Party with your canines and enjoy drinks and live music at the Howliday Block Pawty at the Snow Circle Shops courtyard today. The event includes opportunities for Color Me Mine paw-print keepsakes and photos with Santa, live portraits by Alli Bell, mobile vet Dr. Jennifer Claxton, and representatives from Camp Bow Wow and Tailored Pet Sitting.
Purchase raffle tickets for prizes from Hyde Park merchants and pet-friendly businesses, and in conjunction with the event, Hyde Park retailers Downtown Dogs and Milagros are featuring items on sale. City Street Sweets gives out free candy samples, and J.J. Taylor provides the libations, including Yuengling drafts and Barefoot Bubby.
Admission is free, but attendees who donate $10 or more receive a Yuengling T-shirt, poster and one raffle ticket. Proceeds benefit the Humane Society of Tampa Bay and Tampa Bay Businesses for Culture and the Arts. 6-9 p.m. Hyde Park Village, 742 S. Village Circle, Tampa, 813-251-3500, HydeParkVillage.net.
Later on in the Burg, you can see a discounted preview of Studio@620's production of The Men, opening this weekend.
The world premiere of the all-male play is a takeoff of Clare Booth Luce’s beloved all-female classic romp, The Women (for those unfamiliar is a classic gal-pal comedy with scandalous gossip and opposite-sex dilemmas, predating Sex and the City by more than a half-century).
Studio@620 workshopped the all-male play by New York-based playwright Christian Couture in ’09, and the studio’s co-founder/artistic director Bob Devin Jones had so much fun with it, he decided to direct its first-ever production. The play includes some multimedia ’zazz – a DJ and video montage of animals representing each of the characters (inspired by the opening scene of the 1939 movie adaptation).
The Men is the first official play in Studio@620’s Golden Ticket Series, so if you purchased a season “golden” ticket, you can use it to see The Men and redeem it for chocolate, just like at Willy Wonka’s.
Note: This is a mature comedy with adult themes, language and nudity, so leave the kids and easily offended at home. The cast includes Jorge Acosta, who’s double cast as Roberto and Juan, along with Andy Orell, Stephen Riordan, Greg Milton, Greg Doherty, Jonathan Irion, Chase Adin and Nick White. Preview performance 7:30 p.m. tonight; the play starts its official run 8 p.m. Fri., Dec. 17, and runs through Jan. 9; $20-$40; 620 First Ave. S., St. Petersburg, studio620.org, 727-895-6620.
The kicky Tampa Artist Emporium celebrates the holiday gift-buying season and owner Melissa Wilson's birthday with its exhibit, Merry Kitschmas: Hot Art, Cool Yule. Attend their last-minute shopping party with refreshments this evening from 6 to 9 p.m. Show runs through Dec. 24, 3415 Bay-to-Bay Blvd., Tampa. 813-254-3443, tampaartistemporium.com.
See poets flex their lyrical skills holiday-style at the HoHoHopen Mic at Cafe Hey. The event start at 7 p.m., and there is no cover. Performers for have already signed up in advance, so expect polished (we hope) performances of reworked Christmas songs plus the usual mix of open mic regulars. Performances are a combo of comedy, music, poetry, and some things in between, and the weekly Thursday event attracts a diverse and supportive crowd. 1540 N. Franklin Ave., Tampa, 813-221-5150.
This article appears in Dec 9-15, 2010.