April Road Trip: Toss your mullet and the Fiesta of Five Flags It's not exactly a fine art, but totally worth the trip to the dive bar/Florida icon/church/restaurant/all things to all people, the Flora-Bama. Why? April is the legendary Interstate Mullet Toss, where thousands of regular people and mullet aficionados compete to throw a mullet (dead) across state lines. Since Alabama's only about six feet away, it's not exactly an Olympic sport.... yet. For each tossed mullet (and no, that's not a euphemism) the FloraBama will donate money to local youth charities. While you're there, suck down a Bushwhacker with a plate of Royal Reds. While you're there, head over to the Pensacola Crawfish Festival, part of the Fiesta of Five Flags. Both events Apr. 28-30. Mullet Toss: florabama.com. Fiesta of Five Flags: fiestaoffiveflags.org.
Fresh Squeezed: Emerging Artists in Florida Between the Morean and SKYWAY (a joint exhibition opening in June between the Tampa Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Art St. Pete, and the Ringling), 2017 is the year of big opportunities for emerging artists. Selecting artists who haven’t yet had a solo show, this will be their big debut to shine in the springtime. As the first of an annual exhibition for emerging artists, this year will feature works from Penelope Livingston, Chris Otten, Marium Rana, Barry Goodman, Brian Feldman, and Rebecca Zweibel. Mar. 11-April 30. Morean Arts Center, St. Pete. moreanartscenter.org.
Hairspray. How can you not love a sugar-coated wish-fulfillment musical in which a chunky loser becomes a TV star and wins the heart of the local Elvis while managing to racially integrate Baltimore? Apr.19-May 14. American Stage in the Park, St. Pete. 727-823-PLAY. americanstage.org. —ML
Lissa Hatcher Catch a glimpse of magic this spring in Lissa Hatcher’s rich narratives. Dreamy, fairytale-like settings are where you can find most of the characters in Hatcher’s photography. It can be easy to slap images in Photoshop and call it a day, but Hatcher doesn’t take the easy way out: All of her work is created in real life, almost like mini movie sets. Apr. 8- May 6. Leslie Curran Gallery @ ARTicles, St. Pete. facebook.com/lesliecurrangallery. —CA
MFA Graduate Thesis Exhibition USF’s grad students always seem to have to have something up their sleeves, which is why I always look forward to the thesis exhibitions each year. Mar. 31-May 6, USF Contemporary Art Museum, Tampa. 813-974-4133. graphicstudio.usf.edu. —CA
Round Square Friends of the formal elements, unite! Guest curated by Kathy Gibson, be prepared to revel in line, shape, color, and scale (and the conversation between them) in an exhibition of sculpture, works on paper, and installation by Edgar Sanchez Cumbas, Kendra Frorup, Babette Herschberger, and Charles Parkill. Mar. 10 - April 22, Florida CraftArt, 501 Central Ave., St. Pete, floridacraftart.org. —CA
The Mountaintop The last day of Martin Luther King’s life is the setting for the great civil rights figure’s imagined encounter with a hotel chambermaid who may be more knowledgeable than she at first appears. April 4-20. The Heather, Tampa. heathertheatre.org. —ML
