Daily Discounts 2013 Florida State Fair

Locate hotels near the Florida State Fairgrounds Tampa Florida
Or for hotel info call 1 800 632-3303
Driving Map to the Florida State Fairgrounds

 

Thursday – February 7 – Opening Day

Heroes Day – All active, reserve, or retired military veterans, law enforcement, firemen and first responders are admitted FREE with valid identification.

Armbands – $20 After 3PM – SOLD ONLY AT THE FAIRGROUNDS

$5 Admission after 5PM

 

Friday – February 8

Student Day – Hillsborough County students receive a FREE ticket.

Pepsi Armband Day – Bring an empty Diet Mountain Dew can and save $5 off the regular price of a Midway ride armband at the redemption tent by entrance gate.

 

Saturday – February 9

4-H & FFA Day – FREE admission for 4-H and FFA Members with identification or jacket.

 

Sunday – February 10

Armband Day – $30 at the gate and $25 advance purchase.

 

Monday – February 11

Senior Day – $8 at the gate, $6 in advance 55+ Available Online or at the Fairgrounds Box Only

$5 Admission after 5PM
Starship featuring Mickey Thomas Concert at 7:30PM in the Entertainment Hall

$15 VIP seating, $10 reserved seating and limited FREE Mezzanine level bleacher seating.

 

Taste of the Fair – Food Specials

 

Tuesday – February 12

Senior Day – $8 at the gate, $6 in advance 55+ Available Online or at the Fairgrounds Box Only

$5 Admission after 5PM

Bellamy Brothers Concert at 7:30PM in the Entertainment Hall

$15 VIP seating, $10 reserved seating and limited FREE Mezzanine level bleacher seating.

 

Wednesday – February 13

Senior Day – $8 at the gate, $6 in advance 55+ Available Online or at the Fairgrounds Box Only
Country Gold Tour – Noon and 4PM in the Entertainment Hall
$15 VIP seating and $10 reserved seating.
Midweek Midway Madness
Armbands – $15 After 3PM - SOLD ONLY AT THE FAIRGROUNDS
$5 Admission after 5PM

 

Thursday – February 14

Senior Day – $8 at the gate, $6 in advance 55+ Available Online or at the Fairgrounds Box Only
$5 Admission after 5PM
Less Than Jake at 7:30PM in the Entertainment Hall – $15 VIP seating, $10 reserved seating and limited
FREE Mezzanine level bleacher seating.

 

Friday – February 15

Armband Day – $30 at the gate and $25 advance purchase.

 

Saturday – February 16

4-H & FFA Day – FREE admission for 4-H and FFA Members with identification or jacket.

 

Sunday – February 17

Armband Day – $30 at the gate and $25 advance purchase.

 

Monday – February 18 – Presidents’ Day

Student Day – Surrounding Hillsborough Counties Students receive FREE ticket.
Pepsi Armband Day – Bring an empty Diet Mountain Dew can and save $5 off the regular price of a Midway ride armband at the redemption tent by the entrance gate.
Family Fun Pack – $20 admission up to four people – SOLD ONLY AT THE FAIRGROUNDS
$5 Admission after 5PM
LeAnn Rimes Concert at 7:30PM in the Entertainment Hall – $35 VIP seating, $30 premium reserved seating and $25 reserved seating

2013 Gasparilla Pirate Fest

Tampa Florida, January 26, 2013

Arrrgh! Time to practice up for talking like a pirate.

Start the day with the Gasarilla Invasion as the Jose Gasparill sails into Hillsborough Bay. Expect cannons and a large fleet of escort vessels.

After the invasion is the Gasparilla Invasion Brunch where the mayor turns over the keys to the city.

Another highlight is the Parade of Pirates, much like Mardi Gras but with everyone dressed as Pirates.

Spend the evening at the Pirate Fest Street Festival for good times, good food and great music.

You can still Find hotels near the Tampa Convention Center:
Book Online or Call 1-800-632-3303

2013 Tampa Florida State Fair

Dates: February 7 – 18, 2013

Hours:
Monday – Thursday 10AM   till Close
Friday – Sunday   9:00AM till Close

Admission Tickets: $8 adults or $4 ages 6-11. Children 5 and under are FREE.

