – I’ve never been back to the circus since reading IT. The first 250 horror-heads in the door also get a voucher to buy a signed copy of Under the Dome, and unsigned copies are also available for purchase. Mon., Nov. 16, 7:30 p.m., 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, $15-$20, vanwezel.org. – Franki Weddington

Today marks the beginning of a three-day interactive multi-media art event, 11:11 – Let There Be Light, Art, Sound, a celebration of the creativity that molds our communities and keeps us from falling prey to the everyday tedium of mainstream mediocrity. The star of the event is Alex Grey, who, along with his artist wife Allyson, leads today’s psychedelic/spiritual/visionary/postmodern art movement. Alex’s most well-known works are his glowing “x-ray” paintings of human bodies, which offer detailed, anatomical-style examinations of his subjects’ physical and metaphysical anatomy. On Thursday, Alex stages a reading from his book, Art Psalms. Afterwards, he’s joined Allyson for the first two hours of a six-hour painting demo, which is paired with video projection painting by Johnathan Singer, and live multi-sensory music by Scott and Anne Kennedy. During the Friday night “Alex Grey Gala Event,” Soulful Arts Dance Academy presents a program of moves, Alex and Allyson take four hours to finish their painting demo, and attendees take part in a “Paint Your Plate Dinner” while being treated to a series of Read the rest of this entry »

This Sunday marks the 12th anniversary of America Recycles Day, a nationally recognized day dedicated to recycling and purchasing recycled and repurposed items.

America Recycles Day is working in partnership with Keep America Beautiful and the National Recycling Coalition to support local communities and raises awareness by educating citizens about the benefits of recycling. The ARC website states: “The purpose of America Recycles Day is to continue to promote the social, environmental and economic benefits of recycling and encourage more people to join the movement toward creating a better natural environment.”

What can you do? First of all, if you don’t already recycle on a regular basis, this Sunday would be a great day to start doing so. Maybe you could make every Sunday your official recycling day (if you don’t receive the pick up service in your neighborhood).
Read the rest of this entry »

Welcome to On the Radar, where we preview up-and-coming arts events to mark your calendar for. Ladies of Tampa Bay, all your dreams are going to come true this weekend.

Fantasy Fest may be over, but you haven’t missed your chance to see wrinkly old man arse shaking onstage: the calendar boys of Forever Young – a dance troupe of local 60 to 79-year-olds — are back to make sure that their cheeks make your cheeks blush. Read the rest of this entry »

Music Reborn II: Forbidden and Forgotten is a memorial to the Jewish composers whose lives were lost in the Holocaust and tribute to the victims of Kristallnacht that includes performances by musicians Brian Payne, violin; Jason Jerald, viola; Debra Horne, Soprano; Mary Ann Scialdo, piano; and a special performance by Franciscan friar, Father Vit Fiala. After the concert, see a taped interview with Andre Kupfermunz, a Belgian captive who tells his story of survival. Proceeds benefit the Tampa Ameet Chapter of Hadassah. Call 813-982-1480 or visit carrollwoodcenter.org for info and reservations. Tues., Nov. 10, 7:30 p.m., Carrollwood Cultural Center, Tampa, $18-$54.

The first-ever exhibit at the newly-opened Mindy Solomon Gallery, Three From Korea, is in its final week on display. The collection makes sure strides towards the gallery’s goal of becoming”a haven for outstanding contemporary ceramics and 2D art” with its array of ceramic sculptures, drawings and prints by Sunkoo Yuh, Sung Jae Choi and Kang Hyo Lee. Visit mindysolomon.com for more info. On display through Nov. 13, Mindy Solomon Gallery, St. Petersburg. Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s your guide to finding the freshest, locally produced foods and goods (and an all-around good time) at weekly fresh markets in the Bay Area.

Gulfport Tuesday Morning Fresh Market- Every Tuesday; 9 am-3 pm. The Tuesday Morning Fresh Market is a weekly gathering in the Gulfport, Florida Waterfront District offering fresh fruits, vegetables and seafood in a festive environment with local art vendors. Speakers, vendors, artists are welcome to join in each Tuesday in the Gulfport Waterfront District. An all ages event! 2914 Beach Blvd. S., Gulfport.

Oldsmar Downtown Fresh Market- Wednesdays (through April); 8 am-1 pm. 100 State Street West, next to City Hall.

