We spent part of the time inside, looking out the windows, and part of the time on the covered upper deck to catch the breeze. From here we could see a cruise ship in port, a restored Navy ship and the Aquarium. We got a great view of downtown Tampa and the waterfront homes along the bay. Nice way to live!
It didn’t take long to get out into the main part of Tampa Bay, and sure enough there were dolphins out there playing around. We even saw what looked like a family of dolphins with a little one.
We had no idea that Tampa was such a busy commercial port. Who would have thought that big ships and wild animals could coexist so well?
The trip was smooth and no one got sick. The boat is designed to be very stable in all kinds of conditions. After the boat tour you can tour the Florida Aquarium which is right there.
From here we could walk back to our hotel, also on the bay the, Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel and Marina, and is right across the street from the Tampa Convention Center.
Downtown Food & Wine Fest
Pairs Culinary Treats with National Celebrity
Chef Appearances and Live Entertainment
March 31 – April 1 at Lake Eola
ORLANDO, Fla. (February 21, 2012) – Mouth-watering food and global wines are paired with world-class entertainment and national celebrity chef appearances at the Downtown Food & Wine Fest at Lake Eola on Saturday, March 31 and Sunday, April 1, 2012.
Located in the heart of downtown Orlando at Lake Eola on Robinson Street, the two-day Fest features mouth-watering dishes from 40 of Orlando’s premier restaurants, domestic and international wines, and live entertainment.
Revitalized by popular demand, the Fest is presented and produced by Orlando favorites MIX 105.1 FM and 1059 SUNNY FM in partnership with the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association. A portion of the event’s proceeds benefit the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association Educational Foundation.
Celebrity Chef’s Stage*
Bright House Networks hosts live cooking demonstrations on the Chef’s Stage with fan meet-and-greet opportunities with the following celebrity chefs:
BRAVO’s Top Chef Just Desserts Season 1 Chef’testant Erika Davis (Saturday)
Food Network’s Extreme Chef Amadeus, winner of the “Mexican Showdown” (Saturday)
BRAVO’s Top Chef Season 9 Chef’testant Finalist Lindsay Autry (photo at right) (Sunday)
Live Entertainment*
Saturday, March 31 (noon to 9 p.m.)
Live Hart
John Smith and Tropical Steel
Simulcast with Scott McKenzie of MIX 105.1 FM and Bob Frier of FOX 35
American Idol Winner David Cook
Sunday, April 1 (noon to 7 p.m.)
CeCe Teneal
My Generation
Little River Band
* Appearances and entertainment subject to change without notice.
Tickets on Sale Now
Admission is $10 per person, per day with advance online purchase at Centennial Bank and Mercedes-Benz locations throughout Central Florida. Admission at the door is $15 per person, per day. Admission for children under age 12 is free. Food tickets are available at the event for $2 each; food and wine tastings range from 1-4 tickets.
The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tampa
plans to hire over 400 new employees.
Monday, April 16, 2012, 9:00am – 5:00pm
The new positions will include chefs, cooks, restaurant servers, bartenders, cocktail servers, and other restaurant/lounge team members. New gaming jobs will include cashiers, Player’s Club representatives, and technicians. Other openings will be in security, building/grounds maintenance and housekeeping departments.
Hard Rock is undergoing a massive multi-million dollar expansion and giving the Tampa economy a big boost. They already employ over 3,100 Floridians in the community – now they want to hire over 400 more! This Job Fair will be held on Monday, April 16 from 9AM – 5PM at the Florida State Fairgrounds located at 4800 N. US Highway 301, Tampa, FL. You must apply online beforehand. Hard Rock is looking for positive, energetic people for all kinds of positions. From dealers and cashiers to Player’s Club representatives, cocktail servers, security, and chefs. One of them could be you!
OPPORTUNITY ROCKS!
The best part about working at the Seminole Rock Hotel and Casino Tampa is going to work in a fun atmosphere with great people. But on top of that employees enjoy additional benefits like competitive pay, tuition reimbursement, employee recognition program, in-house promotions, paid training, medical benefits, opportunities to advance and an excellent 401K program. They are proud to be part of the growing local economy here in Tampa!
