MacDill Happenings

Although not an official Ybor City wide party, two restaurants in Ybor City, Bernini’s and Green Iguana Ybor, are throwing a huge Fat Tuesday party inside the restaurants and on the sidewalk cafe areas. Both restaurants are located on the main avenue of Ybor City, 7th Avenue. The Green Iguana is housed in two historic red brick buildings on two levels w/ 5 full bars, 12 TV’s, Stage, Lighting and Audio visual system, 2 Full dance floors, a second level DJ booth and a full service kitchen every night until Midnight and numerous tables on the sidewalk cafe area. Bernini’s is an Italian bistro with fantastic food, drinks and a lot of room. There will be a free Creole buffet, king cakes, a Dixieland band and a cash bar. It’s probably a good idea to make reservations otherwise just be ready for a crowd or be ready to stand around and enjoy the fun. The partying starts around 6:30pm and it’s probably not a good idea to bring the kids along. But if you do want to bring the kids along then there Ybor City is wide open for the family to enjoy. Ybor City you can choose from a variety of cuisine – Spanish, Cuban, Italian, Greek and French – just by strolling down La Setima, the main street of the Historic District. Share authentic tapas and a pitcher of Spanish sangria in a café atmosphere reminiscent of a Mediterranean village. Founded by Vicente Martinez-Ybor as a cigar-manufacturing center, Ybor City today is one of only two National Historic Landmark Districts in Florida. Red brick buildings, wrought iron balconies and narrow brick streets give it an old-world charm. The Columbia Restaurant located in Ybor City is must place to eat at in Tampa. This Tampa classic is over 100 years old and food is fantastic! Even with all the vistors to Ybor City, there is always plenty of parking.

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Curtis Hixon Park in downtown Tampa is hosting the 5th Annual Tampa Bay Lucky Ducky Derby this Saturday. The fun starts at 10am. This year’s derby will take to the ice as a fund-raiser for Kid’s Cafe, a program of Feeding America Tampa Bay. Purchase a duck for $5, then watch as children skate around and pluck the ducks from the ice to award prizes. In 2010, there were almost 20,000 ducks released in Garrison Channel, creating a sea of yellow. Participants will have the opportunity to win great prizes to include; Tampa Bay Lightning Luxury Suite Tickets, Tampa Bay Rays Home Plate Club Tickets, a Sony TV, a Toshiba Laptop and restaurant gift certificates! Ending Hunger, Nourishing Hope is the mission of Feeding America Tampa Bay. Receiving surplus food donations from growers, manufacturers, supermarkets and organized community food drives, the food bank distributes it to the hungry through a network of over 600 charitable organizations across West Central Florida. The Tampa-based food bank provided 19 million pounds of food to its 10-county service area in 2010. Through Mobile Pantry neighborhood food distributions and child nutrition programs such as Kids Café and weekend Backpacks, Feeding America Tampa Bay provides food to more than 400,000 each year. The beautiful Curtis Hixon Park is located on the waterfront in downtown Tampa along Ashley St between the Tampa Museum of Art and the Sykes building. Food is available at nearby restaurants including Five Guys Hamburger across the street from the Park and a new nearby Mexican restaurant Urban Cantina located at the corner of Madison and South Tampa. Alcohol is not allowed but well behaved pets are! Curtis Hixon Park has a fenced animal park along the water. This park is one of nicest parks in Tampa. With an interactive playground, wide open flat grass play area, a view of the University of Tampa, and cooling water fountains, this is a great place to relax on during a Tampa evening. Parking is available at the Curtis Hixon parking garage or at nearby public parking lots. If you’re lucky, you can get a parking spot in front of Five Guys Hamburgers right across the street from the Park at the corner of Ashley and Polk.

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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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