God, that news section was a brutal read, wasn't it? Food was fun, though. And now, you've landed here. On the arts and entertainment pages, where not only do we not have to sit through political debates and city council meetings, we get to do the fun stuff. So when we started thinking about the best fun stuff in 2017, it was.hard to pare it all down. Since I figure you're exhausted from the politi-stuff towards the front of this week's issue and super-hungry from the food section (seriously, try those cheese sticks at 2nd & Second), let's make this easy and fun (I'm pretty sure that was my nickname in college) with a listicle.

Here are the 10 best things I did at work this year.

10. GASP!

There was a man in a crane machine, someone spinning in a giant gyroscope and so many other varied experiences I can't possibly encapsulate them all in this spot. You're going in 2018, right? Right?

9. Echoes

Urbanite Theatre has almost no space but it doesn't matter (except that their shows sell out way too fast!) because they're one of the best small theaters we have in the Tampa Bay area (and yes, I know they're in Sarasota, but since you have to cross Tampa Bay to get there, I'm counting it). Echoes was staggeringly well-done and I can't wait to see their next show.

8. Flying

Everything about Sheila Cowley's play Flying makes me want to only review plays written by local playwrights. I went to see this enchanting play twice because it was that good, and then I asked Sheila if I could read the script.

7. Voodoo MacBeth

Bob Devin Jones mounted a WPA-era retelling of MacBeth, set in the islands and asking the question, "What if it wasn't witchcraft but voodoo?" and answering that question with, "it'd be a whole lot more fun and a whole lot scarier."

6. Maestro Coppola's kick-ass ending to Turandot

Anton Coppola gave us the ultimate feminist ending to Puccini's classically unfinished… well, classic, opera. Turnandot says "fuck you" to the Chinese patriarchy and beheads her stalker. Well done, Princess — and well done, Maestro.

5. Unreliable

I just loved it, OK? Read it. Edgar Allan Poe meets pulp fiction with a side of the #theresistance thrown in.

4. The Gulf: Making of An American Sea

Looking for an environmental read that teaches you something and doesn't put you to sleep? Jack Davis delivers in this weighty tome.

3. Kristen Shepherd comes to the MFA

Seriously, y'all, the new exec director's gonna blow the stuffy-ass doors off this flagship St. Petersburg museum, and it's gonna be spectacular. She's new, she has great ideas and she thinks art should engage and challenge as it delights and dismays.

2. Bekky Beukes' debris

She works her ass off and creates these gorgeous paintings that make you want to spend all your money surrounding yourself with her work, but seeing Beukkes's one-woman show before she brought it to the Blue Goose had to suffice. Hopefully, you were there or you saw her work at the Goose, but if you didn't, watch this space for more of her upcoming work.

1. Creative Thrift

Seems odd to have this at #1, doesn’t it? It’s here because one, it makes me happy that this art therapy/gallery/thrift store at Creative Clay found a space. It's also here because, two, it's even more kick-ass that they have the space for an art supply thrift store. Finally, it's here because I love that we have an art community that's donated framing supplies, paints, art books and a cornucopia of other assorted arts (and crafting) supplies to this buy-by-donation-of-your-choosing thrift shop.

Well done, Tampa Bay. Well done. Now, to 2018 — and beyond!

Cathy Salustri is the arts + entertainment editor for Creative Loafing Tampa, and she hopes she has as much fun in 2018 as she did in 2017. So, uh, no pressure, Tampa Bay. Contact her here.

This article appears in Dec 21-28, 2017.