MacDill Happenings

On 26 Jun, start your weekend out right and stop by SeaScapes Beach Club on MacDill AFB for free live entertainment outside at the Tiki Hut. From 5:30pm and 9pm Tommy “Bahama” Arnold will be playing beach music, new country, Motown and classic R&B. Take in the scenic view of Tampa Bay, while dining in the tropical atmosphere of SeaScapes. You don’t have to face the traffic or crowds like you find at other waterside venues. Sip delicious cocktails, or dine on delectable fare, while enjoying a magnificent view of the setting sun on the bay. A wide selection of menu items for dinner include grouper, seafood platters, coconut shrimp, grilled chicken and much more! You can’t beat the bar prices! SeaScapes is located at the MacDill AFB base beach and next to FamCamp. It’s a real casual atmosphere so beach wear is fine, remember this is Florida! It’s a great place to enjoy as a couple or bring the whole family!

Universal Studios Military Salute promotion is getting ready to end on 28 Jun. Only the purchasing of tickets end on that day. Any tickets that are purchased under the Military Salute are good until 18 December. The promotion provides one free 2-park admission ticket for U.S. active duty, National Guard, reservists and retired military member with a military ID card or CAC card. There are two parks to visit: Universal’s Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios. Islands of Adventure is centered around 5 islands based on favorite well known myths, legends, comic books, cartoon heroes and children’s stories. Universal Studios is a movie and TV based theme park with actual film and televison studios. At the entrace to both parks is CityWalk with restaurants, nightlife and a movie theater. The MacDill AFB ITT office can provide the ticket. Once activated, the ticket is good for 6 consecutive days. The promotion also allows the military service member to purchase discount tickets for dependents. The dependents must have a valid dependent ID card. There is no limit of how discounted tickets can be purchased. With a military ID, you can receive a 10% discount on the price of your meal at any Universal Studio restaurant. Park hours vary depending on the day. The park is about a 70 minute drive from MacDill AFB depending on traffic. Parking before 6pm is $12 for cars but after 6pm the price drops to $3. Ticket prices are $89 for all ages. The normal price at the gate is $133.11. The MacDill AFB ITT office is located in the BX Mall. Hours are Monday-Friday 9am to 5pm, Saturday 10am to 3pm and closed on Sunday and all holidays. If you have any questions, please call the office at 828-2478.

As part of their Summer Family Film Festival, the Starlight 20 in Tampa will have a free showing of “Sponge Bob Square Parts”. Show time is 10am with seating first come first sit until the theater is full. There will be special kids combo for sale that includes popcorn, a drink and a fruit snack for only $3! The Starlight 20 has stadium seating and Dobly Digital Sound for a great entertainment atmosphere. With 20 screens to chose from, this is also a great theater to enjoy a wide range of the latest movie offerings. Follow your favorite characters from Sponge Bob Square pants when there’s trouble brewing in Bikini Bottom. Someone has stolen King Neptune’s crown, and it look like Mr. Krab, SpongeBob’s boss, is the culprit. Though he’s just been passed over for the promotion of his dreams, SpongeBob stands by his boss, and along with his best pal Patrick, sets out on a treacherous mission to Shell City to reclaim the crown and save Mr. Krab’s life.

The MacDill AFB NAF will be holding a sale of excess items on Tuesday 16 Jun starting at 9am until 3pm or until all items have been sold. This is great opportunity to furnishing for college students! If you just moved into the area, then you maybe you’ll find something to fill in the rest of your home! All sales are final and are sold “As Is”! First come, first served. There is no preview available and items cannot be held for customers. All purchases must be done in cash. Chose from home decorating items and electronic equipment. There will be 26″, 27″ and 32″ televisions, with a limit of 2 per customer. You can find dressers, chairs, toasters, a pool table, recliners, bed spreads, decorative plant and trees and more! All small items must be removed immediately. However, larger tagged items can stay until 3pm on 16 Jun. So be prepared to load up your car or truck. The sale will be at the MacDill Inn.

Get ready for the NFL football season and support your local team! The Tampa Bay Buccaneers FanFest is today! Free admission! It runs from 9:30am to 2pm at Raymond James Stadium. This annual meet and greet will have Buccaneers cheerleaders, pirate ship tours and interactive games, but get there early and be prepared to stand in line to get your favorite player autographs. Remember, it will be hot so bring some sunscreen and a hat! There will be refreshments for sale. Meet the new coaches and listen in on the Coaches Corner Panel Discussion. You’ll need to pick up a voucher at a designated spot before you can get in the autograph line. Vouchers can be picked up at all open ticket windows outside the stadium between gates C and D while supplies last. One autograph per person in all areas, no posed photos or personalized autographs. This year the Buccaneers are now offering deals such as partial season ticket packages and discounts for kids.