Downtown Clearwater Farmers Market- Every Wednesday (through May); 9 am-2 pm. Providing Clearwater’s residents, business people and visitors with the freshest produce, baked goods, gourmet foods, unique gifts, crafts, flowers and plants has been our passion and our pleasure. Located on the 500 block of Cleveland Street between Garden Avenue and N. Ft. Harrison Avenue.

Safety Harbor Farmers’ Market- Every Thursday (through May); 8 am-1:30 pm. Fresh and organic produce, plants and fresh flowers, gourmet foods, baked goods, handmade jewelry, light snacks. Located at the Gazebo at John Wilson Park- 401 Main Street, Downtown Safety Harbor

Dunedin Green Market- Every Friday (through April); 8 am- 1 pm. Featuring fresh, local produced goods such as baked good, ready-to-eat-foods, organic plants and herbs, coffee, honey, seafood, clothing, and so much more. The Dunedin Green Market is located in Pioneer Park at the cross streets of Douglas Avenue and Main Street in Downtown Dunedin and runs every Friday.
Read the rest of this entry »

The Temple Terrace Preservation Society’s next meeting on Thursday, November 19, will be featuring local author and Temple Terrace resident, Dr. John Henry Fleming, and his newest book, Fearsome Creatures. Dr. Fleming will do a reading and signing of his latest book that’s mystical, magical and funny, with an environmental theme about preserving what’s left of Florida.

As CL writer Shawn Alff reviewed, “In Fearsome Creatures of Florida, Tampa author John Henry Fleming serves as taxonomist of Florida folklore, producing a wildlife handbook that could have been published by National Enquirer. This book breathes new life into real creatures and popular myths like the Skunk Ape and the Chupacabra.”
Read the rest of this entry »

Welcome to On the Radar, where we preview up-and-coming arts events to mark your calendar for. It’s hard enough to wrangle a hip group of artists/musicians/designers/models together at the same place and time, but it’s even harder to convince anyone to come see the spectacle. The visionaries at Square One do just that with scenester-crowded, can’t-miss-‘em shindigs — like this Saturday’s eco-themed Magnum Opus — that draw party people in droves.

More than 75 visual artists display their work (among them CL faves like Blue Lucy, Kat Wilson, KLAAREN and Robert Wegmann), Jeremy Gloff hosts his album release party, and dance and fashion shows by Bella Danza, Enigma Dance Kru, Kinetic Dance Group and Wear To The Tear Fashion mean that there’s always something shiny and new to look at onstage. The cherry on top is that this nightlong art extravaganza is completely gratis. Sat., Nov. 14, 7-10 p.m. , The Ritz Ybor, 1503 E. Seventh Ave., Ybor City, free, squareoneflorida.com. – Franki Weddington

Fresh from the succcess of the Best of the Bay-winning Summer Sunset Cinema Series, The Studio@620 and Push Ultra Lounge once again team up to present a collection of classic films each Monday. Tonight’s selection in the Wilder to Williams Film Series — which includes the best of Billy Wilder and Tennessee Williams — is Williams’ The Rose Tattoo, starring Anna Magnani and Burt Lancaster (pictured). Visit studio620.org for more info. Mon., Nov. 9, 7:30 p.m., Push Ultra Lounge, St. Petersburg, free. Read the rest of this entry »

Welcome to On the Radar, where we preview up-and-coming arts events to mark your calendar for. Next week, a three-day interactive multi-media art event, 11:11 – Let There Be Light, Art, Sound, is a celebration of the creativity that molds our communities and keeps us from falling prey to the everyday tedium of mainstream mediocrity.

The star of the event is Alex Grey (pictured), who, along with his artist wife Allyson, leads today’s psychedelic/spiritual/visionary/postmodern art movement. Alex’s most well-known works are his glowing “x-ray” paintings of human bodies, which offer detailed, anatomical-style examinations of his subjects’ physical and metaphysical anatomy. On Thursday, Alex stages a reading from his book, Art Psalms. Afterwards, he’s joined Allyson for the first two hours of a six-hour painting demo, which is paired with video projection painting by Johnathan Singer, and live multi-sensory music by Scott and Anne Kennedy. During the Friday night “Alex Grey Gala Event,” Read the rest of this entry »

