The air is getting cool and crisp, and let’s hope it stays that way, because it is time to chill – in every sense of the word. Chillounge Night – sponsored by Cointreau and created by a Sarasota gallery owner – transforms a four-block area in downtown Tampa into a swanky lounge and nightclub. The outdoor lounge, decked out with lights, a banging sound system and hundreds of stylish daybeds – for those who want to kick back and enjoy a tasty beverage – is a great way for people to mingle in an unusual, elegant environment. If you don’t feel like chillin’ then take your pick of entertainment: festivities include tango dancers, opera singers, jazz musicians, a fashion show, a cigar lounge and a grand finale Brazilian Samba Parade. This ingenious party is bound to be kick-ass and, as if you need another reason to attend, the event benefits Friends of the Festival. Sat., Oct. 10, 6 p.m.-11 p.m., $15 per person in advance, $20 per person at the door, $75 VIP, attendees must be 21+, downtown Tampa along Franklin St., 941-448-0995, chilloungenight.com. – Lily Reisman
A traveling exhibition organized by Chattanooga’s Hunter Museum of American Art, I Heard A Voice: The Art of Lesley Dill brings nearly 30 of the acclaimed contemporary artist’s works — with an emphasis on sculptural installations — to St. Petersburg. Poetic and psychologically charged, Dill’s constructions often combine fabric and figures (or dress forms) with text to spellbinding effect; works featured in I Heard A Voice respond to poetry by Emily Dickinson, Salvador Espriu and Franz Kafka. Expect to be moved by the artist’s ideas and awed by her craft. (Pictured: "Rise," Laminated fabric, hand-dyed cotton, paper, metal, silk organza with cotton. Courtesy of the Artist and George Adams Gallery, NY) Oct. 10-Dec. 27, Museum of Fine Arts, 255 Beach Dr. NE, St. Petersburg, 727-896-2667, fine-arts.org. – Megan Voeller
This article appears in Sep 30 – Oct 7, 2009.