MacDill Happenings

Check out the historic Kenwood Neighborhood near Downtown St. Petersburg. It is largely a residential neighborhood near Seminole Park. The boundaries of Historic Kenwood are the north side of 1st Ave. N. to the South side of 9th Ave. N. North from I-275 to US 19 (34th Street North). When talking about Historic Kenwood, Historic is always used. Historic Kenwood is listed in the National Registry of Historic Places. The nearby Grand Central business is improving destination for shopping and services. Kenwood dates back to 1912 which can be seen in the historic craftsman bungalows. Friendly and very social residents of all ages and backgrounds are found throughout the neighborhood with many neighbors more that willing to help in renovating homes. The Historic Kenwood Homeowners association has many social activities throughout the year. Historic Kenwood features many historically and architecturally significant homes with fireplaces, hardwood floors, large windows, high ceilings and large front porches. Other architectural styles include: Mediterranean Revival, Colonial Revival, and Vernacular styles of architecture. Most are two bedrooms in size with larger, three, and four bedrooms scattered throughout. All homes in the neighborhood offer exceptional housing value, with prices ranging from the mid $50’s and upward. The neighborhood contains beautifully renovated, historic homes plus many historic homes ready to be renovated. Historic Kenwood also has a beautiful neighborhood park, Seminole Park, containing a historically correct pavilion built by the neighborhood, which is excellent for family outings.  The photo is courtesy of the City of St. Petersburg.

Today, St. Joseph’s Hospital is offering a sibling class. The sibling class will help prepare your child for the arrival of a new brother or sister. This class will teach your child on the joys and challenges of having a newborn in the house. The class for 3-5 yr olds runs from 1pm to 2:30pm. A class for 6-10 yr olds runs from 3pm to 4:30pm. You still have time to register online for either class. There is a $10 fee. St. Joseph’s Hospital is known for its advanced medical technology and surgery and its Centers of Excellence include the Advanced Center for Atrial Fibrillation as well as the Cancer, Neuroscience and Heart institutes. St. Joseph’s Hospital is part of the St. Joseph’s-Baptist Health Care system, a pioneering community health alliance that brings together St. Joseph’s Hospital, St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital, St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital of Tampa, and South Florida Baptist Hospital in Plant City. St Joseph’s Hospital is about 30 min north of MacDill AFB by Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Bucs. St Joseph accepts Tricare Prime.

Check out the Bark in the Park Expo in Brandon today from noon to 3pm. It will take place at Zeina Park in the Twin Lakes subdivision of Brandon. Zeina is a 15 acre park that you will see to the West when you enter Twin Lakes. The pet exposition features dog trainers and the SPCA. There will be plenty of vendors including PamperedPawGifts.com and free samples from many local stores. So bring your family and pets and enjoy the afternoon. If you looking to move, this is a great way to check out the neighborhood and your future neighbors! Twin Lakes of Brandon is a quiet residential community located in Valrico, east of Lithia Pinecrest Road, at the end of Bloomingdale Avenue. It is about a 40 min drive to MacDill AFB depending on the time of day. It is also located between Lake Michaela and Lake Sterns. These lakes contain protected wetlands and mitigation areas that will ensure open spaces and natural vegetation for the future. Lake Michaela has a one-mile sidewalk that loops around it. Since this is Florida, there is also a small family of alligators that live on the small islands in the middle of the Lake, so be careful around the water. Lake Michaela is occasionally stocked with catfish, brim and large mouth bass by he homeowners association and since it is a private lake only residents can fish the lake. So you don’t have to worry about alligators, the community has a private swimming pool, and offers tennis and basketball courts and a soccer field.

If you are looking for an outdoor event this weekend check out GreenFest at the University of Tampa. This event takes place on 29 and 30 Mar from 9am to 4pm each day. This event features demonstrations , educational speakers food and much more! The focus of this event is the variety of plants and the numerous gardening supplies on hand. Also check out the educational seminars and speakers to help you get your garden green. There are two tents with guest speakers scheduled throughout the day. Tent No. 1 is the Florida Horticulturalists and Tent No. is the Master Gardeners. This event takes place at the historical Plant Park located on the University of Tampa campus. The cost for this event is $3.00 and children 12 and under are free. A portion of the proceeds from GreenFest will go to Friends of Plant Park for use in the restoration of this historical garden. Plant Park is in front of Plant Hall on the University of Tampa campus along the Hillsborough River with parking nearby. The University of Tampa is a medium size private university with about 5,600 students on 100 acres on a prime Tampa location on the western bank of the Hillsborough River. The University offers more than 100 areas of study and pre-professional programs through a strong core curriculum rooted in the liberal arts. An Evening College presents degree programs to adults who want to study part-time at night. Graduate programs are offered for Master of Arts in Teaching, Master of Education, Master of Business Administration, Master of Science in Accounting, Master of Science in Finance, Master of Science in Marketing, Master of Science in Nursing, Master of Science in Technology and Innovation Management and Certificate in Nonprofit Management and Innovation. The MBA program is one of the largest in Florida and is one of the elite private schools in the Southeast to have AACSB accreditation. So stop by and learn how to grow and take care of your plants and check out the University of Tampa at the same time.

