Daily Loaf

Maison Rouge fashion show at Some Like It Hot

From the outside, NOVA 535 Art Lounge looks like a run-of-the-mill storefront: a brick exterior and nifty neon sign amidst a string of shops on St. Petersburg’s Ninth Avenue. But don’t let this art and event space fool you: the deceptively tame exterior gives way to a hip, trendy night spot finished with dark wood, soft lighting, high ceilings, and exposed beams and brick. Recent events like the Size Matters opening reception have been drawing local party people in droves — and for good reason.

NOVA’s got a new culture collaboration nearly every night of the week, and last Friday’s Some Like It Hot show was no exception. After a rousing game of shuffleboard, my friends and I decided to ditch our flippy-floppies for heels and walk to the party (which I regretted after a few blocks).

We arrived around 10:30 p.m. to a packed house. The crowd gathered on the second-floor patio to drink, smoke and be merry have a perfect vantage point for judging you before you even walk in the sidedoor street entrance — so do as the fliers say and “dress to impress, “  lest ye be cast out with the rest of the tragically un-hip. Read the rest of this entry »

The annual Black and White Birthday Celebration touts itself as bringing “the celebs and musical bad boys like no other. And the ladies…WOW!” Need we say more? The theme is black and white, which (we think) means dress in those colors, not as MJ. Visit nova535.com or djfreshevents.com for more info. (Pictured: a piece from the Size Matters collection, on display through Aug. 21 at NOVA 535) Wed., Aug. 19, 9 p.m., NOVA 535 Art Lounge, 535 Ninth Ave. N., St. Petersburg, $10.

Tonight’s Hair Color Runway sounds a little bizarre — but also pretty cool. It’s a fashion show for hair; after all, your head is on display 24/7, so it should look good, too. Models rock the latest in hair-color trends for the mane event on the runway, and drinks and hors d’oeuvres are served during the show. Wed., Aug. 19, 7 p.m., Victoria’s Fifth Avenue Salon, 6512 US Hwy 41, Apollo Beach, 813-645-0109.

Former Bucs Shelton Quarles and Ian Beckles huddle up for the Ladies Chalk Talk, an evening of Football 101, teaching the lovely ladies of Tampa Bay the finer points of tossing around the ol’ pigskin. The coach-approved menu includes lobster bisque, beef tips and barbecued shrimp and football-themed cocktails like the Sideliner, the Blitz and the Hail Mary. All proceeds benefit IMPACT, which provides assistance to local at-risk single-parent families. E-mail dneri@intercontampa.com to register. Wed., Aug. 19, 6-8 p.m., Shula’s Steakhouse, 4860 W. Kennedy Blvd., Tampa, $40 in advance, $50 at the door.

Welcome to On the Radar, where we preview up-and-coming arts events to mark your calendar for. Today’s edition is a super NOVA event (I had to go there) — that combines the worlds of fashion, art and music in one bumpin’ shebang.

A fantastic fusion of couture art, music and fashion collide at the Some Like It Hot show next weekend in St. Pete. Art by Will Stryffler and Allen Hampton (whose intricate, large-scale drawings are rendered in pig’s blood) is sure to draw the indie crowd in droves. Throw in lingerie-clad models working the room in designs by Rhonda Shear, a RENO BEACH bikini fashion show by Nikki Valentine, and Reda Raven rounding out the offerings to the fashion gods, and you’ve got whole new mix of haute hags and drags added to the mix. Top the whole thing off with bumpin’ blends by DJ BC, and it looks like NOVA knows how to throw one hell of an explosive party. (Pictured: untitled (Birth of the Ataxian Mongrel), blood on paper, by Allen Hampton)Fri., Aug. 21, 8 p.m.-2 a.m., NOVA 535 Art Lounge, 535 Ninth St. N., St. Petersburg, $10 ages 21 and up, $20 ages 18-20, nova535.com. – Franki Weddington

Production just wrapped on the set of local artist Acafool’s music video “Let’s Ride,” a catchy hip-hop song featured in the movie Fast and Furious 4.  As head makeup artist, I had exclusive access to every shot from the crew call at 8 p.m. to the 5 a.m. wrap.  Check out the behind the scenes photos just below the break…

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Welcome to Radar, where we run down the up-and-coming arts events to mark your calendar for. Today’s edition is a fundraising dance party at St. Pete’s trendy new art spot, Nova 535.

This weekend, Nova 535 art lounge hosts Everybody Dance!, a Studio 54-style all night dance party to honor the life of Dr. John Barnett and raise funds for CLIP, the Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. Lately, Nova has received accolades for everything from best new art space to it’s world-class restrooms (the birch and travertine-covered restroom suites offer a “luxurious, no-touch bathroom experience,” often necessitating bouncers to enforce the, uh, “no-touch” part of the experience when randy couples discover those private bathrooms). Nova’s recent shindigs include the indie kid-approved Size Matters art show and the American Idol-esque Big Bang Gong Show — and tonight promises to continue the tradition of rockin’ events. Whether you dig disco, dance or rock ‘n’ roll, DJ CK kicks out the jams to keep you on the floor. (Pictured: The crowd mingles at Nova’s most recent art show, Size Matters, by CL contributor Denis Baldwin) Aug. 8, Sat., 9 p.m., Nova 535 Art Lounge, 535 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. N., St. Petersburg, $35, nova535.com. — Franki Weddington

Tes One’s spray-paint-on-wood painting measures 10-ft. by 11-ft.

