MacDill Happenings

Everyone is getting ready for a fun night of Trick or Treating! To make sure that you have fun make sure that you follow a few basics steps. You can never be too cautionous. Trick or Treating can start at dusk. If you have young children, make sure you go out before it gets too dark. Make sure that that your kids have an escort. Never let your child go out alone. Have everyone carry a flashlight. Try to have light colored costumes. Cross only at intersections and not between parked cars. Halloween is a great time for parties, so be extra careful and look out for that drunk driver. Check all treats before letting children eat them. Make sure that your pets are under control especially when you have to open the door to Trick or Treaters. If you are driving, make sure you watch for children in neighborhoods who are going to be excited, running around and may not be able to see you if they have a mask on. Fireworks are illegal in Florida so don’t use them and watch out for people who are using them. If your children are going to wear a mask, have them remove them as they walk the neighborhood so that they can see and hear what is going on around them. Halloween can be a lot of fun, but just be careful so that you don’t have to spend it in an emergency room!

The SS American Victory at Channelside is transformed into a Halloween Ghost Ship on Friday and Saturday from 7:30pm-11:30pm.  Walk through the passageways and deck of a haunted 1945 warship taken over by zombies, monsters, ghosts and ghouls. After wandering the ship you can also enjoy a cool brew on the outside demon den!  Go on a live ghost hunting expedition on the ship lead by the Florida Paranormal Research Group and the White Noise Paranormal Network. Visit their command center and listen to electronic voice listening devices and see what comes back to life! The SS American Victory, a World War II Victory class merchant marine ship, is anchored at Channelside next to the Florida Aquarium. The Victory class of merchant marine ship with structural and araments upgrades replaced well known Liberty merchant marine class during 1944. The SS American Victory served in WWII, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The ship is a working maritme museum and is currently undergoing restoration by volunteers. The ship is normally open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. Tickets for the Halloween Ghost ship is $20.  Parking is available at the Florida Aquarium parking lot or at the Channelside parking structures.

For an inexpensive night out on Friday and to get in the mood for Halloween, check out what is playing at the MacDill AFB movie theater. Usually, there would be a movie on Saturday but since it is Halloween there will not be a movie showing. On Friday at 7pm, the horror movie “Sorority Row” will be playing. This movie is rated R for strong bloody violence, language, sexuality, nudity, and partying and has a run time of 101 minutes. Cassidy, Jessica, Claire, Ellie and Megan are sorority sisters and true-blue friends to the end — until a prank gone wrong resulting in Megan’s demise. Rather than risk their futures by reporting the crime, the friends agree to cover it all up. Cassidy and company learn to regret their decision one year later when a stalker begins sending them videos of the night Megan died. Unfortunately for the sorority girls, the stalker doesn’t intend to only send videos but to go after them and anyone who knows their secret. Admission is only $4 for adults and $2 for children under 12. You can’t be the price of refreshments!

Guavaween Family FunFest is Tampa Bay’s Family Halloween Celebration and offers exciting activities for children of all ages! Family FunFest takes place on Saturday, October 31th, 2009 from 10am to 3pm in Ybor City. Admission is $5 per person between 10am and 2pm. Children in costume under 12 years of age are admitted free! Beginning at 10am will be continuous free entertainment on the Mix 100.7 Stage at 7th Avenue & 18th Street and the Daytime Entertainment Stage at 7th Avenue & 15th Street. See performances by local dance groups and area schools and many more! At 10am, the “Cool Zone” area opens and provides a place to relax, try free food samples and see a cooking demo with nationally acclaimed Chef Rich Mead, in the Gourmet for Less Café, and much more. Family FunFest also features Safe Trick-or-Treat, Spooky Story Time, pumpkin giveaway, hands-on activities, appearances by Tampa Bay Buccaneers Cheerleaders and Captain Fear as well as other area mascots, Safety Education, exhibits and demos by Tampa Bay’s best area attractions, a Pet Costume Contest and the Children’s Costume Parade and Contest at 2:30pm! Guavaween is a Latin-style Halloween celebration held in Tampa’s historic Ybor City. Although Ybor City is more famous for its cigars than its guava, the name is fitting. The story goes something like this: Long ago, Tampa pioneer Gavino Gutierrez tried to cultivate guava commercially here, but was unsuccessful because of the climate and rising land prices. However, a local newspaper columnist was successful in planting the idea that if New York is the “Big Apple,” then it follows that Tampa must be the “Big Guava.” And that’s how it all began. There are parking structures in Ybor City, but you might want to consider other parking in downtown and using the streetcars to get to Ybor City.

This Wednesday from 6pm-9pm, the Hyde Park Live Music Series continues at Old Hyde Park Village in south Tampa. This Wednesday the 80’s cover band Rubix Cubed will be playing to benefit the Child Abuse Council. This is a must see night for all music lovers! Rubix Cubed rocks with songs from the Go-Go’s, The Cure, Madonna, Simple Minds and other mega-hits of the ‘80s. The audience is transported through a multi-sensory recap of all that is “The ’80s”, complete with music videos, commercials, and film clips. Rubix Cubed gets the crowd dancing and singing along as they relive the totally tubular life of the ’80s. Located in south Tampa, Hyde Park Village has great mix of boutiques, stores and unique restaurants that can pique anyone’s interest. South Tampa is the area generally defined as the part of Tampa that is south of Kennedy Blvd. MacDill AFB is located at the southern end of South Tampa. There is plenty of free parking available in Hyde Park Village with several parking garages available!

