MacDill Happenings

The 16th Annual First Night in St. Petersburg is an alcohol-free and family-friendly way to celebrate New Year’s Eve for the whole family. Stroll the waterfront and throughout downtown to check out the festivities in special spaces and outdoor places. Check out the arts and culture with family, friends and fireworks. This event runs from 5 pm to midnight at multiple venues in downtown St. Petersburg. Family-oriented festivities include music stages, entertainment, drama, dance, games, art, fireworks and more. Check out the concerts, dance, storytelling, theater, puppetry, drumming circle, and iceskating. Fireworks will be shot off on the hour from 8 pm to midnight. Admission is $10 adults, $5 ages 6-12. Call for more info (727) 823-8906.

Enjoy the New Year’s Celebration at the Surf’s Edge Club on MacDill AFB on Wednesday night! Start your night with the All-U-Can-Eat Ultimate End of the Year Buffet from 5:30pm to 9 pm. The huge delicious menu includes Roast Prime Rib, Baked Mahi Mahi with Tropical Salsa, Chicken Breast with Crawfish Dijonaise Sauce,Oven Roasted Potatoes, Garlic Mashed Potatoes,Rice Pilaf, Seasoned Green Beans, Fresh Vegetable Medley, Buttered Corn with Pepper Confetti, Petite Peas with Pearl Onions, Soup & Salad Bar, and Fresh Baked Rolls. There is a dessert station featuring a wide selection of the finest desserts. The beverage station with freshly brewed coffee, iced tea, and water. The dinner package is only $16.95 for members and for non-members it is $19.95. Entertainment begins at 9 pm withSounds of Prolific Productions. There will be a midnight champagne toast, party favors, and a continental breakfast. The complete package for dinner and entertainment is $23.95 for member and $25.95 for non-members. You can purchase the entertainment only for $10. Reservations are required, call 840-6900 or 828-4756.

If you haven’t taken advantage of Anheuser-Busch’s Hero Salute for 2008, then you have until Thursday for free tickets. Throughout 2008, members of the military and as many as three direct dependents may enter any one of Anheuser-Busch’s SeaWorld, Busch Gardens or Sesame Place parks with a single-day complimentary admission. Tampa has Busch Gardens. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay has world-class roller coasters with spirals and 60-mph excitement. After the roller coasters, try out the 65-acre Serengeti Plain with a 30-minute Serengeti Safari Tour that allows you to experience animals in their natural habitat. SeaWorld in Orlando is about a 60 minute drive from Tampa. See all the animals, shows and try out the new rides.

The Outback Bowl takes place on 1 Jan at Raymond James Stadium. This year it will be Steve Spurrier’s Gamecocks of the University of South Carolina playing against the Hawkeyes from the University of Iowa. There will be plenty of events leading up to game day. Free events include Outback Bowl Beach Day on Tuesday at the Hilton Clearwater Beach Resort where you can see the teams, their marching bands and cheerleaders. From 11 am to 4 pm, there will be live music, skydivers, a tug-of-war and other contests. On Wednesday in Ybor City starting at 5:30pm, you can see the Outback Bowl New Year’s Eve parade and a pep rally by the marching bands and cheerleaders. The parade will feature floats and 20 marching bands. Parking is free in Ybor City metered spots, but the parking structures charge a small fee.

If you’re thinking of going to the watch the Tampa Bay Lightning at the St. Pete Times Forum, then stop by the IT&T office at the MacDill AFB exchange before you go.The MacDill AFB IT&T office sells discounted hockey tickets and of course you don’t have to pay taxes. Prices run from $66 to $16 depending on the section you chose. Upcoming home games are 27 and 30 Dec and 3, 15, and 17 Jan. The Lightning have had a hard time lately, but come out and support and a hockey game is always enjoyable to watch.Parking is available just to the west of the Forum at the South Regional Parking garage. Channelside is just a short walk from the Forum and offers a great selection of restaurants and bars before or after the game. Channelside also has a multi-level parking garage right across the street.

