MacDill Happenings

If you’re not sure where to go for an Easter meal, then look no further than the Bayshore Club on MacDill AFB for their Easter Celebration buffet.  But call today for reservations at 828-4756!  This is a great spread with food galore at a very reasonable price! The menu will include breakfast items like scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon and hashbrowns. There will be the traditional fare included roast beef with au jus, baked ham with pineapple, chicken breast chasseur, baked crab stuffed fish, rice pilaf, garlic mashed potatoes, corn o’brien, seasoned green beans, an array of fresh salad, fresh fruits, cheeses, bread and vast variety of delicious desert. Drinks are included in the price and include lemonade, orange juice, coffee, tea and chocolate and white milk.   Food will be served from 11am to 2pm.  The Bayshore Club is located at the corner of Bayshore and Florida Keys Avenue and right across the street from the Davis Center.  The Bayshore Club is known for its elegant dining at a reasonable price and lunch buffets during the week.  The friendly servers will make you feel right at home.   The price for non-club members is $20.95 and children ages 6 to 12 are $8.95. Adult club members will only pay $18.95.  Children 5 and younger are free!

Come out to the Downtown Clearwater Farmers Market this Wednesday from 9am to 2pm. Vendors will be selling farm fresh produce, delicious cheeses, fresh baked goods, fresh cut flowers and plants and unique crafts. It is a great time to enjoy a relaxing mid-week stroll in beautiful Clearwater with out of town friends or loved ones! You might want to stop by on the way to the beach and enjoy your food purchase at the beach.   Maybe have a muffin and fruit for breakfast or come out during the lunch time for something fresh to eat. Or maybe you can buy some fresh vegetables to make for dinner! The wide variety of offerings will have something for every palate! The market will be located on the 500 block of Cleveland Street between Garden Avenue and N. Ft. Harrison Avenue. The street will be closed to traffic. There is free 2 hour parking at Garden Avenue Garage with ticket validation. Clearwater is the county seat of Pinellas County and is located on the highest coastal bluff in Florida. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the population of Clearwater is over 108,000 residents. Two major airports are conveniently nearby: Tampa International Airport and St. Petersburg/Clearwater International Airport. The downtown area is the gateway to the beautiful Clearwater beaches. Clearwater is about a 30 minute drive from MacDill AFB.

The Patel Conservatory at the Straz Performing Arts Center in downtown Tampa is hosting the Rock School Blowout today starting at 1pm. Rock school bands, with members from age 10 to adult, rock downtown Tampa when they play on PAC’s Riverwalk. Bring a blanket and sit on the grass while our Patel Conservatory student musicians rock your world!  This is a free event and a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon! The weather is going to be  warm and sunny so bring a hat and plenty of sunscreen.  The Patel Conservatory holds courses weekly, after school and on weekends in a beautiful, 45,000-square-foot facility attached to the Straz Performing Arts Center. The Conservatory’s instructors are highly skilled artists and many are working professionals in the area of their expertise. There are studios and classrooms for dance, media arts, theater, on-camera acting and private lessons in all disciplines, plus a piano lab, a recording studio, a scene shop, a costume shop, a library and a “black box” theater.  SPAC 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 SPAC.

The U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command Fortress Brass Quintet will be performing at the University of Tampa tonight at 7:30pm. The free performance will take place at the Grand Salon inside Plant Hall. Parking is available in adjacent lots. The Quintet has performed in a wide variety of venues, ranging from formal recital halls in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, to concerts at the world famous Walt Disney World. Well in-tune with traditional chamber music, this group performs a vast range of musical styles. From Mozart to Ellington, musical flexibility is the key to this group’s tremendous audience appeal. Whether your musical tastes lean towards Bach, Count Basie, or somewhere in between, the Brass Quintet officers such a variety of musical selections that they are sure to please event the most finicky concert-goers! 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.

Come out to the waterfront in downtown Bradenton to celebrate the DeSoto Heritage Festival Seafood Fest.  The Fest runs 26 to 28 March.  The Fest will have some the best seafood offerings around from area restaurants and seafood vendors.  There are two stages that will have live entertainment playing during the entire Fest.  Entertainers include national acts as well as the best the local area has to offer.  Area artisans and craftsmen will be offering there wares for purchase.  The Bradenton Farmer’s Market will be going on at the same time offering the freshest produce, plants, and crafts from local artists.  This will be great to spend the weekend with friends and family.  There is also a Poker Run scheduled!  The weather should cooperate and is supposed to be warming up a bit.  Remember the sunscreen!  You can bring chairs and blankets to relax and enjoy the live music.  Pets, alcohol, coolers and weapons are not allowed at the Fest.  Admission is free, but you will have to pay for the food!  On Friday, hours are 5pm to 10pm, Saturday from 11am to 10pm and Sunday from noon to 7pm. Located just south of the Greater Tampa Bay on the Gulf Coast and about a 45 minute drive from MacDill AFB, Bradenton is the seat of Manatee County and with plenty of opportunities to explore the arts, historical attractions, have fun in the sun on the numerous beaches in the area and spend an evening dining out or having a drink with friends in one of the many restaurants or pubs on downtown’s historic Old Main Street. Bradenton also is the spring training home of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Get ready for the sights and sounds of world-class Grand Prix race cars on the streets of downtown St Pete from Friday to Sunday. The 6th annual Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is run on a 1.8-mile, 14-turn waterfront circuit that includes a combination of adjacent downtown streets circling Pioneer Park, the Mahaffey Theatre and extending onto runways at Albert Whitted Airport that overlook the Bay and St. Petersburg Harbor and Marina. There will be five classes of motorsports racing. The main event will once again be the running of the IZOD IndyCar Series and the Firestone Indy Lights. This year is the return of the World Challenge Championship, including both GT and Touring classes, and the open wheel racing of the Star Mazda Championship Series and the U.S. F2000 National Championship series. In addition to world-class racing, the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg features a number of interactive activities for race fans in the Bright House Speed Zone and concerts on the stage in the Honda Plaza. Tickets for the event range in price from $25 for adult general admissions tickets to $110 for an adult three-day reserved seat pass. Three-day general admission passes are $45 and a general admission ticket for Sunday’s featured races is $40. Reserved seat for Sunday range from $60 for seats in the lower rows to $80 for seats in the upper rows and three-day reserved seat passes start at $85. Reduced rate tickets are available for juniors, ages 12 and under, in certain ticket categories. Parking is available on local streets as well as the many public garages in downtown.