LEGENDARY STUFF IN THE MAKING
Working at Hard Rock Tampa will be even more exciting to be part of history in the making. Once expansion is complete, this will be one of the top ten largest casinos in the world which will include:
Over 222,000 square feet of gaming
Over 5,000 slot machines
105 table games
3 parking garages boasting over 5,000 parking spaces – including our new 5 story garage, Winners Way, with more than 1,300 spaces
6 restaurants including Tampa’s next great Bakery and Bistro, Rise™ Kitchen and Bakery
5 bars and lounges
Newly renovated pool area and bar
250 AAA Four Diamond luxury hotel rooms
Spa
Over 1,500 authentic Rock & Roll memorabilia pieces
Learn about Florida’s prehistoric past in a FossilFest workshop! Experienced collectors will teach you how to find, identify, and preserve fossil treasure of your very own!
All workshops are FREE to FossilFest attendees!
Admission Fees> Adults $6.00, Kids 12 and under are FREE!
Show Hours Saturday – 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM Sunday – 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Parking Fees are $5.00 per Car or $10.00 per RV or Bus Visitors enter at the Martin Luther King Boulevard entrance. Entrance gate opens 1 hour prior to the event. Location : Charles M. Davis Special Events Center West
Benefiting All Children’s Hospital -
Johns Hopkins Medicine,
the 2012 Taste of Pinellas
will return to Vinoy Park in St. Petersburg,Florida May 4 – 6
Friday, May 4 – Dynamic duo Big & Rich with country sensation Joe Nichols. Saturday, May 5 – Nine time Grammy Award winning artist, Sheryl Crow and the reggae beats of Ziggy Marley. Sunday, May 6 – The All-American Rejects will perform along with a special acoustic solo performance from Dashboard Confessional.
The event will also feature over 40 restaurants from all throughout the Tampa Bay area, serving tastes of their most popular dishes. A family fun zone, cooking demonstrations, fireworks and other family-friendly activities will also be featured at this year’s event.
Spring will soon be upon us and with its arrival we greet the opening of Florida’s 2012 Grapefruit League Spring Training season starting February 29 and running through April 4, 2012.
Featuring: Discount Days& Free Daily Shows Blues Brothers Dennis Lee Kachunga & The Alligator Welde Bear Show Paul Bunyan Lumberjack Show Racing Pigs Circus Hollywood
New This Year! Ride the Zip Line Returning Favorite! Ride the Batcopter
Don’t Forget! Arts and Crafts Showcase in the Special Events Center Lots to Do and See in the Expo Hall Free Special Attractions!
Opening Day Deal – February 9 After 5:00 PM – Admission for $5.00 – Ride Armbands for $20.00 College Night – February 9 – College Students with I.D. After 3:00 PM – Purchase a $20.00 Midway Ride Armband and Receive FREE Fair Admission 5 After 5 – February 9, 13, 14, 15, & 16 After 5:00 PM – $5.00 Adult Admission Student Days February 10 – Hillsborough County Students Provided a Free Ticket February 20 – Pasco, Polk, Manatee County Students Provided a Free Ticket All Other Students – For Discount Purchase Your Tickets at the Gate $6.00 Admission for Ages 12 through 12th Grade $5.00 Admission for Ages 6 to 11 Midway Power Hour – February 11 & 18 – 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM Most Midway Rides – One Ticket 4-H & FFA Days – February 11 & 18 FREE Admission with Member I.D. or Jacket Senior Days – February 14, 15, & 16 Gate Admission $8.00 – Advance Tickets $6.00 for 55+ Country Gold Tour – February 15 – $10.00 Admission Does not Include Fair Admission Featuring: LeRoy Van Dyke, Lynn Anderson, Gene Watson, Janie Frickie, T.G. Sheppard National Salute to Veterans Day – February 20 FREE Admission For Everyone After 4:00 PM Pepsi Armband Days – February 10 & 20 Bring an Empty Diet Mtn Dew Can – Pay $25.00 for Ride Armbands (Save $5) 1 Discount Per Diet Mtn Dew Can – Offer Valid Only on Diet Mtn Dew Spanish Lyric Theater International Stage Horse Shows at the Bob Thomas Equestrian Center Bluegrass Music in Cracker Country Livestock Shows in the Agribusiness Area The Florida Armed Forces Museum Exotic Petting Zoo Elvis Extravaganza February 11 & 12 Elvis LIVE February 17, 18, 19, & 20 Xtreme Sports Show Daily in the Sweetbay Entertainment Hall No Show on February 15 Lawnmower Races February 18 & 19 In the Bob Thomas Equestrian Center Yesterdaze Show 70’s Music February 10, 11, & 12 Cheer & Dance Competitions February 11 & 12 Chris MacArthur & Florida Cracker Boys February 17 & 18