Enjoy the weekend by checking out a few movies at the MacDill AFB Theater. On Friday at 7pm, “Juno” is playing. Rated PG13, Juno has mature thematic material, sexual content and language. Playing time is 91 min. Juno is a whip-smart teen confronting an unplanned pregnancy by her classmate Bleeker. With the help of her best friend Leah, Juno finds her unborn child a “perfect” set of parents: an affluent suburban couple, Mark and Vanessa, longing to adopt. Luckily, Juno has the total support of her parents as she faces some tough decisions, flirts with adulthood and ultimately figures out where she belongs. On Saturday at 3pm watch Martin Lawrence in “Welcome Home Roscoe“. It is rated PG-13 for crude & sexual content, language and drug references. It has a run time of 114 min. Talk-show sensation RJ Stevens left behind his modest Southern upbringing and family name to transform into a self-help guru dispensing his “Team of Me” philosophy to millions of adoring fans. With a reality-TV-star fiancee and money to burn, there’s no piece of the Hollywood dream RJ hasn’t achieved. His parents request that he come home for their 50th wedding anniversary. The TV host packs up his 10-year-old son and diva bride-to-be and heads back to Georgia for a chance to prove to his family that he’s no longer the awkward kid they relentlessly picked on. At 7pm on Saturday, “Strange Wilderness” is playing. This movie is rated R for language, drug use, crude and sexual humor. It has a run time of 85 min. Animal enthusiast Peter Gaulke and his sidekick Fred Wolf host an ailing wildlife TV show “Strange Wilderness”, which is in a steep ratings decline. Desperate to save the show, Peter hatches a Hail Mary scheme to find the one animal that could truly turn the show around and change the nature-show landscape forever — Bigfoot. Admission is $3.75 for all ages. Remember a medium popcorn and soft drink only costs $4!

Join the Leadership Brandon Alumni Association this Thursday at Winthrop Village in Brandon at Bloomingdale Blvd and Providence Rd.  The party starts at 5:30pm and will be located between Mojitos and Starbucks.  There will be live entertainment, food and fun!  Visit the Winthrop restaurants and vendors.  Enjoy a great evening outside with friends or meet new friends.  The cost is $15 for the general public and $10 for LBAA members.  Nets proceed from this event will be donated via the Red Cross to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.  The Leadership Brandon Alumni Association is sponsored by the Brandon Chamber of Commerce with the goal to inspire, support and enhance our community’s leadership through the Brandon Chamber’s Leadership program.  Brandon is large bedroom community of Tampa.  It is a short 20 to 30 min drive to MacDill AFB via the SR60 or the Crosstown Expressway.  The Brandon Chamber of Commerce is a great support of the local military and you can always spot retirees or active duty military around town.  Due to its location, affordable housing, opportunities and schools, Brandon is a popular housing choice for personnel stationed at MacDill AFB. 

The 15th Annual Taste of New Tampa takes place on Sunday 30 Mar from 1pm to 4pm at the New Tampa Community Park behind the USAA building. Enjoy the great Tampa weather and try the great food and check the businesses in New Tampa. It’s a great way to get familiar with New Tampa and see what the community has to offer! The proceeds from this year’s event will benefit the community’s public school Parent Teacher Associations, Parent Teacher and Student Associations, the NTCC Scholarship Fund as well as community projects. Ticket prices are $10 bought in advance and $15 at the gate. Tickets for children 6-12 years old cost $10 and children 5 and under are free. New Tampa is an area that encompasses both a 24-square-mile (62 km²) area within the corporate limits of the City of Tampa as well as a larger land area that is in unincorporated Hillsborough County but retains a Tampa mailing address. New Tampa is bounded by Lutz to the west, Wesley Chapel to the north, Morris Bridge Road to the east, and the University community and the USF to the south. New Tampa is considered the fastest growing “community” in Hillsborough County. This area contains thousands of beautiful acres of award-winning master-planned communities in a spectacular natural setting. New Tampa offers a lifestyle that includes sports, recreation, nature parks, excellent golf courses, tennis and swimming facilities, nature trails and more. The ZIP Codes serving the neighborhood are 33559, 33592, 33612, 33613, 33617, 33620, 33637, 33647. New Tampa is served by Hillsborough County Public Schools, which serves Hillsborough County. Schools which are located within the neighborhood are Benito Middle, Chiles Elementary, Clark Elementary, Freedom High, Heritage Elementary, Hunters Green Elementary, Liberty Middle, Pizzo Elementary, Tampa Palms Elementary, USF/Patel and USF/Patel Intermediate. New Tampa is about a 40 min drive to MacDill AFB by taking I-75 to I-4 to Dale Mabry Blvd.

