MacDill Happenings

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.

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!

For an inexpensive night out this weekend, stop by the MacDill AFB movie theater!  Movies only cost $4 for adults ages 12 and older and $2 for children ages 5-11.  Plus during March if you buy two adult tickets, you get one free child’s ticket. On Friday, the action movie, starring Mel Gibson and Danny Huston , the “Edge of Darkness” plays at 7pm.  This movie is rated R  for strong bloody violence and language and has a run time of 142 minutes.   As detective Thomas Craven is investigating his activist daughter’s murder he uncovers a corporate cover up along with government collusion that brings the unwanted attention of an agent whose job is cleaning up evidence of a crime.  On Saturday there are two movies playing.  At 3pm, the comedy “The Tooth Fairy” is playing. This movie is rated PG for mild language, some rude humor and sports action and has a run time of 102 minutes. Tess is a 6-years-old girl who is very disappointed when Derek tells her that the tooth fairy isn’t real. Derek is left to try and save the tooth fairy kingdom. At 7pm, the new Mark Wahlberg movie, “The Lovely Bones” is playing. This movie is rated PG-13 for mature thematic material involving disturbing violent content and images, and some language and has a run time of 139 minutes. A young girl who has been murdered and watches over her family – and her killer – from heaven. She must weigh her desire for vengeance against her desire for her family to heal.

Get ready to sign up for the Tampa Theatre Film Camp 2010! Students will create live action and stop motion animation movies on Mac computers using programs like I-Movie and Garage Band and footage they shoot with digital cameras. Each student will premiere his or her film on Tampa Theatre’s big screen and receive a copy on DVD. Initial Early Bird Registration is now available for Tampa Theatre members through March 31. Pending availability, open registration for non-members will be available beginning April 1. All experience levels welcome at all sessions. The campers will be broken down into groups based on their experience levels. Each group will have its own dedicated camp counselor to guide the filmmaking process. Each filmmaker will participate in the film making process as part of a production team – from creating storyboards and scripts to shooting. All campers will particpate in post production work. All materials will be provided. Each team will end the week with a completed 3-5 minute film. The cost is $165. Dates are: June 21-25 from 9 am-noon for 3-5 grades and 1-4 pm for 6-8 grades; July 12-16 from 9 am-noon for 3-5 grades and 1-4 pm for 6-8 grades; July 19-23 from 9 am-noon for 3-6 grades and 1-4 pm for 7-12 grades. There are optional pre-camp orientations, and you can also stay for the Tampa Theatre public tour from 11:30 to 1:00. Pre-camp orientations are Saturday, June 12, 10:45 – 11:30 and Saturday, July 10, 10:45 – 11:30.

On the 17th of March, everyone gets the chance to be a little bit Irish to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Tampa.  Every Irish pub in Tampa and the surrounding area from Four Green Fields in Tampa to O’Tooles in Brandon will be celebrating on Wednesday night!  Wherever you plan to go, make sure you get there earlier and use a designated driver or plan to call a cab in case you partake in an extra pint or two!  If you’re not sure where to go, then stop by Channelside in Tampa for something unique in Tampa.  Starting at 6pm, the waters of Garrison Channel right behind Channelside will go green!  The Rough Riders and their  Teddy Roosevelt float will dye the Channel, throw beads, and give spectators the greenest St Patrick’s Day in Tampa.  After the waters turn green there will be live music outside in the Channelside Bay Plaza. You can park nearby Channelside for $5 at the Aquarium parking lot. There is also a hourly parking structure across the street from the Aquarium and is closer to the Channelside Bay complex. You can enjoy dinner or a pint or two 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! If you are not familiar with the Rough Riders, they are a charitable civic organization in Tampa that you will see in just about every parade in Tampa. Among other things, they are known for their Teddy Bear Runs where they bring donated teddy bears to the hospitals to help cheer up children and senior citizens. The 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment “Rough Riders,” Inc. was formed for the purpose of creating and perpetuating a living memorial to the unique accomplishment of President Theodore Roosevelt and the members of the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment known as the “Rough Riders”.