MacDill Happenings

 

The Tampa Bay Rays, take on the Toronto Blue Jays tonight. The first pitch is thrown at 7:10pm. To make the playoffs, this is a must win game and series for the Rays! Tonight’s promotion is a free DJ Kitty t-shirt to the first 10,000 fans. Who would have thought after losing 7 players from last season that the Rays would still be in the running for the playoffs this late in the season! Pitching and great defense have been keys, as always, to the success of the Rays. Evan Longoria has come back from injury at the start of the season and has been on a power surge. Parking is free at the Trop. The Trop is easily accessible from I-275. Inside the Trop, check out the Ray tank in centerfield. In the Left Field Street area, fans can participate in a baseball-themed game show, take their picture on a Topps baseball card, have their name inscribed onto a Louisville Slugger bat, touch and feel real game-used equipment, and broadcast play-by-play of baseball highlights. At Right Field Street kids can experience the magic of baseball in the Rays Baseball Carnival, a real working carnival that includes plinko, spin the wheel, ring-a-bat and skee ball. Or take a swing against a computer images of real Major League pitchers in a batting cage or test their arms in the speed pitch, both found in the T.G. Lee Rookie Challenge area of the Carnival. There is also kids-themed areas such as “Bats, Balls, and Brushes”, “St. Petersburg Times Pressbox” and “The Science of Baseball.” Centerfield Street has the Cuesta-Rey Cigar Bar, baseball’s first in-stadium cigar bar, as well as the Batter’s Eye Restaurant, located in the “batter’s eye” in center field. Centerfield Street also has the Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall-of-Fame. To save money, make sure you purchase tickets earlier. If you purchase tickets on game day at the stadium, the price increases about $3 per ticket! If you buy tickets at the Ray downtown Tampa store, the service charge is only $1.75. For these tickets, the service charge is also discounted and only costs a $1 per ticket. Or stop by the MacDill AFB ITT office for discounted baseball tickets.

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Come out and enjoy Lowry Park Zoo for only $5 today! The $5 admission fee is available for all ages. Located in the northern part of Tampa off of W. Sligh Ave, it is easily accessible from I-275. The zoo is about a 40 minute drive from MacDill AFB. Lowry Park Zoo has been named the #1 zoo in America by “Parents” magazine and “Child” magazine. There are more than 2000 animals on 56 acres of natural habitats in seven main exhibit areas. There is a combination of natural habitat exhibits and caged exhibits in each area. The seven exhibits are Asian Gardens, Primate World, Manatee and Aquatic Center, Native Florida Wildlife Center, Free-Flight Aviary, Wallaroo Station children’s zoo and Safari Africa. At some exhibits you have the opportunity to feed the animals. There are two water play areas and you can see educational shows. Check out the Zoo School for exciting programs for everyone, from tots to teens, adults, families, teachers and more. The Zoo’s conservation education programs are designed to meet Sunshine State curriculum objectives for Florida state schools. There are also rides for an additional fee. Expect to spend at least 4 hours to see all exhibits. You can bring a picnic basket to enjoy before or after the visit at Lowry Park. Of course, there are plenty of restaurants in the zoo. Parking is free.

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The Tampa Bay Rays take on the Oakland A’s today. The game starts at 7:10pm.  The Rays have had a tough stretch of late, but it ain’t over till its over! As an added bonus, the Goo Goo Dolls will be in concert after the game! Get to the game early and have a tailgate party! If you do get to the game early, then the first 50 cars with 4 people or more can park for free in the Trop parking lots. Normal parking price is $20 at the Trop. There are private lots nearby the Trop that charge $10 for parking. The Trop is easily accessible from I-275. Inside the Trop, check out the Ray tank in centerfield. In the Left Field Street area, fans can participate in a baseball-themed game show, take their picture on a Topps baseball card, have their name inscribed onto a Louisville Slugger bat, touch and feel real game-used equipment, and broadcast play-by-play of baseball highlights. At Right Field Street kids can experience the magic of baseball in the Rays Baseball Carnival, a real working carnival that includes plinko, spin the wheel, ring-a-bat and skee ball. Or take a swing against a computer images of real Major League pitchers in a batting cage or test their arms in the speed pitch, both found in the T.G. Lee Rookie Challenge area of the Carnival. There is also kids-themed areas such as “Bats, Balls, and Brushes”, “St. Petersburg Times Pressbox” and “The Science of Baseball.” Centerfield Street has the Cuesta-Rey Cigar Bar, baseball’s first in-stadium cigar bar, as well as the Batter’s Eye Restaurant, located in the “batter’s eye” in center field. Centerfield Street also has the Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall-of-Fame. For the 2011 season for every Rays Gold, Silver and Bronze games, the Rays offer a military discount of half off outfield tickets with a four ticket limit, when presenting an active military ID at the Tropicana Field Box office. This is a platinum game, so the discount is not available. To save money, make sure you purchase tickets earlier.  If you purchase tickets on game day at the stadium, the price increases about $3 per ticket! In the future, if you buy tickets at the Ray downtown Tampa store, the service charge is only $1.75.

