Thursday 7.5

The Wizard of Oz The perennial fantasy musical from MGM's golden years has aired annually since 1939 on network TV during Thanksgiving and Christmas, making an icon of Judy Garland's Dorothy, whose plagued journey to the elusive Emerald City is now an institution. Oz was voted to the National Film Registry in 1989. Remastered for its 60th anniversary, see the classic film at 6 p.m. in the Raymond James Room of the Salvador Dali Museum, 1000 Third St. S., St. Petersburg (727-823-3767). The movie is free with admission to the museum.

Friday 7.6

The Beat Goes On Since '93, Latin linguists The Beatnuts have stayed true to hip-hop's time-honored tradition of partying and rapping about street affairs over raucous beats. They jumped from Relativity to Loud Records and have broken out with their latest single, No Escapin' This, which features an unlikely cameo by old-schooler Greg Nice, formerly of Nice and Smooth. Nice and The Arsonists (see the Music column), a hot New York clique yet to burn up the charts, open The Beatnuts' show at 8 p.m. at The Masquerade, 1503 E. Seventh Ave., Ybor City (813-247-3319). Tickets cost $12.50 in advance.

Everybody Loves D.L. Like so many stand-up comedians, D.L. Hughley has his own sitcom, UPN's The Hughleys, and his success is a much-deserved reward for tireless touring on shows like the Kings of Comedy Tour. Hughley has also starred in The Brothers, with fellow comic Bill Bellamy and actors Shemar Moore and Morris Chestnut. Not to slavishly name-check — he's just in good company. Everybody loves a funny guy. He performs two shows Friday (8, 10:30 p.m.) and three Saturday (7, 9:30, 11:30 p.m.) at the Improv, 1600 E. Eighth Ave., Ybor City (813-864-4000). Tickets cost $26 and $28.

Independent's Day(s) The Education Channel presents its eighth annual Independent's Film Festival at 9 p.m. on July 6, 7 and 8 (the fest kicked off July 4). The Education Channel has been offering some of the best exposure for local filmmakers since it began to showcase and promote independent films in '93 to bridge its existing run of classic and foreign films. The Independent's Festival selections are the best of shorts, video documentary, full-length features and animation. The Education Channel is on Channel 18 on Time Warner cable in Tampa. (813-254-2253) Visit www.educationchannel.org.

Saturday 7.7

A Day at the Skatepark Clearwater's Central Skatepark plays host to the Gravity Games Airwalk Amateur Challenge, a five-city national series that gives athletes the opportunity to gain recognition and win a trip to appear in the NBC-televised 2001 Gravity Games, held in early September in Providence, R.I. The GGAAC features up to 150 amateurs in skateboarding and up to 60 in the bike category. They compete through qualifying rounds on Saturday, in order to make the final and award rounds on Sunday, July 8. Registration is available as late as Saturday at 7 a.m. The events take place 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday at Central Skatepark, 6140 Ulmerton Road, Clearwater (727-523-0785). www.gravitygames.com.

The Mutiny on Fire?The Chicago Fire and Tampa Bay Mutiny represent the top and bottom of MLS's Central Division, yet both teams own identical goal-scoring numbers. The difference therefore is defense, where the Fire's goalkeeper, Zach Thornton, ranks third and Tampa Bay's Scott Garlick is 13th. The best reason to attend this match is to watch the Fire's strikers Dema Kovalenko and Josh Wolff clash with the Mutiny's desperate resolve to etch a single win against their division nemesis. The match takes place at 7 p.m. at Raymond James Stadium, 4201 N. Dale Mabry, Tampa (813-386-2000). Tickets cost $10-$20.

Ask a Genealogist It's no surprise that the Florida Genealogical Society's history, dating back to 1977, is very neatly mapped out on their branch's Web site. Question is: How can you apply the FGS's info to research your own family tree? Volunteers from the Society are going to be available to answer such questions one-on-one, 9 a.m.-noon at the John F. Germany Public Library, 900 N. Ashley Drive, Tampa (813-273-3652). www.rootsweb.com.

Sunday 7.8

Exciter, Haunted These are the titles of the new albums by Depeche Mode and Poe, respectively. For Depeche Mode, who've sold 40 million albums internationally, Exciter is a sort of cooling down, a 16th album, an uplifting end to a career of dark music. Haunted is only Poe's second disc, a Pro Tools collage of ambiance and intimacy. As sole opener for the English band's North American tour, she's provided a stellar opportunity to enchant its audience. The concert, presented by MTV2, starts at 7:30 p.m. at the Ice Palace, 401 Channelside Drive, Tampa (813-301-6500). Tickets cost $35-$59.

Pulling Strings The Puppeteers of America are holding their national festival, A Puppet Odyssey, through July 14, with various performances taking place at the Falk Theatre, the Tampa Theatre and the historic former Tampa Bay Hotel, the latter located on the campus of the University of Tampa, where the festival's workshops are scheduled to take place. The festival's myriad performances and workshops are listed on their Web site: www.puppetlove.com/2001festival/. A coinciding exhibition of puppets are on display at the University of Tampa's Scarfone/Hartley Galleries, 401 W. Kennedy Blvd., Tampa(813-253-6217).

Monday 7.9

Major Grapes If you'd like to understand the subtleties of the major grape types — Cabernet Savignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Syrah, Pinot Noir, Sangiovese and Temparillo — you might want to make a reservation to attend the first of Bern's Summer Wine Tastings. They're scheduled each Monday evening through Aug. 27, at 6:30 p.m. at Bern's Steak House, 1208 S. Howard Ave., Tampa (813-250-9463). The cost is $25 per person and reservations are required.

Tuesday 7.10

Hide The Trash Can Lids The eight-member percussive dance troupe STOMP brings its brooms and pipes and hubcaps and lighters and theatrically choreographed symphony of noise to Carol Morsani Hall through July 15, at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, 1010 MacInnes Place, Tampa (813-229-7827). The Tuesday show starts at 7:30 p.m., and tickets cost $15.50-$49.50.

Wednesday 7.11

Ybor Unveiled A memorial statue of one of Ybor City's founding fathers, Vicente Martinez-Ybor, will be unveiled at its location in front of the entrance to Centro Ybor at 1600 E. Seventh Ave. The Ybor City Museum Society offers a full history of the man, but in brief: Martinez-Ybor arrived in Tampa in 1885 from Cuba by way of Key West, bought 40 acres of land from the city and proceeded to build cigar factories and housing for their workers. The sculpture, constructed by local artist Steve Dickey from a photograph furnished by Martinez-Ybor's great grandson, is one of several created by Dickey that stand in and around Ybor. The Ybor City Museum Society is located at 2009 N. 18th St., Ybor City (813-247-1434).

This article appears in Jul 5-11, 2001.