MacDill Happenings

For an inexpensive night out, stop by the MacDill AFB movie theater this weekend. Admission is $4 for adults and for children 4-11 it is $2. This is the last weekend in January for the special admission offer where you buy one adult ticket, you get the second one free! On Friday at 7pm and again on Saturday at 3pm, the newest Disney animated movie “The Princess and the Frog” is playing. This movie is rated G and has a run time of 97 minutes. Walt Disney Animation Studios presents a musical set in the greatest city of them all, New Orleans. “The Princess and the Frog” marks Disney’s return to the warmth and grandeur of hand drawn animation. The film teams Ron Clements and John Musker , creators of “The Little Mermaid” and “Aladdin” with Oscar winning composer Randy Newman. From the heart of Louisiana’s mystical bayous and the banks of the mighty Mississippi comes an unforgettable tale of love, enchantment and discovery with a trumpet playing alligator, a love sick Cajun firefly, and a host of other charming characters at every turn. On Saturday at 7pm, the action drama movie “Brothers” starring Natalie Portman, and Tobey Maguire is playing. This movies is rated R for language and some disturbing violent content and has a run time of 160 minutes. Two siblings, thirty-something Captain Sam Cahill and younger brother Tommy Cahill are polar opposites. A Marine about to embark on his fourth tour of duty, Sam is a steadfast family man married to his high school sweetheart, the aptly named Grace. Tommy, his charismatic younger brother, is a drifter just out of jail who’s always gotten by on wit and charm. When his Black Hawk helicopter is shot down in the mountains, Sam is presumed dead. Tommy tries to fill in for his brother by assuming new found responsibility for himself, Grace, and their children.

If you want to play golf at a beautiful course, have a lot of fun and not spend a lot of money, then stop by the Treasure Bay Golf and Tennis facility at Treasure Island. This Wednesday at 6:30pm put on your best some neon golf shirts and tee up for Glow Golf. This glow-in-the-dark golf outing will let golfers sign up as a foursome or a single. Players are provided a golf ball that’s a little bigger than normal because a small glow stick is put inside the ball to make it glow. When deciding what club to use to hit the ball, players usually the next higher club instead of the normally used club.  Play is usually completed in 90 minutes.  Bring some friends along for a great evening of golf!  It’s $20 per player and all-you-can-eat hot dogs. Treasure Bay is a full service public golf and tennis center owned and operated by the City of Treasure Island. The golf course is a challenging nine hole par-3 course situated on the intercoastal waterways. The tennis center offers eight clay courts and two hard courts. Registration is required, call (727) 360-6062.

Stop by Tropicana Field in St. Pete today and check out the Tampa Bay Home Show. If you’re looking for new ideas for your home or have ideas and you want to see if they will work, then the Tampa Bay Home Show will have hundreds of area home specialists – all in one location. Everything from furniture to decorating ideas to landscaping to remodeling to interior design, and the list goes on. See the latest in kitchen design and the hottest fashions in window coverings and flooring.  You will get a chance to the meet with the area’s top home improvement experts! They’re ready to meet you with great demonstrations, giveaways, tips and so much more. Whether you’re looking for new home ideas or just looking for a few creative ideas to dress up your current home, then the Home Show is the place to be! The Trop is easily accessible from I-275. Admission for adults 17 and older is $3. Children 16 and younger are free and parking is free also!

If you want to do something else this weekend that will probably be a little more relaxing and a little less crowded than the Gasparilla Parade, then head out to Treasure Island. The Treasure Island Sport Kite Klub and Sunset Flyers Kite Club is having a Kite Festival on Saturday and Sunday. With the current forecast, the weather should be great for kite flying. Also with the projected temperatures, this may be the first weekend of the year with perfect beach weather. With temps projected in the mid-70′s, it won’t be too hot and not too cold for the beach. The water may not be at normal summer temperatures, but it should be great opportunity to start working on the summer tan. The kite festival will feature performances by expert kite flyers from around the country, candy drops for kids, parachute tow races, kids’ kite battles and precision sport flying to music. The kites will be flying from 10 am to 6 pm Saturday and Sunday at the Thunderbird Beach Resort, 10700 Gulf Blvd., on Treasure Island. Treasure Island, Florida is located on Florida’s beautiful Gulf Coast and is blessed with miles of gorgeous white sand beaches that boast that “Old Florida” feel.

On Sunday 24 January, the Patel Conservatory at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts will be offering free introductory classes in Dance, Theater and Music. These classes are for children ages 5-9. Ballet clases for grades Pre-K4-1 offers an introduction to movement and ballet training. Children learn dance vocabulary, participate in stretching and strength-building exercises, and use what they’ve learned to move across the floor and participate in creative dance activities. Creative Drama mini-classes give children a chance to play, explore and create through foundational theater exercises. Activities stimulate their imagination, spontaneity, and expressive use of the body and voice as characters and stories are invented. Children can have the opportunity to try a violin, guitar and piano in a special Music Petting Zoo. Children learn a couple of basics on each instrument, and then try making music themselves. SCAP is in downtown Tampa along the beautiful eastern bank of the Hillsborough River. It is easily accessible from I-275 or the Crosstown or a 15 minute drive from MacDill AFB. Parking is available in nearby lots or on the street on the northside of TBPAC.