Parking is free at the Florida State Fair.

THREE WAYS TO BUY TICKETS:

1.  Online until February 6

2.  At Walgreens stores (beginning January 2).

3.  At Florida State Fairgrounds Box Office (discounts through February 6).

Locate hotels near the Florida State Fairgrounds Tampa Florida
Or for hotel info call 1 800 632-3303
Driving Map to the Florida State Fairgrounds

Which gate?
There are 3 entrances into the Fairgrounds property: Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., US Hwy. 301 and Orient Road.  MLK, Jr. Blvd. and US Hwy. 301 are only open when there are events ongoing at the Fairgrounds.

Rides will cost you between $3 and $6 each.  Unlimited Ride Armbands will set you back $30 per person and are available to purchase on certain days, unless you buy in advance of Fair opening. There are discount prices for the armbands but they are only on certain days like opening day or the two Pepsi Armband Days. Those days are listed below.

Midway Closing Time:
There is no set closing for the midway it varies by day depending on that day’s scheduled activities and attendance are.

Discount Days
$20 Midway Ride Armbands – 3PM on opening Day (2/7)
$5 after 5PM Days – Admission is $5 after 5 p.m. Takes place February 7, 12, 13, 14,
Pepsi Armband Days – Bring an empty Diet Mountain Dew can on 2/8 and 2/18 and get a ride armband for $25 (regularly $30).
Senior Days – Feb. 11, 12, 13, 14,   Admission Tickets for Seniors are $8 at the Gate.
4-H and FFA Day – FREE Admission for 4-H and FFA Members with Identification or Jacket
Midweek Midway Madness – Armbands $15 after 3PM – Sold at the Fair Only
$30 Midway Ride Armband Day – Feb. 10, 15, & 17

Heroes Day at the Fair
Opening Day 2/7 all active, reserve, or retired Military Veterans, Law Enforcement, Firemen, and First Responders are admitted FREE!
WITH VALID IDENTIFICATION

School Days
2/8 – Hillsborough County School Students received a FREE Fair Ticket
2/18 – Surrounding Hillsborough County Students Receive a FREE Fair Ticket

CONCERT – 2/11
“Starship” Featuring Mickey Thomas – Entertainment Hall at 7:30PM
Tickets are $15 and $10 – Does not include Fair Admission
Entertainment Hall at 7:30PM

College Day Concert 2/14
BAND – “Less than Jake” Entertainment Hall at 7:30PM
Tickets are $15 and $10 – Does not include Fair Admission

CONCERT 2/12
“Bellamy Brothers” -  Entertainment Hall at 7:30PM
Tickets are $15 and $10 – Does not include Fair Admission

Concert 2/18
“LeAnn Rimes” – Acoustic Guitar Performance – Entertainment Hall at 7:30PM
Limited Intimate Table Seating – V.I.P. Table $140 ($35 per ticket) – Table Seats 4 and is sold only by the Table. Call 813-627-4360 to reserve your table now! Premium Seating $30 and Reserved Seating $25 Available Online

Food:
Most fair foods are between $4 and $10. There are all the on-a-sticks a person can think of to eat. There are also some new food items at the fair this year that will astound you.

Free things to do while in Fair:
Xtreme Sports Show
Exhibits, agribusiness and equestrian shows
Cracker Country and the expo area
Exotic petting zoo
Blues Brothers
Dennis Lee
Kachunga & The Alligator
Welde Bear Show
Paul Bunyan Lumberjack Show
Racing Pigs
Circus Hollywood
Bluegrass Music Stage
Florida Arts & Craft Show.
Goat and sheep tent and small animal show ring

Florida State Fair – Feb. 7 – 18, 2013
Florida Agricultural Museum
Cracker Country
Calendar of Events Schedule

Adults Age 12 & Over $8
Children Age 6-11 $4
Ages 5 & Under FREE
Midway Ride Armbands $25 (Save $5)
(Regularly $30)
Armband Days February 8, 10, 15, 17, & 18*
On Sale at Walgreens January 2 – February 6, 2013

 

Advance Online Sales

Purchase Advance Admission Tickets,
Ride Armbands & Concert Tickets
Online at FloridaStateFair.com
Now Through February 6, 2013