Come bring your pet to the 3rd Annual Ruskin PetFest on Saturday 5 Apr. It runs from 9am to 2pm at Dr. Ott’s Off-Leash Dog Park located off SR 674, 21st St SE and 3rd Ave SE. This is a free family event with a pet fashion contest, silly pet tricks contest, and dog-owner lookalike contests. Listen to the music and the food from the vendors! This annual event is a benefit for the Critter Adoption and Rescue Effort (C.A.R.E.). There will be a silent auction for CARE. C.A.R.E. is a non-profit, no-kill animal shelter in Ruskin. This is Tampa Bay’s only off-leash event. Ruskin in the southern most community of Southshore and is still a part of Hillsborough County. Located on the Little Manatee River, many Ruskin residents can enjoy fishing, boating and kayaking right from their backyards. Ruskin has its own golf course and one of the few drive-in theaters in the Tampa Bay area. Ruskin has a little less than 10,000 residents and still has that little community feeling. Located about 45 min from MacDill AFB, you can quickly access MacDill AFB and Tampa on I-75 and the Crosstown Express Way. Lennard High School is the local public high school. Shields Middle School, Cypress Creek Elementary School and Ruskin Elementary School are the other public schools in Ruskin.

Fishing in Florida is a huge recreational sport. You see people fishing all the time on fresh water lakes and ponds and in the saltwaters of Tampa Bay or in the Gulf of Mexico. On the weekends, you can always see someone pulling a boat on the road. The plentiful bait shops around MacDill AFB are open early in the morning and late into the night. Of course MacDill AFB is located right on the water and it has its own fishing piers right by the Bayshore Club along Bayshore Blvd. For those who PCS to MacDill AFB from out of state are pleasantly surprised by the cost of a fishing license. Under most circumstances, you do not need a fishing license! Yes, for most people fishing is free! These rules apply to most people when trying to decide if a fishing license is required:

• Any resident who is a member of the United States Armed Forces and not stationed in this state, when home on leave for 30 days or less, upon submission of orders.
• Any resident fishing in saltwater from land or from a structure fixed to the land.
• Any person fishing from a for-hire vessel (guide, charter, party boat) that has a valid vessel license.
• Any person fishing from a vessel, the operator of which has a valid vessel license issued in the name of the operator of the vessel.
• Any person who holds a valid saltwater products license (SPL).
• Any person fishing for recreational purposes from a pier that has been issued a valid pier saltwater fishing license.
• Any resident fishing for a saltwater species in fresh water from land or from a structure fixed to land.
• Any resident fishing for mullet in fresh water who has a valid Florida freshwater fishing license.

Freshwater fishing requires a license that costs $17 annually.
On MacDill AFB, the piers have lights and available 24 hrs a day. There is a small canal on the road to SOCCENT that always has catfish biting and the occasionally sheepshead. By Seascapes Beach Club and the Marina are some good spots that you can pull your car right up to or wade through the shallow water to get to some grass flats.

This Saturday morning from 9am to 11am is the 12th Annual Eggstravaganza Event at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center in downtown Tampa. Although there will be no egg hunt this year because of construction in Curtis Hixon Park, there will still be plenty of fun activities for children. There is a free breakfast, free photos with the Easter Bunny, a petting zoo, arts and crafts, face painting, a strolling magician, a safe-kids activity area, Patel Conservatory tours, a Rock School demonstration and 20,000 eggs stuffed with candy and prizes. Pets are not allowed at this event. If you haven’t been to TBPAC before, this is great opportunity to see what they have to offer. TBPAC is a cornerstone of cultural events in the Tampa Bay area and is key educational center for the performing arts. TBPAC is located downtown on a nine-acre site along the east bank of the Hillsborough River. As the largest performing arts complex south of the Kennedy Center, the 335,000 square-foot Center provides an venue for a wide variety of world-class events. It boasts one of the nation’s leading Broadway series and is nationally respected for producing grand opera, as well as presenting a wide variety of concerts, performances and events. More than 500,000 patrons attended 4,375 on-site events in TBPAC’s 2006-2007 season. The performing arts complex consists of five distinct theaters, a performing arts Conservatory, a rehearsal hall, boutiques, and three on-site restaurants and banquet facilities. The five individual theaters at TBPAC are Carol Morsani Hall (2,610 seats), Ferguson Hall (1,042 seats), the Jaeb Theater (268 seats), the TECO Energy Foundation Theater (250 seats) and the Shimberg Playhouse (130 seats). With the addition of the Patel Conservatory, TBPAC added 45,000-square-feet for its extensive education programs. In 2006-2007, the Conservatory served more than 65,000 students with more than 2,000 education on-site activites, including classes. The Conservatory features 20 studios, including two dance studios with sprung floors, a sound/lighting laboratory, technical theater workshop, rehearsal hall, costume shop, isolation/sound booth, state-of-the-art black box theater and media arts/TV studio.