SWEETBAY ENTERTAINMENT HALL
Xtreme Sports Show – February 9 – 20 at 12pm, 3pm, and 6pm
The Xtreme Sports Show will not be performing on February 15th
Elvis Extravaganza Impersonator National Finals – February 11 & 12 – 3pm and 6pm
Chris MacArthur & The Florida Crackers – February 17 and 18 at 8pm
Friday and Saturday 1:30pm, 3:30pm, 5:30pm, and 7:30pm
WALK AROUNDS
Oscar the Robot - February 9 – 20 from 11am to 5pm
Runa Pacha - February 9 – 20 from 11am to 5pm
Willy’s Washboard Jamboree - February 9 – 20 from 11am to 5pm
Dwayne Hill - February 9 – 20 from 11am to 5pm
Hi Pockets - February 9 – 20 from 11am to 5pm
Steve the Pretty Good - February 9 – 20 from 11am to 5pm
INTERNATIONAL STAGE
Spanish Lyric Theatre - February 9 – 20
Monday through Friday at 6pm, 7pm, and 8pm
Saturday and Sunday at 4pm, 5pm, and 6pm
Distinguished Men of Brass - February 17, 18, and 19 at 11am, 1pm, and 3pm
FAMILY THEATER
Dennis Lee February 9 – 20
Daily at 11am, 1pm, and 5pm
Saturday, February 11, at 11am, 1pm, 5pm, and 8pm
Friday, February 17, at 11am, 1pm, 5pm, and 8pm
Yesterdaze – 70′s Music Friday, February 10, Saturday, February 11, and Sunday, February 12, at 2pm, 4pm, 6pm
Peter Alden (Elvis) Friday, February 17, Saturday, February 18, Sunday, February 19, and Monday, February 20 at 2pm, 4pm, and 6pm
Blues Brothers February 9 – 20
Daily at 12pm, 3pm, and 7pm
Friday, February 10, at 12pm, 3pm, 7pm and 8pm
Saturday, February 18, at 12pm, 3pm and 7pm and 8pm
FLORIDA CENTER
Lloyd Mabrey February 13 – 20 at 10am, 12pm, and 2pm
Sandtastic February 9 – 20 All Day, Everyday
WATERFRONT CAFÉ
Johnny Lowry Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 12pm, 2pm, 4pm, and 6pm
CHILDREN’S STAGE
Doggies of the West
Daily at 12pm, 2pm, and 4pm
OUTSIDE ATTRACTIONS
Welde Bears February 9 – 20
Daily at 2pm, 4pm, and 7pm 12:00 Noon – Play in the Pool Time
Racing Pigs February 9 – 20
Daily at 12:30pm, 2:30pm, and 4:30pm
Exotic Petting Zoo February 9 – 20 All Day, Everyday
The Paul Bunyan Lumberjack Show February 9 – 20
Daily at 1:30pm, 3:30pm, 5:30pm, and 7:30pm
Kachunga The Alligator Show February 9 – 20
Daily at 12pm, 2pm, and 4pm
Friday and Saturday at 12pm, 2pm, 4pm, and 6pm
Lawn Mower Races
February 18 and 19 located in The Bob Thomas Equestrian Center
Florida Ranch Rodeo
February 15 – 16 at 2pm, and 7pm located in the Charlie Lykes Arena
High School Jazz Festival February 10 – All Day at the Special Events Center West
CHARLES M. DAVIS SPECIAL EVENTS CENTER
Big Band
Sunday, February 12 at 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, and 3pm
Friday, February 17 at 11am, 12pm, 1pm, and 2pm
AG AREA
Melody Farm Follies Revue February 9 – 20 All Day, Everyday
ALL DATES, TIMES AND ACTS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUR ADVANCE NOTICE.*
For more information, call 813-621-7821 or toll-free 1-800-345-3247
Gate admission is not included with purchase of armbands, ride tickets, or concert tickets. There are no refunds, exchanges or rainchecks. All acts, concerts, scheduled times, exhibitors, prices and other advertised events are subject to change and/or cancel without notice. All acts are included with a fair gate admission ticket, except for the Country Gold Tour concert, rides and games are extra. NO RE-ENTRY; once visitors exit the gates another admission ticket will be required to re-enter the Fair. The Florida State Fair Authority is not responsible for any third party advertisement.
