There are many ways to hang with food and drink over the extended Memorial Day weekend. For those itching to get out of the house, here's a solid list of happenings scheduled around town.
• The Birchwood stores 1,800-plus specialty bottles of vino on its wine wall and more than 10,000 in its library. What better place to ring in Friday as National Wine Day? The Beach Drive hotel — excluding the rooftop Canopy — celebrates with half-price bottles up to $150, a deep discount that continues throughout the holiday weekend. Free, money for wine. 340 Beach Drive NE, St. Petersburg. 727-896-1080.
• From 3 to 7 p.m. Friday, beer lovers should kick off their Memorial Day merriment with Pair O' Dice Brewing Company's Dessert Ales Release, plus the Rubbed & Pulled BBQ food truck. The tap list includes Popsicles in the Basement (with orange and lactose), Colonel Custard (with chocolate, strawberries and lactose) and Sunset Sorbet (with coconut, pineapple and lactose). Free, money for beer and food. 4400 118th Ave. N. #208, Clearwater. 727-755-3423.
• The weekly Lake Chapman Market, hosted from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday, is driven by local farmers, artists and artisans. Expect fresh produce, prepared foods, baked goods, skincare products and candles, among other area-made goods. Free, money for goodies. 16347 N. Florida Ave., Lutz.
• On Sunday, Preserve the 'Burg and Coast Bike Share's Bikes and Beignets takes participants on a leisurely bike tour from 10 a.m. to noon. Starting at the Independent Bar, the ride cruises south to St. Pete's Deuces (aka 22nd Street South), a corridor with a rich cultural heritage where historic sites abound. The place that puts the "beignets" in Bikes and Beignets is Chief's Creole Cafe, which offers those deliciously dusted squares of fried dough in a landmark building. Tickets are up online, and the organizers recommend helmets. $15 for members, $25 for nonmembers. 1049 Central Ave., St. Petersburg.
• Brews, Rules & BBQ brings lives music and Westchase BBQ to Crooked Thumb Brewery on Sunday, in addition to the brewery's Rule #7 Hurricane Saison. Get in on the Memorial Day Eve fun between 3 and 10 p.m. 555 10th Ave. S., Safety Harbor. 727-724-5953.
This article appears in May 24-31, 2018.