If you want to take a break from the Christmas rush, stop by the MacDill AFB movie theater this weekend for an inexpensive treat. Tickets are only $4 for patrons 5yrs and older, half the price of a movie ticket in Tampa! You can get 2 medium soft drinks and a large popcorn for only $10. This Friday at 7pm the new James Bond movie “Quantum of Solace” is playing. This movie is rated PG-13 for sequences of violence/action, and sexual content and has a run time of 110 minutes. On a mission that leads him to Austria, Italy and South America, Bond discovers that Greene, conspiring to take total control of one of the worlds most important natural resources, is forging a deal with the exiled General Medrano. Using his associates in the organization, and manipulating his powerful contacts within the CIA and the British government, Greene promises to overthrow the existing regime in a Latin American country, giving the General control of the country in exchange for a seemingly barren piece of land. In a minefield of treachery, murder and deceit, Bond allies with old friends in a battle to uncover the truth. On Saturday at 3pm is the animated children’s movie “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa“. This movie is rated PG for mild crude humor and has run time of 110 minutes. Alex, Marty, Melman, Gloria, King Julien, Maurice, and the penguins and he chimps find themselves marooned on the distinct shores of Madagascar. In the face of this obstacle, the New Yorkers have hatched a plan so crazy it just might work. With military precision, the penguins have repaired an old crashed plane - sort of. Once aloft, this unlikely crew stays airborne just long enough to make it to the wildest place of all - the vast plains of Africa, where the members of our zoo-raised crew encounter species of their own kind for the very first time. Africa seems like a great place… but is it better than their Central Park home? On Saturday at 7pm, the comedy movie “Soul Man” starring Samuel L. Jackson, and Bernie Mac is playing. This movie is rated R for pervasive language, sexual content, and nudity and has a run time of 103 minutes.
Louis and Floyd, a popular singing duo back in the day, went their separate ways and never spoke again, When the death of their former group leader reunites them and sends them driving across country for a tribute concert at the legendary Apollo Theatre, they will have only five days to bury the hatchet on a twenty-year-old grudge.

The Critter Adoption and Rescue Effort (CARE) in Ruskin, a no-kill shelter for homeless dogs and cats, is holding its Seventh Annual Tree of Lights for the Animals fundraiser from now through Christmas. The annual events allows area residents an opportunity to honor their past or present pets with a Christmas bulb or personalized dog or cat ornament which will be placed on a shelter tree. The trees will be lit through the holidays and the donations will go directly to supporting the 50-60 pets currently at the shelter. For a tax-deductible contribution of $5 or more each, a bulb will be placed on a tree for every pet you want to honor. For a $10 or more donation, a cat or dog ornament with the name of your pet(s) will be placed on a tree. At any time during the holiday season, visitors are encouraged to come view the trees and, hopefully, visit some of the pets available for adoption - if only to say hello and Merry Christmas. Tree of Light donation forms can be found online. For more information, call (813) 645-2273.

Come to Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater to see the classic Charles Dickens tale of love and redemption, Christmas Carol, staged by the Nebraska Theatre Caravan, with special effects, lavish costumes, spectacular sets and a generous helping of music and dance. Join the crotchety Ebenezer Scrooge on his magical journey and ghostly visitations as he discovers the key to finding his heart and changing his life. Ruth Eckerd Hall hosts a variety of comedy and musical acts, comfortably seating 2,180. The Clearwater venue presents the finest in the performing arts and provide performing arts education. Ruth Eckerd Hall is located at 1111 McMullen-Booth Road in Clearwater, FL . Showtime on Tuesday is 7pm and on Wednesday showtime is 1pm. Ticket prices are $25-$36. Call (727) 791-7400 for more information.

Most cellular phone companies are offering a 15-20% military discount!  You may be able to leverage other carriers to match these military discounts. You may need to provide proof of Federal employment by usually filling out a form from your company requesting the discount. Sprint (1-888-788-4727) offers a 15% military discount but requires an additional 2 year service agreement for the discount.  T-Mobile (1-866-646-4688) doesn’t require an additional contract and offers a wide range of discounts including discounts on equipment and waiving activation fee and a discount of 15% on your total bill. Verizon (1-800-511-1150) offers a military discount of 15% with no additional contract required.  It may take a little bit of time to get the discount, but it will save you money in the long run. 

Tonight at 7:30pm at the St. Pete Times Forum in the Channelside district of Tampa, AC/DC will be performing as part of their Black Ice concert tour, their first concert tour since 2001. Before or after the concert, stop by Channelside for dinner or drinks. Channelside with a large selection for restaurants and bars has something for everyone’s taste. There is a multi-level parking structure across the street from Channelside. Channelside is within a quick walking distance from the Forum and is a quick place to park before the concert as well as a quick exit after the concert. The South Parking garage is right next to the Forum and an ideal place to park if you are just going to the concert. Tickets for this event are on sale now at the McDonald’s box office at the St. Pete Times Forum and all Ticketmaster Outlets including FYE. To order tickets by phone, call Ticketmaster at 813.287.8844 or 727.898.2100. Tickets are priced at $89.50 plus service charge.