Box Office, Mail or Fax

On Sale Now Through February 6, 2013
Call 1-800-345-FAIR (3247)
Must be Postmarked by January 24, 2013
*Ride armband Tickets valid only on Armband Days
Ride armband tickets redeemable for only one date per Ticket

Group Ticket Sales or Tours

Call 813-621-7821 (Ext. 4319) for Details

Regular Gate Admission Prices

(Feb 7 – 18)
Monday – Friday
Adults Age 12 & Over $10
Children Age 6-11 $5
Ages 5 & Under FREE
Saturday – Sunday
Adults Age 12 & Over $12
Children Age 6-11 $6
Ages 5 & Under FREE

2013 Apollo Beach Manatee Festival of the Arts

Date: March 9, 2013 Time: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Date: March 10, 2013 Time: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM

The annual Apollo Beach Manatee Festival of the Arts is coming to Apollo Beach Florida, South Hillsborough County, Florida on Saturday March 9 and Sunday March 10, 2013. Hours are from 10 am to 5 pm both days. The Manatee Festival of the Arts will be at the South Shore Community Events Center, 302 Noonan Branch Road in Apollo Beach, Florida. FREE shuttle service to the nearby Manatee Viewing Center. For more information call 813 645-1355 or 813 645-3808. Email ruskinchamber@earthlink.net

Admission is $5 with children under 12 FREE.

Look for art in paintings, photography, glass-work, wood carvings, and jewelry.

Displays from 80 artists and crafters will be there including local artists Fred Rothenbush, Barbara DePullo, Charlene Madsen, William Poling, Diana Gayer, Thomas Mueller, Pamela Vasques, Al Selke Jr. and Ron Deel.

Every year features live entertainment, food and an expanded children’s hands-on arts area including fish rubbings by Apollo Beach Elementary teacher Margit Redlawsk.

The event benefits the SouthShore Chamber of Commerce. Other non-profit groups at the event will be the Southeastern Guide Dogs, Camp Bayou Outdoor Learning Center, local Coast Guard auxiliary, Save the Manatee, Little Manatee River State Park, Tampa Sailing Squadron Youth Sailing, Save Our Seabirds, Save the Manatee Club and Bay Area Greyhound Adoptions.

Stay at the nearby Resort and Club at Little Harbor

While you are in the Tampa Bay area, visit the Clearwater Marine Hospital Aquarium, home of Winter the dolphin from the movie Dolphin’s Tale.

Manatee Papier Mache Sculpture Tutorial

Related articles

• Refurbished manatee viewing center opens in Apollo Beach (tbo.com)
• Legal group challenges manatee’s endangered status (fresnobee.com)
• Florida woman who rode manatee arrested (foxnews.com)
• Group Seeks to Boot Manatee From Endangered List (hispanicbusiness.com)
• LOOK: Adorable Baby Manatee SAVED (huffingtonpost.com)

Sharks and GOP mix in Tampa

The August GOP convention in Tampa is the perfect opportunity to swim with the fishes (sharks).

Climb into the tank with some of the biggest preditors in the sea, and live to tell about it.

 

Toast of Tampa’s 25th anniversary celebration

Each year the chorus brings their talents to the Tampa Bay Performing Art Center with a blend of old and new repertoire to the delight of their Tampa Bay audience. Guests quartets from both Sweet Adelines International and SPEBSQSA (Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America) always leave the audience wanting more! The Toast Of Tampa Show Chorus lights up the stage with its unique brand of spine-tingling harmony, flashy costumes and energized choreography.

Dates: October 19-October 20, 2012

Times:

Harmony Hoedown and Member/Alumni Rehearsal October 19th, 2012 Lupton Boggy Bottom Event Ranch, Plant City
Toast of Tampa’s SRO Show TOT alumni will sing two special songs onstage with the chorus. October 20th, 2012 Straz Center for the Performing Arts-Morsani Hall

Anniversary Afterglow October 20, 2012 Straz Center for the Performing Arts

Find nearby downtown Tampa Hotels

Ron Paul Fesitval Tampa Florida

From Friday, August 24, 2012
To Sunday, August 26, 2012

The Ron Paul Fest is three days of music, entertainment, and activism featuring national known musicians, comedians, and entertainers at the Tampa Florida Fairgrounds.

