MacDill Happenings

If you’re looking for an inexpensive treat this weekend, then stop by the MacDill AFB movie theater with one movie playing on Friday and on a Saturday matinee and evening show.  On Friday at 7pm, the comedy “The Rocker” is playing. This movie is rated PG-13 for drug & sexual references, nudity and language and has a run time of 102 minute. Robert “Fish” Fishman is the extremely dedicated and astoundingly passionate drummer for the eighties hair band Vesuvius, who is living the rock n’ roll dream until he is unceremoniously kicked out of the band. Twenty years after his rock star fantasies are destroyed, just when Fish has finally given up all hope, he hears that his nephew’s high school rock band A.D.D. is looking for a new drummer. They reluctantly make him the newest member of the band, giving him a chance to reclaim the rock God throne he’s always thought he deserved, and taking the young band along for the ride of their lives.  On Saturday at 3pm, ”The Longshots” with Ice Cube is playing.  This movie is rated PG for thematic elements, mild language, and rude humor with a run time of 94 minutes.  Curtis Plummer — a down-on-his-luck former high school football star — turns his niece, Jasmine, into the quarterback of the local team, The Minden Browns, and gets his stride back when he becomes the team coach. With Curtis as their new leader and their pigtail-wearing star player, this team of misfits wins its way to the Pop Warner Super Bowl and the small city of Minden, Illinois, is ignited with team spirit, town pride and the glory it once knew. On Saturday at 7pm, the thriller “Mirrors” with Kiefer Sutherland is playing. This movie is rated R for strong violence, disturbing images, language, and nudity and has a run time of 110 minutes. Nearly a year after Ben Carson was suspended from the NYPD for fatally shooting another undercover officer; he tries to pull his life together. Carson takes a job as a night watchman at the burned-out ruins of the Mayflower department store that devoured numerous innocent lives. As Carson patrols the store, he begins to notice horrific images in the ornate mirrors that adorn the Mayflower walls. Carson suffers physical effects when he sees his own reflection being tortured. Amy, a no-nonsense NYPD medical 2 examiner, and Carson’s wife is frightened by her husband’s increasingly erratic behavior, she fears it’s putting their children in danger. Carson must somehow uncover the truth behind the mirrors–and convince Amy to help him battle the greatest evil he has ever faced.

Evos restaurants around Tampa Bay will give away a free Freerange Steakburger as part of a promotion with the Centers for Disease Control for “Get Smart About Antibiotics Week,” Oct. 6-10. So pick up your free — and antibiotic-free — burgers, and learn a little about keeping healthy in the process.  At Evos instead of cooking burgers on a grill, they slow roast them in an oven sealing in the natural flavors and nutrients. There are 4 locations in Tampa Bay: South Tampa, near USF, at Westshore Plaza, and in St. Pete.  This promotion is only for their steakburger, but they also have a large great menu you can also order from!

The Hillsborough County Public School District is sponsoring Career & College Fest on 8 & 9 Oct.  The location on 8 Oct is Jefferson High School in Tampa from 4:30pm to 8:30pm. The location on 9 Oct is Bloomingdale High School in Brandon from 5:30pm to 8:30pm.  Career & College FEST is a great opportunity for students and parents to speak one-on-one with corporate and college/postsecondary school representatives about training, certification, and potential income available through employment in the various industries represented. Come find out what your future could look like! This is for middle school and high school students.

If you looking for some family fun for Halloween, then stop by the Lowry Park Zoo on weekends during October.  See all the haunted houses and spooky scenes!  The Zoo Boo started on last weekend and continues during October 9-12, 16-19, 23-26, 29-31 & November 1. Hours are 7-11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and 7-10 p.m. on Sundays through Thursdays. General admission is $17 for adults and $14 for children (ages 3-11). Annual Zoo Pass holders receive discounted admission all nights, with a special member night on October 12. ZooBoo volunteer opportunities are available by calling 813-935-8552 ext. 235. This volunteer opportunity hours can be credited for Bright Futures volunteer hours.

This Monday the Seascapes Beach Club at the MacDill AFB beach re-opens!  Check out the new Tiki bar and the new renovations.  Dinner Value Meals are now offered nightly from 4pm to 9pm and are priced from $5.95 and $11 for example: Small Bites – Kids Value Meal (10 yrs & under) $5.95 chicken tenders, fries and a medium fountain drink; Family Pack – 10 buffalo wings, french fries and cole slaw $11.00; and Grouper or Chicken Picatta with linguini entree $11.00 served with a complimentary glass of house wine. Enjoy the beautiful sunset and nice calm waters of the bay while you enjoy a meal or have a drink from the bar. This is a great place to hold a party!