The next time you are in the Tampa Bay area of West Central Florida looking for things to do, consider a visit to the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts in downtown Tampa. At any time, there are one or two important exhibits of famous photographer’s work on display. Right now through February 11, 2012 is a display of photographic works “Bud Lee’s America”.
Feel the excitement the 9th Annual Members Show captured on video by Gary Reimer.
Past exhibits have included: Life and Death by Duane Michals; Classic Images: Photography by Ansel Adams; Eye in the Sky – The Works of Robert Hartman; Natural Fashion: Art & the Body, Photographs by Hans Silvester; Cuba: Selected Works of Clyde Butcher and Maria Martinez-Cañas; Naked City: Photographs from the Vassar College’s Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center; Cuba Particular: (Private Cuba) The Photography of David Audet; Bhupendra Karia and Derry Moore: Stillness and Shadows / Vintage Photographs of India; Infected Landscape: Works by Shai Kremer; Face to Face: Judy Dater’s Portraits from Italy and California; Tom Abercrombie: National Geographic Photographer; August Sander, The Twentieth-Century Man and Jules Aarons, Views from the Street; Aaron Siskind A Harlem Document (1932-1940); Andrea Modica: Flights of the Soul; No Mans Land The Photography of Lynne Cohen; Suzanne Camp Crosby: Kid City; One Shot Harris The Photographs of Charles Teenie Harris; Burk Uzzle’s Woodstock and Other Americana; Caterpillar’s Conundrum The Photographic Investigations of Todd Watts; Cut, Edit and Embellish A Life in Collage: Photographs by Hugh Shurley; The Disappeared: Native American Images from The Drapkin Collection; Abstractions and the Neo-Cubist Order Photographs of Barbara Kasten; Hard Won Dreams the American Southwest Photographs of Bruce Dale; Stopping Time Photographs of Doc Edgerton; My Florida Home: Recent Work by Benjamin Dimmitt; NFL® History from Getty Images; Berenice Abbott, American Photographer A Fantastic Passion; Clyde Butcher Retrospective Graciela Iturbide: The Spirits of the Earth ~ Los Espíritus de la Tierra; “Just Suppose”: Jerry Uelsmann and Maggie Taylor; The Photography of Peter B. Kaplan; Faces and Places One Man Show by Herb Snitzer; The Magic Box of Abelardo Morell
The Florida Aquarium has a special tour boat that leaves downtown Channelside daily at 2PM. This tour is usually sold out each day, so making reservations ahead of time is a must. There is a new boat that is very stable and very fast. Parking is right across the street.
ORLANDO, Fla. (February 21, 2012) – Mouth-watering food and global wines are paired with world-class entertainment and national celebrity chef appearances at the Downtown Food & Wine Fest at Lake Eola on Saturday, March 31 and Sunday, April 1, 2012.
Learn about Florida’s prehistoric past in a FossilFest workshop!