Paul Festival is a fund raising project of the Liberty Unleashed PAC.
All proceeds go to support efforts to elect liberty candidates.
Not endorsed by any candidate or candidate’s committee.

• Tickets
• Hotels near the Tampa Florida Fairgrounds

List Your Home for Rent to GOP Coming to Tampa August 2012

Thousands of people will becoming to the Tampa Bay area this August for the 2012 GOP National Convention. All of the hotel rooms have been rented and these people are looking for private home rentals for up to  the entire month of August. These include the press, security and the many out-of-town business people needing a place to stay.

TripAdvisor booking site receives over 35 million monthly visitors.
The average FlipKey vacation rental owner receives 75 inquiries per listing annually.
FlipKey listings include unlimited photos, link to your website, guest reviews, and website publishing tools.
A FlipKey listing comes with the option to offer discounts or complimentary items at no additional charge.

Find out more about listing your home for rentals during the GOP/RNC Convention

Tampa Union Station Centennial

2012 National Train Day:
Saturday, May 12, 2012

Celebrating the 143rd Anniversary of the driving of the Golden Spike marking the completion of the transcontinental railroad and the 100th Anniversary of Tampa Union Station’s opening!

10 AM-5 PM

Tampa Union Station, 601 No. Nebraska Avenue,
Downtown Tampa

Features this year include:

Amtrak Equipment on Display! Including an Amtrak 40th Anniversary commemorative locomotive, Amfleet and Viewliner equipment!

Live Music! From the band Busted Blues and others!

Exhibits! From the Tampa Bay History Center, Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library/Burgert Brothers Collection, Atlantic Coast Line & Seaboard Air Line Railroads Historical Society, Florida Railroad Museum, TBARTA, HART, National Association of Railroad Passengers, Florida Coalition of Rail Passengers, Friends of Tampa Union Station, Amtrak, City of Tampa Office of Historic Preservation and Urban Design, Tampa Preservation, Inc., and others!

History Program! Join us at 11 AM as Tampa Bay History Center Curator of History Rodney Kite-Powell gives a lecture on the history of railroads in Tampa and the National Railway Historical Society adds Tampa Union Station to its list of Historic National Railroad Landmarks!

Special Demonstrations! From the Amtrak Police Department’s amazing K-9 Unit and the telegraphers of the Florida Chapter of the Morse Telegraph Club!

Operating Model Railroads! From the H.B. Plant Railroad Historical Society, the Suncoast Model Railroad Club, and more!

Food! New this year: food trucks! Taco Bus, Stinky Bunz, Burger Culture and Wicked Witches!

Learn! Special talks about the recently-completed restoration of one of the historic 1912 platform canopies from the engineering team who made it happen!

FREE ADMISSION

GoThere Tampa

2012 Tampa Dragon Boat Races

9th Annual
International Dragon Boat Races
April 28, 2012
9 am – 6 pm
Downtown Tampa, Florida

The dragon boats are back in Tampa along the waterfront at Cotanchobee Fort Brooke Park next to the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel & Marina. With the dragon boat races will be traditional Asian cuisines, dances and music at Asia Fest 2012. While you are in Tampa, find more things to see and do

Tampa Dragon Boat Clubs competing this year are:

Tampa Bay Dragon Boat Club
The Club was formed in June of 2005 by members of the Tampa community, some of whom were members of corporate teams and others that did not have any experience in the sport but were inspired to participate. The Club’s objective is to encourage and promote the sport of Dragon Boat Racing in the community.

The Pink Dragon Ladies
The Pink Dragon Ladies is made of members of Team Survivor Tampa Bay. Their mission is to promote a healthy and active lifestyle and provide organized opportunities for physical fitness, wellness education, and psycho-social empowerment among female cancer survivors of all ages and all stages of treatment and recovery.

Tampa Bay Paddling Club
The Tampa Bay Paddling Club is organized to promote and foster paddling for leisure and as a sport in the Tampa Bay community through the promotion of recreational and competitive paddling.

Red Dragons Tampa Bay
Formed in May 2010 the Red Dragons Tampa are a growing group of people with a passion for dragon boating.  Red Dragons Tampa are the first expansion team of the Miami-based Red Dragons of Florida.

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