MacDill Happenings

Watch the Tampa Bay Lightning for free!  Stop by the MacDonald’s Ticket Box Office at the St. Pete Times Forum on game day and get 2 free tickets for each active duty military person with an ID.  The St. Pete Times Forum is located near downtown Tampa and right down the street from Channelside.  Try Andreychuk’s or Newk’s for dinner before the game.  Andreychuk’s is owned by the former the Tampa Bay Lightning team captain Dave Andreychuk.  Both restaurants are located right across the street from the St. Pete Times Forum.  Of course Channelside has a great selection of eating establishments!

Save gas and money by taking a HART Express bus from FishHawk, Riverview or Brandon to MacDill AFB!  MacDill AFB provides a monthly bus pass so you save even more money!  This a very popular way for a lot people to get to work.  Take a nap or read the paper while on the bus!  The bus runs non-stop to MacDill and then stops at CENTCOM, SOCOM and the MacDill Hospital.  Pickup and drop off in town and on the base are at the same locations.  The 24x bus from FishHawk and Riverview will get you to CENTCOM at 6:40am at the earliest and the last pickup at CENTCOM is at 5:15pm. From Brandon, the 25x bus will get you to CENTCOM at 6:30am at the earliest and the last pickup at CENTCOM is at 5:25pm.

Spend an afternoon at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota.  The Museum offers 21 galleries of European paintings as well as Cypriot antiquities, Asian Art, American paintings and contemporary art.  The estate features the a waterfront mansion.  The Circus Museums  displays the world’s largest miniature circus, costumes, wagons, performance equipment and other artifacts of the history of the Circus.  Included on the estate are the Treviso Restaurant, Banyan Cafe, two gift shops and acres of parkland and gardens. 

Sarasotais a little over an hour south of MacDill AFB off of I-75.   

The Museum is open 7 days a week from 10am to 5:30pm.  Adults pay $19, children (6-17) pay $6 and children under 6 are free.  Active Duty Military pay $6.

The MacDill Auto Hobby Shop is open Tue-Fri 11am to 7pm, Sat 9am-7pm and closed on Sun and Mon. It is located near the MacDill Gym and Bowling Alley. There are plenty of work-bays for performing both minor and major automotive repairs. Hydraulic lifts, a paint booth, and a variety of computerized equipment are among the many services available. There are skilled technicians available who can provide professional guidance should you encounter any difficulties. They can also do minor repairs like wheel alignments, brake service and transmission oil changes and charge a lot less per hour than out in town.

On Sunday 28 Oct from 4pm to 9pm, children in a Halloween costume will get free admission with a paying adult to go to Guppyween at the Florida Aquarium located next to Channelside near downtown Tampa. There will be goodies and variety of children’s activities. There is a limit of 4 children per adult. Adults (12 yrs old and above) pay $12 for admission.

Guavaween Family Funfest takes place at Ybor City on 7th Ave from 10am to 3pm on 27 Oct. There will be a Safe Trick-or-Treat, Spooky Story Time, the Children’s Costume Parade and contest and the Pet Costume Contest. This is a great chance to see and experience historic Ybor City.

From 7pm to 11pm, Dinosaur World east of Tampa on I-4 will be turned into a Halloween horror night from 26-31 Oct for a fund raiser for the Cork Knights Volunteer Fire Dept. The 3 Dread Zones and 3 Haunted Houses are not recommended for children, but there is a Fun-Fright Kiddie Zone.

The advance discount ticket prices are $7 for adults and $3 for children and can be bought online. Prices at the gate adds an additional $3 per ticket.

Its that time of the year, Pumpkin Time!! Yes even down here in Florida we have pumpkin patches. One such patch is in Ruskin at Hydro Harvest Farms , located at 1101 Shell Point Rd E. They will have their annual Harvest Boo Fest on October 28th from 1pm-3pm.

Also check out Hunsader Farms in Manatee county. They will be holding their festival on Oct 27th thru Oct 28th. The farm includes craft booths, live music, corn mazes and a scarecrow display. A Paul Bunyan Lumberjack show along with food booths should make this a fun weekend. For more info try Hunsaderfarms or call 941-322-2168.

A great site to try for info on Pumpkin Patches , Corn Mazes and U-pick vegetables is Pumpkinpatches and More.

If you are looking for a relaxing get away try the Islands of Sanibel and Captiva. Located a few hours south of the Tampa area off of I-75 or 41 West of Ft Meyers, the beaches are beautiful white with hundreds of sea shells.

The Islands are connected and both offer there own special brand of island life! You can choose from outdoor activities such as snorkeling,biking and shelling. There is also a wide variety of shopping and plenty of Arts and entertaining.

There is also a wide variety of dining from fun, such as Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger (yummy fries cooked in peanut oil ), to more upscale like Keylime Bistro and The Mermaid Kitchen and Cake Factory which is just as original as the name claims!

Stop by the Chamber of Commerce info center upon entering the islands to get full details of all the great things to do and see.

Check out the Brandon Chamber of Commerce for a listing of Chamber merchants that offer discounts to the military.

The discounts vary from car dealers such as Brandon Buick to restaurants such as Sweet Tomatoes which offers 10% off with your military ID.

You can view this info on the Chamber site or stop by the Chamber at 330 Pauls Dr, Brandon, FL, or give them a call at 813-689-1221