In alliance with the USO, eKnowledge is offering SAT and ACT test prep programs valued at $200, free to Military Service Members and their extended families. The eKnowledge Sponsorship Alliance includes Veteran Service Organizations such as AMVETS, the American Red Cross and DANTES, as well as a group of professional athletes from the NFL and MLB including. The eKnowledge Sponsorship Alliance has provided over 120,000 SAT/ACT Prep Programs to military families worldwide. The PowerPrep™ program helps prepare students to take the exams and increases student confidence resulting in higher test scores, and thousands of dollars in scholarships. The software includes more than 20 hours of video instruction and 3,000 files of supplemental test prep material, thousands of interactive diagnostic tools, sample questions, practice tests and graphic teaching illustrations. The new PowerPrep™ v6x software is MAC and PC compatible. Families interested in obtaining the FREE $200 v6x SAT/ACT PowerPrep™ Programs may order online www.eknowledge.com//nfl Enter Sponsorship Code: Code: 15E41DB9A6 or by telephone, 951-256-4076. There is a small fee of $13.84 (per standard program) which enables eKnowledge to provide technical and customer support, registration, licensure, processing, handling and worldwide shipping. This nominal fee allows the sponsorship alliance to continue helping tens-of-thousands of military families each year.

Hydro Harvest Farms in Ruskin is having a pumpkins patch this weekend. There will be thousands of pumpkins available for purchase. You can paint and decorate your pumpkins, play games, see lots of crafts for sale and join in on fun contests. And it’s all free! Pumpkins are 3 for $20. Hydro Harvest Farms was founded on the belief that we are what we eat and we are responsible for our families well being, the future of our planet and the desire to get back in touch with what is really important. Growing your own food is one of the most satisfying experiences. Eating healthy food is why you come to Hydro Harvest Farms. All food is grown using Hydroponic Methods. Hydroponic methods requires 80% less water that a typical farm. Only 1/8 of land is required of a typical farm. Every natural method is used to eradicated organisms and pests in the early stages of the problem by using natural enemies, natural solutions, organic controls and NO chemical pesticides. Hydroponic means “water working”. Instead of the traditional farming practice of growing in soil, hydroponic plants grow in a water and nutrient solution. The elements of the nutrition are the same in plants grown in soil, but they are fed directly to the root base as opposed to dispersing a lot of water in the soil and having the plant root search for the nutrition. This allows the hydroponic farmer to save water and not stress the plant because of a lack of water or the essential nutrients.

This Saturday and Sunday is the 28th Annual John’s Pass Seafood Festival. John’s Pass is on the Gulf just north of St Pete Beach. Saturday’s hours are 10am to 8pm and Sunday’s hours are 10am to 6pm. Admission is free. There will be something for everyone! Of course, there will be plenty of seafood available! If you’re looking for something unique, then check out the Arts & Crafts Show with more than 50 local and regional artist displaying their wares. Listen to live music or join the street dance in the village. Wander around the more than 150 shops in the village. Learn some new fish tips or find some new equipment. A new fishing pole never hurts! There will be a children’s area. On Saturday at 3pm, there will be a children’s Halloween costume contest and trick or treating will take during the entire festival. There will also be the John’s Pass Shop of Horrors Oct. 23-Nov. 1 on the Village Boardwalk. Hours vary so visit the festival Web site to get the details. The Shop of Horrors takes you through the Haunted Trail. The Trail is youngster friendly before 7 p.m. but becomes more mature after that. Admission is $3 for kids and $7 for adults. Parking is available at the 325 space parking structure at the Boardwalk as well as nearby Madeira Beach Middle School for free. A free shuttle service is available from Madeira Beach Middle School.

This weekend the Tampa Convention Center is hosting the Tampa Bay International Auto Show.  Come out and see the new models for 2010. Take a look at pre-production models that will be the highlight of the show. See what the future holds in automotive design or if you’re planning to buy a car next year you can take a peek at what is available. Attendees can also register for a free chance to win $25,000. Every two hours finalists will be selected and invited in climb into a stretch limousine and select one of 250 money bags stuffed with prizes and one stuffed with $25,000. See specialty and celebrity owned vehicles from the world famous duPont Registry. Exotic cars that will be displayed include Lamborghini, Aston Martin & Spyker, and Bentley & Rolls-Royce. On Sunday, 25 October, it is Kids Day and children 12 and under are admitted free. Kids can make a free make and take craft item at the ParentGuide display area. On Sunday between 11am and 1:30pm, Spiderman will be making an appearance. Then between 2:30pm and 5pm, the Incredible Hulk will be making an appearance. Located in downtown Tampa along the Hillsborough River, the Convention Center has parking available nearby.

For an inexpensive night out this weekend, stop by the MacDill AFB movie theater. On Friday at 7pm, the action movie “Inglourious Basterds” starring Brad Pitt is playing. This movie is rated R for strong graphic violence, language and brief sexuality and has a run time of 153 minutes. In German-occupied France, where Shosanna Dreyfus witnesses the execution of her family at the hand of Nazi Colonel Hans Landa. Shosanna narrowly escapes and flees to Paris, where she forges a new identity as the owner and operator of a cinema. Elsewhere in Europe, Lieutenant Aldo Raine organizes a group of Jewish soldiers to engage in targeted acts of retribution. Known to their enemy as “The Basterds,” Raine’s squad joins German actress and undercover agent Bridget Von Hammersmark on a mission to take down the leaders of The Third Reich. On Saturday at 7pm, the comedy “Extract” starring Jason Bateman and Mila Kunis is playing. This movie is rated R for language, sexual references, and some drug use and has run time of 92 minutes. Joel is one step away from selling his flavor extract factory and retiring to easy street when a freak workplace accident sets in motion a series of disasters that puts his business and personal life in jeopardy.