You know what they say: when the going gets tough, the tough get…bigger?

Despite the ongoing economic malaise—which seems to find Florida in a particularly compromising position—St. Petersburg artist and art party impresario John Vitale isn’t giving up. Though the muralist and owner of Vitale Studio recently downsized out of a company warehouse that doubled as an art gallery, his response to tough times is simply to take the show on the road.

All the way downtown to Nova 535, that is.

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Last night, Dereck and I attended the SuperNova Sunday event at NOVA 535 (535 Dr. M. L. King Jr Street N, Saint Petersburg, FL 33701, (727) 821-6682). I’ve been spending a lot of time at NOVA lately, and when I heard they were putting on a weekly party that was part Gong Show and part social gathering, I decided it was time to go do a photo shoot.

More pics after the jump: Read the rest of this entry »

Every year, mainstream media picks a pop tart to feel the heat of the MTV spotlight, though 2008’s rising star was not a Mickey Mouse Club or American Idol outcast nor was it some annoying bleached-blonde virginity-claiming bombshell. Instead, we saw the rise of a doll-faced, naughty-girl-next-door singer/musician Katy Perry (pictured), who brought the nauseatingly catchy yet somehow edgy “I Kissed a Girl” to suburbia and to the Warped Tour, all in one fell swoop. Her certified-platinum album, One of the Boys, sold 2 million copies worldwide, and she seems to have some staying power (she just performed on The Grammys in February), though tickets for the 1,500-capacity show that’s been lined up for months were still available by the time of this posting. 8 p.m., Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg, $20.

The latest doc presented in the fundraising WMNF Film Series is Plan Colombia: Cashing in on the Drug War Failure, about the relation between America’s “war-on-drugs” in Columbia and how it relates to our country’s interest in Columbian oil and natural resources. Screened at two locations: 7 p.m., Tampa Pitcher Show, Tampa, and 7 p.m. at Nova 535 Art Lounge, St. Petersburg. Admission is $8 door.

Black On Black Rhyme concludes its observance of National Poetry Month with the City of Tampa poet laureate, James E. Tokley, who also celebrates his 61st birthday on the occasion. Friends of Tokley, special guests, various area poets and Tokley himself are scheduled to perform readings and give presentations. 9 p.m., Hip Hop Soda Shop, Tampa, $7, 813-244-0535. Read the rest of this entry »

Today marks the kick-off of the seventh annual Ybor Festival of the Moving Image. Tonight’s event schedule includes the opening of Sideshow with Postage Due, a two-person show featuring mixed-media circus banners by Tampa artist Lori Ballard and postal art by Gulfport graphic designer Steve Smith, and a screening of the Buster Keaton classic, The Playhouse, with live accompaniment by Ray Villadonga and Rick Olson. (Pictured below: “Amazing Insecticycles,” by Steve Smith.) April 1-5, with a free opening party tonight from 6 to 9 p.m., Performing Arts Building, HCC-Ybor City Campus, Tampa.

Sunscreen Film Festival hosts a “Film and Guest Lineup” launch party in honor of its fourth annual event, which is set to occur April 29-May 3. Locals are invited to come and find out more about the 2009 program — which films have made it in, the schedule of parties, and the roster of special guests, judges and celebrities expected to attend and take part. Attendees can also snag advance passes to the fest, meet filmmakers, and win various prizes throughout the night. 6-10 p.m., Nova 535 Art Lounge, St. Petersburg, free admission. Read the rest of this entry »

Tampa Bay Jewish Film Festival Opening Night With the Mideast conflict appearing more intractable than ever, the 13th annual Tampa Bay Jewish Film Festival is offering a welcome respite: laughter. The festival’s opening night celebration is themed “The Funny Business About Religion,” and it features stand-up routines by a rabbi and a Muslim followed by the local premiere of Heaven Is Not There, aka Circumcise Me, a documentary about comic Yisrael Campbell (pictured), who converted from Catholicism to Judaism not once but three times. The fest continues through Sun., March 15 at venues around the Bay Area including the Tampa Theatre, Baywalk Muvico in St. Petersburg, and the USF Health Sciences Auditorium. More info at www.jewishtampa.com or the Golda Meir/Kent Jewish Center website at www.gmkjc.org.

Hook’s Kids College Fundraiser A party in honor of the late, much-beloved restaurateur Hook Atsavinh, owner of Hook’s Sushi Bar and Thai Food in St. Pete, who died in January at the age of 44. Proceeds will go toward a college fund for Hook’s children, Lauren, 4 and Jackson, 4 months. 6 p.m.-Midnight, Nova 535 Art Lounge, 535 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. N., St. Petersburg, 727-821-6682 or nova535.com.

Reflections on Women and War A lecture by Israeli author Gail Hareven compares her experiences as an officer in the Israel Defense Forces with the experiences of her mother, who was also a writer and served as a paramedic in the Israeli War of Independence in 1948. Presented by the University of Tampa’s Office of International Programs, the Department of English and Writing and the Women’s Studies Program. 10 a.m., Reeves Theater, University of Tampa. For more information, contact Brooke Pawlak at (813) 257-3501 or bpawlak@ut.edu.