The City of Tampa’s fiendish plot to have you get up at an insanely early hour of the morning and groggily lace up your sneakers continues this Saturday with Keeping Tampa Fit. The biannual event is devoted to increasing awareness of personal health and the city’s numerous parks, while also offering the chance to keep up stride-for-stride with Mayor Pam Iorio (pictured, center), who plans on strolling four miles. As if that weren’t incentive enough, the first 200 registrants will receive a free T-shirt commemorating the event, which participants can then proudly wear to showcase their dedication to receiving free T-shirts. Sure you’d rather sleep in on what is likely your day off, but just think how good that coffee and artery-hardening cheesy omelet are going to taste when you reward yourself for forsaking a few extra hours of peaceful slumber. No pain, no gain, right? Sat., Nov. 7, Rowlett Park, 2501 River Hills Drive. Registration starts at 6:30 am, the walk begins at 7:30 am. Call the City of Tampa Parks and Recreation Department at 813-274-8615 for more info. – Anthony Salveggi Read the rest of this entry »

Welcome to On the Radar, where we preview up-and-coming arts events to mark your calendar for. Next weekend, you can shuffleboard boogie it down at the St. Pete Shuffle or get crazy with a few rounds of Bingo at your community theater in Tampa. The average age of Florida citizens might be rising higher than the heat index, but the youth of Tampa Bay are reclaiming these traditionally geriatric activities for their own. Next weekend, theater-goers young and old alike can enjoy a game of Bingo while they see the story of Babe and Sis unfold onstage in The Queen of Bingo.

The two sisters are polar opposites: Read the rest of this entry »

Looking for something green-related to do this weekend? Look no further than our own Green Community Calendar.

Dunedin Green Market- Every Friday; 8 am- 1 pm. The Dunedin Green Market is located in Pioneer Park at the cross streets of Douglas Avenue and Main Street in Downtown Dunedin and runs every Friday.

Tampa Downtown Market- Fridays October-May; 10 am-2 pm. The vision of the Tampa Downtown Market is to provide local residents and businesses of the community with the freshest, highest quality, most nutritious, and most reasonably priced food & gourmet products. The mission of the Tampa Downtown Market is to serve as a community-gathering place where local farmers, producers, and artisans can offer fresh agricultural and related products to generate a sense of local pride and further the economic development of Downtown Tampa. With a strong focus on sustainability, the Tampa Downtown Market intends to provide a vehicle to educate the community on the importance of good health as we create more business opportunities and residential benefits. Located in Lykes Gaslight Square- Tampa St. & Kennedy Blvd., Downtown Tampa.

Ellenton Farmers Market- Saturdays; 8 am – 1 pm. Ellenton Farmers’ Market will be the largest year-round market in florida that specializes in “green” natural, organic and environmentally friendly products that makes for a healthier lifestyle and a better environment. Located just North of the Prime Outlet Mall in Ellenton, Florida (exit 224, Old Exit 43, off I – 75).

St. Pete Saturday Morning Market- Every Saturday; 9 am to 2 pm. Downtown St. Petersburg in the Al Lang Stadium parking lot /1st Ave. S and 1st St. Open October 3 through May 29.

Land O’Lakes Saturday Market- Every Saturday; 9 am-2 pm. The Land O’Lakes Saturday Market is a weekly community event with live music and a threefold mission: 1. To foster a healthy and productive lifestyle of “buy fresh, buy local” by facilitating the connection of local food producers with local consumers.; 2. To promote the development of local green businesses, as well as artists and craftsmen.; 3. To bring our community together for networking and fun in a relaxed atmosphere. Land O’ Lakes Saturday Market donates profits to the Heritage Park Foundation and the Suncoast Harvest Food Bank. We are located at the Land O’ Lakes Community Center, on the west side of US 41 – Land O’ Lakes Blvd., three miles north of SR 54 (across from the Land O’ Lakes Post Office- Directions). website: www.lolsaturdaymkt.com; email: lolsaturdaymkt@aol.com
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Dr. John’s stage persona (pictured), “The Night Tripper,” is as big and colorful as the Big Easy — he embodies the culture and heritage of his hometown of New Orleans, and his latest project is a tribute to Duke Ellington and Johnny Mercer. Dr. John and the Lower 911 take the stage with “The Sauce Boss” Bill Wharton. Visit mypalladium.org for more info. Thurs., Nov. 5, 8 p.m., Palladium Theater, $45.