For an inexpensive night out, stop by the MacDill AFB movie theater this weekend.  Admission is $4 for adults and for children 4-11 it is $2.  During January, when you buy one adult ticket, you get the second one free! On Friday night at 7pm, the new Sandra Bullock hit movie “The Blind Side” is playing. This movie is rated PG-13 for one scene involving brief violence, drug and sexual references and has run time 129 minutes. This true movie is an inspirational story of a homeless black teenager, Michael Oher has drifted in and out of the school system for years. Then Leigh Anne Tuohy and her husband, Sean, take him in, transforming Michael’s life and theirs. With help from his new-found family, tutors and coaches, he realizes his potential as a student and football player. On Saturday at 7pm is the new Robert DeNiro movie “Everybody’s Fine“. This movie is rated PG-13 for thematic elements and brief strong language and has run time of 95 minutes. Widower, Frank Goode spent his adult life working in a local wire factory earning every dollar he can to support his family, his late wife was always his main point of contact with his kids but he decides that it’s now his responsibility to keep an eye on them. He is inspired to invite the whole extended family for a barbeque weekend. Preparations go well until one by one, they all have good reason to cancel. Frank sets out on a journey to make his own personal connection with his kids. Before long it becomes clear to Frank that his children are not quite as happy or successful as his wife had always reported.

The Hillsborough Choice Options application period for magnet programs, School Choice, and Career & Technical Education programs for the 2010-2011 school year is open from January 12, 2010, through January 25, 2010. Learn about the magnet program on 21 January at Tampa Bay Tech High School at parent information meetings. The meetings will take place from 5pm to 7:30pm. For elementary magnet, middle magnet and School Choice information the meeting will be in the Tampa Bay Tech cafeteria. For high school magnet program sessions, individual room numbers will be posted on boards near the cafeteria. Under Hillsborough Choice Options, students can apply for a magnet school, a Career & Technical Education program, or another public school with available space within Hillsborough County. Students who wish to remain at their current magnet or choice school, or prefer to attend their attendance area school, do not need to complete an application. Normally, students attend a school based on their home address. However, HCPS has more options available for students who wish to attend other schools. The Magnet School program allows students to attend schools that are in line with their academic interests. The School Choice program allows students to chose up to 3 other schools not in their normal school assignment area but acceptance is dependent on space availability. The Career and Technical program allows students to attend specialized technical schools. Applications can be completed on line by current students. New students need to complete a paper application.

On 20 January, the Minaret New Music Concert will present new music by the faculty of the University of Tampa.   New acoustic and electronic music by Tampa composers including UT faculty David Clark Isele, Bradford Blackburn, Haig Mardirosian (dean of the College of Arts and Letters) and featured visiting guest composer Zack Browning (UIUC). Performers include UT faculty Hein Jung and Grigorios Zamparas along with guest Corey Holt Merenda and Kim McCormick. The free concert will take place at Reeves Theater on the University campus from 4pm to 5pm. The University of Tampa is a medium size private university with about 5,600 students on 100 acres on a prime Tampa location on the western bank of the Hillsborough River. The University offers more than 100 areas of study and pre-professional programs through a strong core curriculum rooted in the liberal arts. An Evening College presents degree programs to adults who want to study part-time at night. Graduate programs are offered for Master of Arts in Teaching, Master of Education, Master of Business Administration, Master of Science in Accounting, Master of Science in Finance, Master of Science in Marketing, Master of Science in Nursing, Master of Science in Technology and Innovation Management and Certificate in Nonprofit Management and Innovation. The MBA program is one of the largest in Florida and is one of the elite private schools in the Southeast to have AACSB accreditation. So stop by and learn how to grow and take care of your plants and check out the University of Tampa at the same time.

As part of its Oscar Classic series, The Tampa Theatre is presenting the Oscar winnig movie “Rebecca“  at 3pm on Sunday 17 January. This Alfred Hitchcock directed suspense movie won the Best Movie Oscar in 1940. A shy ladies’ companion, staying in Monte Carlo with her stuffy employer, meets the wealthy Maxim de Winter. She and Max fall in love, marry and return to Manderlay, his large country estate in Cornwall. Max is still troubled by the death of his first wife, Rebecca, in a boating accident the year before. The second Mrs. de Winter clashes with the housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers, and discovers that Rebecca still has a strange hold on everyone at Manderlay. Built in 1926 as one of America’s most elaborate “movie palaces”, the Tampa Theatre today is a historical treasure of Tampa. Located in downtown Tampa, the Theatre is easily accessible from I-275 and I-4. Designed by famed theatre architect John Eberson, the Tampa is a superior example of the “atmospheric” style of theatre design. Inside the Tampa, audiences are transported to a lavish, romantic Mediterranean courtyard replete with old world statuary, flowers, and gargoyles. Over it all is a nighttime sky replete with twinkling stars and floating clouds. Tampa Theatre was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, is a Tampa City Landmark, and is a member of the League of Historic American Theatres. There is on street parking nearby and parking lots within walking distance. Remember the street parking meters are not in service during the weekend so parking at street meters is free. It’s a tradition to hang out at The Hub, downtown Tampa’s classic dive that’s located two doors down, before or after a theater outing.

The Florida Classic Cluster Dog Show takes place on Saturday in Brooksville at the Florida Classic Park. Admission is free and the show runs from 8am to 5pm. Brooksville is about 75 minutes north of MacDill AFB. The Florida Classic Cluster in Brooksville is the state’s version of the Westminster Dog Show and brings breeds, breeders and handlers from all over the world to compete. Florida Classic Clusters features American Kennel Club All-Breed Dog Shows, Obedience Trials, Rally Trials and free tours to learn all about AKC dog shows. Visitors can go behind the scenes and learn how a dog is judged, meet dog handlers and more! If you are looking for a pet, there will be rescue organizations on site with adoptable dogs. Florida Classic Park is a 50 acre beautiful, high and dry park and is conveniently located within one mile of I-75 and S.R. 50. The park also has 265 RV sites with electric and water available.