While the rest of America is freezing its butt off, Bay area residents gather for an annual tradition — downtown Tampa's outdoor Gasparilla Festival of the Arts — in what will presumably be 80-degree weather. (Cross your fingers to keep t-storms away.) On Saturday and Sunday, 300 artists showcase a mind-boggling array of paintings, watercolors, graphics, ceramics, fiber art, jewelry, photography, sculpture, glass, wood and other wares in booths that line Franklin Street and Lykes Gaslight Square Park, alongside vendors of deliciously bad-for-you street snacks. You're there to see some cool art and snag a cheesy arepa; the artists are there to make some loot and take a stab at winning some of the $67,500 in prize money bestowed by juror John B. Henry III, executive director of the Flint Institute of Arts in Flint, Mich. 38th Annual Gasparilla Festival of the Arts, March 1-2, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun., Franklin Street and Lykes Gaslight Square Park, downtown Tampa, gasparilla-arts.com.
This article appears in Feb 27 – Mar 4, 2008.