It doesn't feel like fall outside but you can take a whirl inside Tampa's Downtown on Ice at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park will put a little chill in your cheeks and provide that elusive winter feeling. Admission is $12 per person. Ninety-minutes skating session includes skate rental. Open Friday, 4-10 p.m.; 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Visit tampasdowntownonice.com for more info.
Also at Curtis Hixon park this weekend: the Bourbon and Brew Festival. The boozy bash offers spirits for non-beer-drinkers, including 40 bourbon, whiskey and scotch samples, ranging from regular, to ultra premium and rare. Live entertainment includes Craig Campbell, Thomas Wynn and the Believers, Southern Train, the Logan Grant Band, Heather Lucas and DJ Lesage. $40-$65, $85-$125 VIP. bourbonandbrewfest.com.
Before they were glued to screens, kids whiled away hours building monuments from granules of beach sand and water. A few have grown up to be master sculptors who will show off masterpieces at Treasure Island’s Sanding Ovations Masters Cup Sand Sculpture Competition and Music Festival, this weekend. Bands playing the event include Bath Salt Zombies, Grant Peeples, Copious Jones, Rev. Funky D. & The New Diggz and other acts. Fri.-Sun. 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Click here for event schedule and parking info.
The Florida Orchestra celebrates Blue Eyes' 100th Birthday a couple of weeks early with the Florida Orchestra Pops: Curtis Stigers Celebrates Sinatra salute to one of America's greatest crooners. Friday, 8 p.m., at the Straz's Ferguson Hall, Saturday, 8 p.m. at the Mahaffey and Sunday, 7:30 p.m., Ruth Eckerd Hall. $15-$45. floridaorchestra.org.
Shop and quaff at CL's second annual Crafts & Drafts at the St. Petersburg Shuffleboard Club Saturday. This year's event will feature 50 local artisan vendors; 30 craft beer options; a DIY tie dye station; crafting by makemestudio; complimentary shuffleboard, kids activities, and pet stations; live T-shirt screen printing; a free bike valet provided by Vélo Champ; a pop up shop by Daddy Kool Records; food by Jimmys Slider Food Truck, Jolly Porker, and Riddle on the Griddle, and more. Click here for participants and other details.
While in the Burg Saturday, you'll notice there are more feel-good events happening (as there always is in precious St. Pete). For a more low-key bazaar, you can hit the 8th Annual Holizaar Handmade Holiday Bazaar at The Studio@620 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Curated vendors will be hawking nifty, stylish and functional gifts. More info here.
Florida CraftArt, the juried fine craft art exhibition on Central Avenue between Fourth and Sixth streets, returns with handmade works in jewelry, clay, fiber, glass, wood, metal, paper and mixed media. Demonstrations, hands-on activities, an artists’ raffle, food trucks and local brews are also featured. Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m.-4 p.m. floridacraftart.org.
CL theater critic Mark E. Leib says Bill Leavengood's new play, Money Maker, is right on the money. The plot centers on the struggles — moral, ethical, economic and racial — of a young nonprofit arts organization director. Presented by The Heather, it's described as “a drama about the perversion of capitalism in every strata of today’s American society.” The Heather Theatre is at 8313 W. Hillsborough Ave., Suite 250, Tampa, through Nov. 22, 8 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays. $25, $20 students/military. moneymakertheplay.bpt.me.
Tampa Rep's TRT2 theater company brings us Philip Ridley’s incendiary drama Tender Napalm, which was nominated for best new play at the London Fringe Festival in 2011. Directed by Dan Granke (Bethany), the production features Derrick Phillips (Joe Cardin in The Children’s Hour) and Betty-Jane Parks (whose acclaimed Flannery O’Conner was brought to life in A Peculiar Crossroads). TRT2 performs at The Silver Meteor Gallery, 2213 E. 6th Avenue, Ybor City. Parking is available on the grass right of way, parallel to the railroad tracks. More info at tamparep.org.
This Sunday, give thanks for good Tampa fun on two wheels with Cranksgiving, an annual food drive and scavenger hunt that's been carving out a noble path through cities across the U.S. It began in New York City in 1999, and today the Tampa's Cranksgiving takes a spin again in central Tampa for the less fortunate. It's free to enter, but you will need a minimum of $10 to buy the food items at each of the stops. The race will test creative thinking skills in gathering food items at each of the checkpoints. Bring a backpack or bag. Any damaged food items will not be accepted and will not count toward your finish. Registration starts at 11 a.m. and ends at 12:30 p.m. You can either ride the event as a solo rider, or you can participate as a team (teams are two-to-five people). Click here for Facebook event page.
As always, don't forget to check out live bands playing live this weekend. There's always someone to see. Check Leilani's Ear Buds for details.
This article appears in Nov 19-25, 2015.