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Come to the Channelside District of Tampa today for the World Dragon Boat Racing Championship. This event starts at 8am and takes place in the Seddon Channel between Harbour and Davis Island near the Convention Center starting today and runs until Sunday 7 August. Each boat is 45 feet long, from head to tail. 20 paddlers sit side by side in 10 rows. In the stern, a steersperson stands on a platform and guides the boat through the water, and in the bow a drummer sits facing the crew, beating the drum to the stroke rate of the paddlers. Every team races three times throughout the day, with a chance to vie for champion of one of the seven divisions. The teams race from east to west in a straight line. There are now over 70 communities hosting Dragon Boat Festivals in the U.S. alone, and over 60 million participants worldwide. Teams will be coming to Tampa from across the United States, Canada, Central and South America and the Caribbean Islands to race each other for the title of Pan American Champion! The best place to watch will be at Jackson’s Bistro on Harbour Island, the Convention Center and near Tampa General Hospital. This will be a crowded event, so be prepared and just go with the flow to have some fun. There are various public and private parking lots near the Convention Center and at Channelside. Usually the public lots offer the most cost effective price. But wherever you park, the Convention Center and Channelside are within walking distance of each other. The Florida Aquarium has a parking lot and Channelside has parking structure across the street. 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!

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The NFL lockout is over! Get ready for some NFL football in Tampa. The Tampa Bay Busccaneers will have their first public Training Camp on 29 July from 5:15pm to 7:15pm this Friday 29 July. Admission is free! A great way to get fans back and energized and excited about the upcoming season. Camp will take place at One Buccaneer Place. Parking is free for practice. Parking lots and gates will open 2 hours before the scheduled session time, so don’t get there too early. However tailgating and 10 X 10 tents are not permitted in the lots. For security all fans/bags are subject to search. Re-entry is not permitted once fans have departed. Alcohol and pets are not allowed. There is a lot of positive vibes entering into the 2011 season for the Bucs, the lockout notwithstanding. The Bucs went from 3-13 in 2009 to 10-6 last season with 10 rookies starting including the quarterback, Josh Freeman. They did not make the playoffs last season and finished 3rd in their division. But with the experience from last year, the Buccaneers should be a winning team and make the playoffs this year! This training camp is the first of a series that the public can attend free of charge. The first pre-season game is against Tom Brady’s New England Patriots on 18 Aug. The second and last preseason game is against the inter-state rivals, the Miami Dolphins on 27 Aug. Come out this year and support this great team!

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Watch the Tampa Bay Rays take on the Kansas City Royals on a huge 16-foot screen in Cotanchobee Park in front of the Tampa Bay History Center in the Channelside District in Tampa. You can relax with a glass of sangria on the Columbia Cafe’s outdoor patio at the History Center while watching the action on two flat screen TVs. If you haven’t seen the History Center’s latest exhibit Sports in Tampa Bay, featuring the Ray’s 2008 ALCS Trophy and other sports artifacts, there will be extended gallery hours and half-price admission from 5-7:30 p.m. There will be Rays activities and giveaways throughout the evening. First pitch is at 8:10 p.m. Located in the Channelside district near Fort Brooke and behind the St. Pete Times Forum, the Tampa Bay History Center mission is to educate visitors about the history that has shaped the Tampa Bay area. The Center provides historical and educational services and programs. At the Center, you can try the out hands-on activities, crafts, performances and more. Learn about Pioneer Life in Hillsborough County. Find out what daily life was like, how homes looked, what people did for a living and find out what children did for fun. The two story Center contains 60,000 square feet of exhibits which show almost 500 years of recorded history and 12,000 years of human habitation in the Tampa Bay area. The Tampa Bay History Center is housed in Hillsborough County government’s first “green” building. Normal admission cost is $2 for ages 4-12, $7 kids 4-12, $10 seniors/students and adults are $12. The Museum is open daily from 10am to 5pm. There are several parking lots within a short walk of the Center.

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The Tampa Bay Rays take on the Red Sox on Friday. The first pitch is thrown at 7:10pm. Although not currently in first place, the Rays are definitely in the mix along with the Red Sox and the Yankees. With great pitching and defense and timely hitting, the Rays are back in the mix. It helps to have Superman Sam Fuld playing left field. If you haven’t heard about the Legend of Sam Fuld, my favorite story about him is “Seventy-five percent of the world is covered by water; the other 25 percent is covered by Sam Fuld”. Fuld has cooled down at the plate, but his defensive is outstanding. Normal parking price is $20 at the Trop. There are private lots nearby the Trop that charge $10 for parking. The Trop is easily accessible from I-275. Inside the Trop, check out the Ray tank in centerfield. In the Left Field Street area, fans can participate in a baseball-themed game show, take their picture on a Topps baseball card, have their name inscribed onto a Louisville Slugger bat, touch and feel real game-used equipment, and broadcast play-by-play of baseball highlights. At Right Field Street kids can experience the magic of baseball in the Rays Baseball Carnival, a real working carnival that includes plinko, spin the wheel, ring-a-bat and skee ball. Or take a swing against a computer images of real Major League pitchers in a batting cage or test their arms in the speed pitch, both found in the T.G. Lee Rookie Challenge area of the Carnival. There is also kids-themed areas such as “Bats, Balls, and Brushes”, “St. Petersburg Times Pressbox” and “The Science of Baseball.” Centerfield Street has the Cuesta-Rey Cigar Bar, baseball’s first in-stadium cigar bar, as well as the Batter’s Eye Restaurant, located in the “batter’s eye” in center field. Centerfield Street also has the Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall-of-Fame. To save money, make sure you purchase tickets earlier. If you purchase tickets on game day at the stadium, the price increases about $3 per ticket! If you buy tickets at the Ray downtown Tampa store, the service charge is only $1.75. For these tickets, the service charge is also discounted and only costs a $1 per ticket. Or try out the MacDill AFB ITT office for discount baseball tickets.

