MacDill Happenings

Get ready for Halloween with Busch Gardens’ Howl-O-Scream.  Besides the scare zones, which showcase roaming zombies and monsters while you traipse from house to house, two shows — One Wild Night and Killer Klownz — have been added to the roster. New haunted houses Reconstruction, about surgery gone wrong, and Death Row Vengeance, full of executed inmates, join past favorites.  There is a total of 6 haunted houses, 3 scare zones and 3 shows for your excitement.  No costumes are allowed.  The event runs from Thursday to Saturday nights from 2 Oct to 1 Nov.  Thursday’s times are 7:30pm to 1am. Friday’s and Saturday’s times are 7:30pm to 2am.  Tickets can be bought online. 

From 2-5 Oct, the Disney on Ice show with Mickey’s and Minnie’s Magical Journey will be playing at the St. Pete Times Forum in the Channelside District of Tampa.  This show is great for kids of all ages.  The MacDill ITT has tickets for opening night on 2 Oct for $17.75.  The tickets are for Plaza and Jeep Club level and normally cost $28.75 and $20.75.  Showtime on all nights is 7:30pm.  Friday, 3 Oct, is the Military Appreciation show.  Tickets are only $12.75.  On other nights, tickets are $25.75 for Plaza level and $17.75 for Jeep Club.  Don’t wait to the last minute to buy tickets because there may be a limited amount available.  Parking is available at the South Regional Parking Garage, operated by the city of Tampa located at the corner of Channelside Drive and Florida Avenue,  or at the Channelside parking structure.  Don’t forget about all the great restaurants available at Channelside.

The 2008 Dunedin Cup and Kiwanis Regatta which started Saturday continues today from 10am to 4pm. This event features all kinds of boats, from kayaks to catamarans, racing in the Gulf of Mexico and St. Joseph Sound. There also is a seafood festival, kayak demonstrations, children’s activities and more, at Edgewater Park.  Dunedin is a bustling city of 37,000 residents. One of the oldest towns on the West Coast of Florida, it has a wooded and subtropical setting with almost four miles of picturesque waterfront, a relaxed lifestyle, and activities for all likes and ages.  A quaint and active downtown, beautiful parks, recreational activities for all ages, history, culture, educational opportunities, a wide range of housing choices, and much more if you considering a place to live at when moving to Florida

Rays fans who have been waiting to celebrate something for the last 10 years will get their chance on Monday in St. Petersburg and on Tuesday in Tampa.  The Rays are going to the playoffs this October!!!  The Rays are sponsoring celebrations in each city to share something the Tampa Bay area has been waiting for since 1998, the first year that the then Tampa Bay Devil Rays started playing baseball.  The Rays will hold their own party Monday at 5 pm at Straub Park in St. Petersburg, featuring a performance by rock band Survivor, of Eye of the Tiger fame, and appearances by Rays players. The team will reach out to its Hillsborough County fans with a second party Tuesday at Lykes Gaslight Park in Tampa from 11:30 to 1:30 pm. There will be free food and games.  If you are going to go to either celebration, don’t wait until the last minute and then decide to go.  I bet that each celebration is going to be packed with fans! 

Come out to Ybor City this Saturday from 10am to 5pm and join in the fun and learning at the Deep Carnivale Literature Festival.  Admission is free, but some workshops may require an entrance fee. The goals of the festival are to illuminate the numerous talented writers living in our community, provide a new opportunity to emerging authors to develop their audience and share with our children and young adults the pleasures of reading and using the written and spoken word creatively in its many wonderful and diverse forms. There will be more than seventy authors, poets, songwriters and artists on six stages located along 14th Street and Palm Avenue in historic Ybor City. Stages are centered in the outdoor HCC courtyard, on campus and throughout the four floors of the Cuban Club. Enjoy the numerous book and publishing vendors, book-signings, writers associations and community organizations, refreshments, food, and street theater. Live music will add ambience to the festival along the beautiful tree-lined, red-bricked 14th Street. Children ages 2 to 12 can partake in a wide array of supervised reading and arts activities in the large HCC Ybor Room located right in the middle of the festival.  Parking is free at public metered spots during the weekends. 

