MARCH 17 THURSDAY
GREEN PARTIES In Ireland, St. Patrick's Day is traditionally recognized as a religious occasion. Here, the holiday gives us another reason to let loose while wearing our finest green vestments, drinking green ale, and celebrating Irish culture with any number of parades, parties and feasts. In Dunedin, there's the St. Patrick's Day Street Festival, which features Irish music, step dancers and the City of Dunedin Pipe Band, as well as tasty Irish fare like corned beef and cabbage, Irish stew, shepherd's pie and plenty of Irish beer to wash it all down (11 a.m.-11 p.m., Flanigan's Irish Pub, 465 Main St., 727-736-4994). Clearwater's 44th Annual St. Patrick's Day Celebration takes place under a "big tent" and features live entertainment by the Dunedin Bag Pipers, various Irish dancers and bands, games and contests, and Irish fare that includes corned beef and cabbage, Mulligan stew and, of course, green beer (11 a.m.-1 a.m. O'Keefe's Grill and Tavern, 1219 S. Fort Harrison Ave., 727-442-9034). St. Paddy's Day celebrations in Tampa are varied and numerous, but make sure to swing by Four Green Fields, grab a green beer and enjoy some live music by singer/songwriter/mandolin player/Dublin native Derek Warfield, who appears with the Wolf Tones (9 p.m.-1 a.m., $10. 205 W. Platt St., 813-254-4444).
MARCH 18 FRIDAY
FOUL PLAY A prominent Hollywood star meets an untimely death on the opening night of her Broadway debut. Devastated and convinced of treachery, her playwright fiancé creates a new work as part of a scheme to discover the culprit. Exactly a year later in the very same theater, he organizes a staged reading of the finished play and assembles the cast and crew of the ill-fated show to prove that one of them is her murderer, using his play as a means to, in the words of Hamlet, "catch the conscience" of the killer. Adapted by D. D. Brooke from a teleplay by Richard Levinson and William Link, Rehearsal for Murder opens tonight at the Carrollwood Playhouse and is directed by Shaun Rice. 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., and 3 p.m. Sun., March 18-April 10. $12 general/$10 students and seniors. 4333 Gunn Highway, Tampa, 813-265-4000.
MOLDABLE MEDIA This weekend, Bleu Acier gallery in Tampa Heights opens Art Plastique, a group show that explores the manner in which artists define their narrative through the plastic (i.e., capable of being shaped or formed) qualities of their work. The creations of two American artists (USF professor Neil Bender and Brooklyn-based painter Steve McClure) and two European artists (French symbol artist Pierre Mabille and German collage master Ulf Rungenhagen) are unveiled at tonight's free opening reception, which occurs from 7 to 10 p.m., and features a cash bar and live spinning by DJs Anthony Silvestri and Joshua Wilkins of Souldown. The gallery is open to the public from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturdays and by appointment; the show continues through April 24. 109 W. Columbus Drive, Tampa, 813-272-9746.
MARCH 19 SATURDAY
OLD SCHOOL Celebrate St. Patrick's Day Elizabethan style at the 25th Annual Bay Area Renaissance Festival, which is located on the grounds behind the Museum of Science and Industry. This weekend's theme is "Shamrocks & Shenanigans," and features traditional Irish music and dance, as well as Cabbage Bowling and a Battle of the Bartenders competition. Everything occurs in a 16th-century village swarming with hundreds of costumed characters (wizards and fire eaters included). You can also enjoy a range of stage performances and other live entertainment; a marketplace with over 110 exhibitors and artisans; and a variety of foods, games and man-powered rides. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat.-Sun., through April 10. $14.95 general/$11.95 seniors/$6.95 ages 4-12 (children under 4 enter free; MOSI and Ren Fest combo tix available). 4801 E. fowler Ave., Tampa, 813-987-6300.
FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD! Best of Tampa Bay is an evening of pleasant diversions and delectable eats. Hosted by The Producers Volunteer Group, this annual fundraiser for the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center has raised nearly $1 million since its inception 19 years ago. Guests are invited to roam the center's lobbies and riverfront grounds, enjoying live entertainment while sampling assorted entrées, desserts, specialty coffees, fine wines and imported beers from over 50 area restaurants (this year's lineup includes Armani's, Catch Twenty Three, Chipotle, Fleming's Prime Steakhouse, Oystercatchers, Signature Room Grill and Tinatapas). Don't miss this night of treats for your taste buds. 7-11 p.m. $75. Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, 1010 N. MacInnes Place, Tampa, 813-229-7827.
COLUMBIA CAM While Columbian artist Jaime Avila may not be working with the latest technology (his primary tool is a $20 camera), the images he captures aren't any indication. In Life is a Catwalk, Avila explores the world of radioactivos – disadvantaged youths living on the streets of Bogotá – and their relationship with the larger urban environment, particularly with the architecture that surrounds them. Starting today, you can catch a glimpse of Life is a Catwalk at the Museum of Fine Arts, which has claimed bragging rights as the first museum in Florida to exhibit Avila's works. Hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat., and 1-5 p.m. Sun.; the photos are on display through June 12. $12 adults/$8 seniors/$5 students and children 7-18. 255 Beach Drive N.E., St. Petersburg, 727-896-2667.
MARCH 21 MONDAY
ROLL WITH IT Award-winning poet and novelist Pablo Medina moved with his family to the United States from Cuba in 1960. A graduate of Georgetown University with degrees in Spanish Literature and English, Medina has contributed prose, poetry and translations to many U.S. periodicals and anthologies, in addition to publishing several poetry collections, a few works of fiction and a memoir. His latest endeavor, The Cigar Roller, journeys through the memories of a Cuban-born cigar factory worker who has been confined to a Florida hospital after a massive stroke leaves him paralyzed. Medina reads from and signs copies of the novel tonight at Inkwood Books. 7 p.m. 216 S. Armenia Ave., Tampa, 813-253-2638.
MARCH 23 WEDNESDAY
GERSHWINS' GIRL As part of its Broadway by the Bay series, Mahaffey Theater presents a single performance of Crazy for You, a lively musical extravaganza adapted from the 1930 George and Ira Gershwin hit, Girl Crazy. The show premiered on Broadway in 1992, and has won many awards since. Crammed with standards like "I've Got Rhythm," "Embraceable You," "Someone To Watch Over Me" and "They Can't Take That Away from Me." Crazy For You features the classic boy-meets-girl, boy-loses-girl, boy-gets-girl plotline in an old-fashioned musical about show business. Produced by Troika Entertainment. 8 p.m. $35-$55. 400 First St. S., St. Petersburg, 727-892-5757.
This article appears in Mar 16-22, 2005.