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If you want to go out shooting on the weekend, then try out the MacDill AFB Skeet Range on Rattlesnake Road.  Don’t worry if you don’t have your own shotgun, you can rent a 12 or a  20 gauge over and under shotgun!  You can also buy shells, but you can get a better price on shells by buying some at the local Wal-Mart.  Bring eye protection or you can borrow some from the counter.  Hearing protection is available at the counter. You can also borrow a ammo pouch free of charge.  There are two firing points that are available with automated launchers.  Skeet shooting is one of the three major types of competitive shotgun shooting at targets along with trap shooting and sporting clays. There are 8 shooting stations arranged in a semi-circle between two skeet houses.  The house on the left is the high house and the house on the right is the low house. A round of skeet consists of 25 targets – 17 are shot as singles and 8 as doubles. The first miss is repeated immediately and is called an option. If no targets are missed during the round, the last or 25th target is shot at the last station, low house 8.  The hard thing about skeeting shooting is knowing the aim point and how much to lead the piegon.  Do a little research online before you go out, hitting the piegon makes skeet shooting very enjoyable!  The skeet range is open from 8am to 2pm on Fridays and Saturdays.  One round of skeet shooting costs $4.50.  Shotgun rental is $3.50.  If you not too familiar with the basics of skeet shooting, then someone at the range will be happy to help you!

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The Bay Palms Golf Complex at MacDill AFB is hosting a “Tweens and Teens Golf Camp” this summer. There are two separate sessions. The first session runs from 13-16 June and the second session runs 27-30 June. The camp runs from 10am to 4pm each day. The cost is $175 which includes instruction, and daily lunch. This camp is geared towards children ages 7 to 15 years old. Golf does not have to an expensive game if you golf on base. The Monday through Friday rates are 7am to 11am: E1 to E4 $17; E5 to O3 $23; O4 and up $26; guests $30, from 11am to 2:30pm: E1 to E4 $12; E5 to O3 $16; O4 and up $18; guests $22, after 2:30pm: E1 to E4 $10; E5 to O3 $14; O4 and up $15; guests $18. On weekends, the posted rates are good until 11am when a discount goes into effect. The Bay Palms Golf Complex was named ‘Best Golf Program in the Air Force’ for 2002. There are two 18-hole, par 72 courses. The challenging South Course runs along the bay. The North Course offers a prefect opportunity to work on your game. The complex has a lighted practice putting green, a 24-hour-a-day lighted driving range where a bucket of balls is only $1, a practice chipping green and sand trap areas. The clubhouse has an excellent pro shop with a great friendly staff ready to help you. The snack bar serves a great variety of food and has an especially nice breakfast menu! Call the ProShop at 840-6904 to register for camp.

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In support of National Employee Health & Fitness Month, the Fort Brooke Downtown Y is open to the community for a week long open house. Stop by anytime between May 23 – May 27 and enjoy the perks of being a Y member. You can jump start your exercise routine with BODYPUMP, wind down after work with yoga or spin to the music in one of our SPINNING classes. The Downtown Y also features a well-equipped wellness center with cardio and strength equipment and free weights. There is a second Y around the corner from the Fort Brooke Y at 100 North Tampa St. On, Monday, a Spinning class starts at 5:45pm at 100 North. On Tuesday – H.E.A.T. (High Energy Athletic Training) class at 12pm at 100 North. On Wednesday, there is a BODYCOMBAT™ Demo Class at 5:15pm at Fort Brooke. On Thursday, there is a Yoga class at 5:30pm at 100 North. And on Friday, there is a BODYPUMP™ class at 12pm at Fort Brooke. Feel free to try each class and all the equipment! There is free on street parking available Monday – Saturday before 8am. The Fort Brooke location validates parking Monday-Friday from 5-9:15pm in the Fort Brooke Parking Garage. In 1908 the first YMCA facility was built in Tampa–a 50,000 square foot building on the corner of N. Florida Ave. and Zack Street. Now the YMCA in the Tampa Bay area has grown to 18 facilities across Hillsborough and eastern Pasco counties.

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