I had a great time at last year's DalíFest. I strolled through the Salvador Dalí Museum and bought a "Hallucinogenic Toreador" T-shirt from the clearance rack at the gift shop; hung out in the museum's adjacent waterfront Poynter Park and posed for pictures with Tampa Bay as my backdrop; munched on kettle corn and barbecue; and huddled against my fiancé in the too-cool breeze while enjoying some expertly executed Zappa covers courtesy of local tribute band, Bogus Pomp.
The free DalíFest 2007 takes place in the park as per usual and includes reduced admission to see the museum's latest exhibits: Dalí and the Spanish Baroque, a selection of paintings by Spanish masters hung alongside pieces by Dalí to illustrate the ways that Dalí incorporated elements from Baroque painting into his own style, and the Student Surrealist Art Exhibit, a juried competition for Pinellas County middle and high school art students that features works inspired by the theme, "Surrealism, Dreams and Fantasy."
Kids can take part in an array of arts and craft activities while adult entertainment comes in the form of live music throughout the day by Nandkishor Muley and friends, Rayzilla's PBS, SHIM, Gravy, Sam Rivers and Bogus Pomp.
Sat., March 24, 11 a.m.-8 p.m., Poynter Park Salvador Dalí Museum, 1000 Third St. S., St. Petersburg, $7 museum admission/kids 12 and younger enter for free (free admission to the fest), 727-823-3767, salvadordalimuseum.org.
This article appears in Mar 21-27, 2007.