The downtown St. Pete area has something for everyone and their pets this Saturday! Hogs and Dogs in the Grand Central District of St. Petersburg will give dogs their day and hawgs their due with a street party, between First Avenue N and First Avenue S, from 19th to 31st streets. There will be have motorcycle displays, a dog pageant and costume contest, pet portraits, exhibits and live entertainment from 11 am to 4 pm Saturday.

Opening for its seventh season, the Saturday Morning Market in downtown St. Pete is now at a roomier location at First Street and First Avenue S. With more than 100 vendors, it has become a hot spot for socializing over barbecue and live music. You will find fresh produce including a wide selection of regular & organic fruits and vegetables, prepared foods, smoked seafood, pickled vegetables, gourmet cheeses, fruit smoothies, gourmet baked goods, greenery and hand-crafted house wares & gifts This popular event usually attracts up to 6,000 shoppers during its 9am to 2pm run time.  Convenient parking can be found at Baywalk Garage just 2 blocks away.

This weekend there are 3 great movies playing at the MacDill AFB movie theater.  Admission is only $4 for patrons 12 years and older and $2 for those 5-11 years old.  This is more than half the cost of watching a movie out in town!  On Friday at 7pm, the comedy “Tropic Thunder” starring Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. is playing. This has a run time of 107 minutes and is rated R for pervasive language, sexual references, violent content and drug material. An action comedy about a group of self-absorbed actors who set out to make the most expensive war film. After ballooning costs force the studio to cancel the movie, the frustrated director refuses to stop shooting, leading his cast into the jungles of Southeast Asia, where they encounter real bad guys. There is a Saturday matinee at 3pm with the animated movie, “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” playing. This movie has a run time of 97 minutes and is rated PG for sci-fi action violence, language and momentary smoking. On the front lines of an intergalactic struggle between good and evil, fans young and old will join such favorite characters as Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Padmae Amidala, along with brand-new heroes like Anakin’s padawan learner, Ahsoka. Sinister villains–led by Palpatine, Count Dooku and General Grievous–are poised to rule the galaxy. Stakes are high, and the fate of the Star Wars universe rests in the hands of the daring Jedi Knights. Their exploits lead to the action-packed battles and astonishing new revelations.  On Saturday at 7pm, the action movie, “Death Race” is playing. This movie has a run time of 92 minutes and is rated R for strong violence and language. Terminal Island, New York: 2020. Overcrowding in the U.S. penal system has reached a breaking point. Prisons have been turned over to a monolithic Weyland Corporation, which sees jails full of thugs as an opportunity for televised sport. Adrenalized inmates, a global audience hungry for violence and a spectacular, enclosed arena come together to form the ‘Death Race’, the world’s biggest, most brutal sporting event. Five-time NASCAR champion Jensen Ames is a man who has become an expert at survival. Driving a monster car outfitted with machine guns, flamethrowers and grenade launchers, Ames must now kill or be killed to win the most treacherous spectator sport on Earth: ‘Death Race’.

Whenever you move to a new duty station, the location of the medical hospital or clinic is usually an important piece of information for families, especially those that have young children.  MacDill AFB has a great clinic on base that is located along Bayshore Blvd near the Bay Pines Golf Complex.  A new clinic is being built near the gas station on base and is scheduled to be open during 2009.  The clinic on base does not have in-patient capabilities and so any patients, including active duty service members, requiring procedures that require overnight hospitalization are sent out to civilian hospitals.  The clinic does not have an emergency room.  The nearest civilian hospital is Tampa General Hospital located at Davis Island near the Channelside district of Tampa.  MacDill AFB personnel requiring emergency room assistance are sent to Tampa General.  Tampa General is about a 10 min drive from MacDill AFB.  If you are enrolled in Tricare Prime and live within a 30 minute drive of MacDill, then dependants are required to enroll and be seen at the MacDill AFB Clinic.  To make appointments on base, call 813-828-CARE (2273) from 7am to 4:30pm.  There are same appointments available, but you need to call in the morning.  If you have any questions about being seen on-base or off-base, then there is a Tricare Office located on Bayshore Blvd right before the clinic that can provide you plenty of help.  The personnel at the front desk are very knowledgeable.  If you are not sure what type of Tricare program you are enrolled in then stop by the Tricare office for help.  This is very important especially if are newly married!  You can also call 813-828-CARE (2273) for Tricare questions.