The Tampa Bay Rays play the Washington Nationals on Saturday with a 6:08pm start time. The Rays are still looking for that magic they had last season, but they still have all the tools to win the division. There is still that excitement in the air and anticipation of a great winning streak just waiting to happen! After the game, Ludacris will provide more excitement with a concert! The concert mainstage will be in right field, so make sure you choose good seats to watch the concert after the game. When the concert starts, you can sit almost anywhere. Come out to Tropicana Field early and have a tailgater! Bring a food and a cooler and enjoy the atmosphere! There are good spots to park near grass with shade trees! Bring the bug spray because you know that with all the recent wet weather there will be some bugs flying around. Remember, if you have 4 or more people in your car, you don’t have to pay for parking at the Trop!

On 11 June at the Tampa Convention Center, the Hillsborough County Small Business Information Center (SBIC) will offer free one hour workshops throughout the day. Hillsborough County Small Business Information Center (SBIC) will offer free one hour workshops throughout the day. Workshops include “Improving Your Cash Flow Understanding,” “Budget Marketing Strategies,” “Financing Your Business in Today’s Economy,” and Conducting Business with the Government.” Sub-contractors will have an opportunity to meet and network with General Contractors, Construction Management, Engineering and Architectural firms from the Tampa Bay Area. Advance registerion is not required for the workshops. If you’re a current small business owner or thinking of opening a small business, then this a prefect event for you! Everything is free! SBIC was created to facilitate and promote the growth and development of the fastest growing business sector of the economy, small business. At SBIC, current and potential business owners have access to small business information and can obtain referral information to appropriate technical and financial assistance providers as well as general information. The Tampa Convention Center is located in downtown Tampa along the Hillsborough River. There is plenty of parking at the Center and nearby.

If you’re new to MacDill AFB, then besides looking for a place to live, one of the first things that you should do is stop by the TRICARE service center on base to make sure that you are properly enrolled. The TRICARE office is located on Bayshore Blvd right by the base hospital. MacDill AFB is part of the South Region of TRICARE. The personnel in the office can assist you with any updates you have for DEERS,answer questions on local medical providers and the on-base medical services. MacDill AFB has a clinic on base that provides almost all medical services found at a hospital except for emergency room care and overnight stays. For emergency room care and overnight stays, MacDill sends patients to Tampa General Hospital on Davis Island, about a 5 mile drive out of the Bayshore Gate. There is a new hospital being built by the gas station on base which should be open in the Fall. In Brandon there is the MacDill AFB Branch Medical Clinic across the street from the AMC 20 Brandon Regency movie theater so that military families don’t have to drive onto MacDill AFB for medical appointments. Make sure ask to go to the branch clinic in Brandon when you register at TRICARE. Brandon Clinic Pharmacy provides initial prescription service to eligible beneficiaries seen at the Brandon Clinic. The MacDill Clinic provides initial fill service to our Active Duty and those patients seen by a provider in the clinic. The PharmaCARE Center located near Burger King provide outpatient pharmaceutical care to all beneficiary categories. The BX Refill Pick Up Center is the central point for picking up all phoned in refill requests and any new prescription not claimed on the day it was left at PharmaCARE Center.

With the slowing down in the economy, it’s easy to feel a little guilty for lavishing yourself with spa treatments. But there is nothing that feels better like a spa treatment! Pamper yourself and help out someone else at the same time, by going to the Florida College of Natural Health in Bradentonfor a massage and skin care. They have a clinic that offers discount massages and skin treatment performed by students with supervision by instructors. Enjoy the healing properties of massage therapy for only $25! You will receive a full body massage for 50 minutes. The student massage therapists are trained in acupressure, cranial sacral therapy, injury massage, reflexology, sports massage, Russian sports massage, structural bodywork, Swedish massage, and trigger point therapy. For $30, you can receive a 1 hour European facial that includes cleaning, skin analysis, exfoliation, extractions, massage and mask therapy. Take advantage of this offer to help yourself retreat from the daily stresses of life and help in someone else’s education! Massage clinic hours are 9am – 5:30pm on Saturdays only. Skin care treatments are by appointment at various times throughout the week, but please call for an appointment for either service at (941) 744-1244.

To help students keep reading during the summer, the MacDill AFB Library along with MacDill AFB Youth programs is sponsoring the “Novel Idea for Teens/Tweens” reading program from 11 Jun - 13 Aug. Stop by the MacDill AFB Library for more information and to register. The grand prize is an iPod shuffle! The program is open to students affiliated with the MacDill AFB community ages 11-18 or in grades 6th through 12th. Books must be selected from the High School & Middle School Summer Reading Lists for Hillsborough County Public Schools. Books from both reading lists are available at the base library for check-out. In order to check-out a book from the library, the participant or their Sponsor must have a valid base library card. Participants mus read 7 books from the approved reading lists and be able to answer a couple of questions about the books they have read. Each participant who successfully completes the program will receive a prize and will be entered into a drawing to win the Grand Prize—an iPod shuffle!