This week’s installment in the Dalí and Beyond Film Series of shocking and surreal cinema is  5,000 Fingers of Dr. T, a live-action Dr. Seuss adaptation about Bart, who hates his piano lessons with Dr. Terwilliker and is dragged to a dream world where his piano professor is ruler and the students become his subjects. Visit salvadordalimuseum.org for more info. Thurs., Nov. 5, 6 p.m., Salvador Dali Museum, St. Petersburg, $5 after 5 p.m. Read the rest of this entry »

Welcome to On the Radar, where we preview up-and-coming arts events to mark your calendar for. Those of you seeking your Jack Hanna fix, here it is. Next weekend, the renowned animal expert and frequent guest on Late Night With David Letterman will appear not once, not twice, but four times at Busch Gardens to regale you with stories of his adventures in the wild and drop some knowledge about the world’s exotic beasts.

Take a Serengeti Night Safari, where Hanna will share his tales on the African continent, or bring your pj’s and the kids for a fun-filled Family Sleepover Featuring Jack Hanna at an on-site dorm.  In the morning, fill up on tasty eats at Breakfast With Jack Hanna, which comes with priority seating at the first showing of Meet Jack Hanna, a conservation-themed show in the Moroccan Palace. Serengeti Night Safari Featuring Jack Hanna, 6:30-9 p.m., Nov 13, and 7:30-10 p.m., Nov. 14, $60 per person; Family Sleepover Featuring Jack Hanna, 6 p.m. to 9 a.m., Nov. 13 and 14, $78 per person; Breakfast With Jack Hanna, 8:30 a.m., Nov. 14 and 15, Crown Colony restaurant, $16.95 adults, $10.95 children; Meet Jack Hanna, 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m, Nov. 14 and 15, Moroccan Palace. Go to buschgardens.com to purchase tickets and find out about discounts for Passport members or call 1-888-800-5447 (call 1-877-BGT-CAMP for the Family Sleepover). – Anthony Salveggi

Welcome to On the Radar, where we preview up-and-coming arts events to mark your calendar for. We don’t need special incentives for a scenic stroll through the hills of St. Pete’s Historic Roser Park, but this weekend there’s even more reason to check out the bungalows, brick-lined streets and moss-draped, overgrown oaks that shade the roads: the Historic Roser Park Art Festival brings together more than 70 artists from all over the country who shut down the streets with their displays of paintings, pottery, jewelry, sculpture, photography and craftwork. Read the rest of this entry »

Comedian Roy Johnson has been beefing up his funny resume since his first-ever open mic at Tampa Improv in 2000. A year later, he headlined and produced his first homegrown showcase of local talent (eight followed) and the Improv eventually hired him on as the house MC in 2002. He continued to carve a name out for himself on the road, got a ringing endorsement from standup legend David Brenner (who said Johnson “is absolutely brilliant and is destined to be a world class headliner”), won the Maxxim/Bud Light-sponsored Real Men competition and enjoyed a cushy gig opening for Charlie Murphy, Joe Rogan and John Heffron on the Read Men of Comedy Tour, released a CD, Love Notes From the True Romantic, and triumphed in the I-4 Comedy War against the best comics of Tampa and Orlando. Johnson is headed to LA and performs one more night of his observational comedy at Roy Johnson’s Hollywood or Bust – about anything from his experiences living in Florida and dealing with hurricanes and redneck neighbors, to the follies of romance and life after marriage – tonight at his farewell show. See him off, buy him a beer, and be prepared to laugh your ass off. Wed., Nov. 4, 8 p.m., Tampa Improv in Centro Ybor, Ybor City, $8, tampaimprov.com. – Leilani Polk Read the rest of this entry »

Two nationally-acclaimed exhibits are in their final days at the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art: Epitaph / Roadside Memorials in America is a collection of 33 photographs taken on artist Angelo Mantas’ travels in the United States — and a stark reminder of the frailty and transience of life. One World / One People is a  collection of 50 photographs by Arnold Newman, depicting “national and international Jewish public figures who have made a significant impact in their respective careers,” including Mark Chagall, Woody Allen, Saul Bellow and many more. (Pictured: “Leonard Bernstein,” 1968 by Arnold Newman) On display through Nov. 8, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun., Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art, 600 E. Klosterman Rd., Tarpon Springs, $5 adults, $4 seniors, free for children, members and students, spcollege.edu/central/museum. Read the rest of this entry »