This weekend is the 15th annual Philippine Festival, PhilFest, in Tampa. The events starts on Friday 26 March and concludes on Sunday 28 March. The Philippine Cultural Enrichment Complex will be transformed in a festival-like atmosphere where all people are welcomed to explore the culture, people and food of the Philippines. PhilFest is sponsored by the Philippine Cultural Foundation who will have their resident performing cultural groups, Musikong Kawayan Bamboo Ensemble, Philippine Choral Group, Philippine Performing Arts Company and Indak Pambata provide Filipino songs and folk dances. Food vendors from various ethnic regions in the Philippines will serve savory delicacies of all kinds for a small fee. Merchandise vendors will be on hand to sell Filipino handicrafts, colorful attire and accessories. Tawag Ng Tanghalan, the Filipino adult counterpart of American Idol, scheduled for Friday evening and Tanghalang Pambata, the youth version, scheduled for early Sunday afternoon. Saturday will feature the traditional Mrs. PhilFest and Flores de PhilFest parade with children and ladies attired in the most gorgeous gowns / native costumes and their escorts .The evening will end with the now-famous YOUTH REVOLUTION 2010, an intercollegiate competition featuring the talents of dancers from several colleges and universities in Florida. Hours on Friday are 1pm to 11pm, Saturday 10am to 11pm and Sunday 10am to 7pm.  Tickets are $6 at the gate or $5 in advance and available at various locations in the Bay area. Children 5 and younger are free. PhilFest is held at the Bayanihan Arts and Events Center PhilFest Grounds located at 14301 Nine Eagles Drive, Tampa, FL 33626.

Spend a relaxing afternoon at the Pier in St. Pete today. “Happy Days” a band made up of two brothers from New York City will perform for your entertainment and impersonate one of your favorite artists. Having performed at The Pier many times, they are always a favorite for listening or dancing in the Courtyard. The Music Fest is held every Sunday afternoon from 1pm-4pm in the Courtyard and you can relax by the water, listen to the music and grab a beverage or bite to eat while you enjoy your afternoon at The Pier. If you’re lucky, you might see a sailboat go by or catch a glimpse of a dolphin! If you haven’t been to the Pier it is located in downtown St. Pete on Tampa Bay. Located at the end of a mile-long approach, this five-story inverted pyramid features shops, restaurants, its own aquarium, boat docks and great place to fish from. On the ground floor of The Pier you can stroll through unique shops or grab a quick snack, and just outside a variety of activities are offered — from boat tours to feeding pelicans or peddling a surrey bicycle around the waterfront. The top floor of The Pier has a restaurant with a huge observation deck providing a beautiful view Tampa Bay. There are a variety parking options of near the Pier.

Learn about summer camps and classes today at Stratz Performing Arts Center during Summer Splash Sign-Up. This is a free event and runs from 10am to 3pm. March 20 is final day to save 10%* on tuition for more than 70 summer camps and classes offering the finest music, dance and theater training for Pre-K to Adult. This discount applies only to Summer 2010 Conservatory camps and classes listed on PatelConservatory.org. Check out the free music, game and activities for the whole family. Enter to win a free week of camp.  Besides camps at the Performing Arts Center offered by Patel Conservatory, there will be representatives from camps from Busch Gardens, the Florida Aquarium, MOSI, Lowry Park Zoo and more. Let the kids try out a bounce house, face painting, balloon artistry, costume dress-up and more! 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 SPAC.

Navy Week continues at Channelside today in downtown Tampa.  Last Friday’s event got ruined by the rain, but today the weather should cooperate.   The event kicks off at noon today with tours of a US Coast Guard cutter. At 5:30pm, the US Navy will provide a helicopter search and rescue demonstration followed by a concert from the US Navy Pride band from 7pm to 9pm. The mission of Navy Bands throughout the United States is to support Navy Weeks, official Navy functions, Navy Recruiting efforts and related community events in a public relations capacity. Navy bands are comprised of top rated musicians who perform in various musical units including Ceremonial and Parade Bands, Pop/Rock Bands, Brass and Woodwind Quintets and Jazz Ensembles. From time to time, specialized ensembles can also be configured to fulfill specific performance requirements. They may be authorized to perform concerts, patriotic ceremonies and parades for the general public and school concerts in support of Navy Recruiting. Parking is available for $5 at the  Florida Aquarium parking lot located next to  Channelside. There is also a hourly parking structure across the street from the Aquarium and is closer to the Channelside Bay complex. After an afternoon at the Aquarium, treat dad to a dinner at Channelside. There is a large variety of restaurants from casual eateries to fine dining. If you’re looking for pizza, sandwiches, steak, Thai, Spanish food or something in between, Channelside has it. Or if you’re just interested in dessert, then you can find some delicious ice cream at Channelside!