If are looking for an inexpensive treat this weekend, then stop by the MacDill AFB Movie Theater for some great movies. Admission is only $4 for 12 years and up and $2 for those younger than 12. Don’t forget that a large popcorn and two medium soft drinks is only $10.  This Friday at 7pm “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2” is playing. This movie is rated PG-13 for mature material and sensuality with a run time of 120 minutes. Four young women continue the journey toward adulthood that began with “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.” Now three years later, these lifelong friends embark on separate paths for their first year of college and the summer beyond, but remain in touch by sharing their experiences with each other as they always have–with honesty and humor. Discovering their individual strengths, fears, talents and capacity for love through the choices they make, they come to value more than ever the bond they share and the immeasurable power of their friendship. On Saturday at 7pm, “Pineapple Express” is playing. This movie is rated R for pervasive language, drug use, sexual references, and violence and has a run time of 112 minutes. Lazy stoner Dale Denton has only one reason to visit his equally lazy dealer Saul Silver: to purchase weed, specifically, a rare new strain called Pineapple Express. But when Dale becomes the only witness to a murder by a crooked cop (Rosie Perez) and the city’s most dangerous drug lord, he panics and dumps his roach of Pineapple Express at the scene. Dale now has another reason to visit Saul: to find out if the weed is so rare that it can be raced back to him. And it is. As Dale and Saul run for their lives, they quickly discover that they’re not suffering from weed-fueled paranoia; incredibly, the bad guys really are hot on their trail and trying to figure out the fastest way to kill them both.

Stop by Old Hyde Park Village  in south Tampa at 6pm to listen to Live Music Series featuring Stone Gypsy. Stone Gypsy will play classic and modern rock from the 70’s to the 90’s.  This concert is a benefit for BestBuddies.  Best Buddies ® is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of people with intellectual disabilities by providing opportunities for one-to-one friendships and integrated employment.  There is plenty of free parking available.  Enjoy the restaurants and shopping available before and after the concert.  Old Hyde Park Village offers a pet friendly environment.

St. Petersburg Little Theater will conduct auditions for Christmas Carol on 23 Sept starting at 7pm.  Numerous positions are available for actors 7 years and older.  St. Petersburg Little Theater is the oldest continuously operating community theater in the state of Florida, celebrating 83 seasons this year.  Production dates are 5-21 Dec. The Theater is located right off of I-275 at Exit 4 north of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. SPLT promotes the advancement of live theatre and provides entertainment by developing and encouraging local non professional talent. Six mainstage productions are staged each season. Workshops and classes are given on a variety of topics including performance and technical aspects of theatre.

Come out and support the Rays during their playoff stretch run!  The Rays have been exciting all season long, winning as a team with every player having the potential to get that game winning hit.  Tonight’s game against the Minnesota Twins has a 1:40pm start time. It’s great way to spend a Sunday afternoon! Today’s game is James Shield t-shirt day with the first 7,500 kids under 14 will receive a t-shirt. Military members with an ID card can buy up to 4 outfield seat tickets for 50% off the normal price when you buy the tickets at the Tropicana ticket box office!  Join all the other fans tailgating in the Tropicana Field parking lot.  If you have 4 or more people in your car you can park for free at the Trop.  Make sure you get there early because the parking lot can fill up fast!  Normal parking fees at the Trop is $10.  Let the parking attendent know that you having a tailgate party and he will get a good spot by a tree and grass if they are still available.  Listen to the live music before the game in the parking lot by Gate 1.

The Lowry Park Zoo celebrates its 20th anniversary year on the on 20 Sept with an admission of $20 for two tickets (ages 3 and older), plus $2 specials for rides and food.  Normal admission prices are $18.95 to $14.50.  This price is only for admission.  There are rides in the zoo that require a little more money.  But there is plenty to do and see at the zoo without having to pay additional money for the rides.  There are more than 2,000 animals divided into 8 natural habitats spread out over 56 lush acres.  The Lowry Park Zoo has been recognized as the No. 1 family friendly in the United States by Child magazine.  Sunday hours are 9:30am to 5pm.  Located in the northern part of Tampa right off of I-275, the zoo is easy to find and parking is free.