Events are slowing down a bit, but here's a healthy variety of high and low culture in no particular order of importance:
1.) Pool Parties — The new-old thang! Hotels and other establishments have finally figured out that they can profit from young partiers and families crashing their pools. Here are some fun cement watering holes open to the public, for families and grown-ups alike — Florida rainy weather notwithstanding ...
- Flick and Float Movie Night Take the little ones to see Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast at Walter Fuller Pool Friday night. Floats provided, flume slide and diving boards open and lawn chairs welcome. Cost only $2/ages 3-12, $3/age 13 & up. If you miss this one, next week's will feature A Dolphin Tale. Walter Fuller Pool, 7883 26th Ave. N., St. Petersburg, on Fri., June 5, 7:30 p.m. For more information call 727-893-7636.
- Guy Harvey Outpost Hosts Family SunDays Pool Parties Every Sunday from June 7 to Aug. 9, Guy Harvey Outpost will be hosting, Family SunDays Pool Parties from noon to 6:30pm. Live acoustical or reggae music will be the main form of entertainment, along with several planned family activities, including a Spikeball tournament, belly flop and cannon ball competitions and giant games. Noon-6:30 p.m. Through Aug. 9. Guy Harvey Outpost, 6000 Gulf Blvd., St. Pete Beach. 888-377-0043. FunintheSunDays.com.
- Splash Sundays offer a swanky, stylish bit of fun on Sunday afternoons in Hyde Park at the Epicurean Hotel, from noon to 5 p.m. $10 per person in advance or $15 at the door. Free valet to help with the nightmarish parking situation that the district is known for. Click here for more details.
2.) If you're wondering what to wear to those pool parties ... or are itchin’ to ramp up the body issues that have been plaguing you since your Memorial Day Weekend eat-a-thon, satisfy those needs and more when models wearing string bikinis, one-pieces, cover-ups and other outdoor what-have-you's strut the runways for SWIM 2015 — Tampa Bay Swim Week. The three-day event begins with a Bubbles and Bikinis VIP Party Thursday evening at the Hollander. A Swim 2015 Boutique Fashion Show will take place on Friday at the Jackie Z and Co. (at downtown St. Pete’s Sundial), and on Saturday, the Swim & Resort Wear Fashion Show will sexy up the Safety Harbor Resort and Spa. Day 1 and 3 events will be $100 at the door with cheaper deals available for purchase online ahead of time. D ay 2 will be $25 at the door, again, with cheaper deals purchased online. Thu., June 4, 7-10 p.m., Fri., June 5, 6-10 p.m. and Sat., June 6, 6-10 p.m. tampabayswimweek.com
3.) First Friday art galore: First Friday Seminole Heights and the brand-spanking-new Art on 12th offer lots to see to kick off your weekend in sophisticated and twisted style. Click here for more Tampa art this weekend.
4.) 14th Annual Palm Harbor Parrot Head Party: This is enough to make my brain bleed, but I can dig the kitsch factor of this truly Florida event. The free community event will feature live entertainment by The Defendants, a local classic rock band, and a three-hour concert by Florida’s premier Jimmy Buffet Tribute Band, The Caribbean Chillers. A new Parrot Head Costume Contest will be held at 7 p.m. with prizes to be announced. Takes place on Florida Avenue in Historic Downtown Palm Harbor. A variety of food and craft vendors will line the streets. Previous years’ Parrot Head Party attendance has ranged from 8,000 to 10,000. Patrons are encouraged to ride the Jolley Trolley to get to the event. Runs from Clearwater to Tarpon Springs along Alt. U.S. 19, with downtown Palm Harbor right in the middle of the route. No coolers will be permitted. Sat., June 6, 4-11 p.m. csapalmharbor.org.
5.) For another side of weird Florida ... History Bike Tampa meets the first Saturday of the month and departs promptly at 10 a.m. from Kahwa at the Element. This month's tour focuses on "Weird Florida" history and is provided free of charge, but there’s a suggested donation of $5. Visit facebook.com/HistoryBikeTampa.
6.) Sleepless in St. Pete: Puccini's famous final opera, Turandot, including the anthemic aria "Nessun Dorma," takes over the Palladium. Friday night's performance at 7:30 p.m. features an after party by the Operazzi folks; Sun., June 7, 2 p.m. may be sold out; and if you miss it this weekend, a third and final performance will be staged Tues., June 9, 7:30 p.m. Palladium Theater, 253 Fifth Ave. N., St. Petersburg. 727-823-2040. stpeteopera.org.
7.) Roasty McRoasterton:The comedy vet brings his smirk and swagger to Side Splitters. Nick DiPaolo's PR puts it best: “Brutally honest performances that remind us of what great stand up should be: funny, socially relevant and a little bit reckless.” DiPaolo has been all over the late-night talk show circuit and Comedy Central, and was twice nominated for an Emmy for his writing on The Chris Rock Show. June 4-6; showtimes Thurs., 8 :30 p.m.; Fri.-Sat., 8 and 10:15 p.m.; $16-$18. 12938 N. Dale Mabry, Tampa. Find out more comedy shows in this week's Laugh Tract.
8.) Masters of the Improv Universe: Now that I have excessively built up expectations ... This is a Comedy Show is a monthly showcase starring local improv gurus Gavin Hawk and Ricky Wayne, who have been tinkering with long-form improv that features a story arc instead of the more familiar sketchy fare. First Sunday of every month at 6 p.m. through August 2015. Tickets are $10, and show takes place in American Stage’s lobby cabaret, where a full cash bar will be available. $10. American Stage Theatre Company, 163 Third St. N., St Petersburg. 727-823-PLAY (7529). americanstage.org.
9 .) They served for us and know they're providing inspiration ... Art2Action Inc. and Sacred Grounds Coffee House, in partnership with The Carpetbag Theatre, Inc. and Alternate ROOTS, present an ongoing creative space for veterans, families, community supporters, caregivers and allies in the Tampa Bay area. This week, they're hosting vet-turned-author Brooke King, who served in the United States Army, deployed to Iraq in 2006. As a wife of a fellow veteran and mother of twin boys who were conceived in Iraq, King began writing about her unique experience as a way to cope with PTSD, but found that her combat experience gave her a distinct voice. Since earning her bachelor's from Saint Leo University, she has become a published writer, bringing perspective and insight to the involvement of female soldiers in combat and war. Sunday, 6:30-9:30 p.m., at Sacred Grounds Coffeehouse in Tampa.
10.) Bard revisited: Says CL Theater Critic Mark E. Leib of The Tempest: Esta Isla Es Mia at freeFall: "Eric Davis is superb in 20 roles, as Prospero, Miranda, Caliban and others from Shakespeare’s famous work, and as the Old Man, his daughter Amelia, his slave Bembé and others from the Davis-penned parallel story." Show runs through June 14 at freeFall Theatre, 6099 Central Ave., St. Petersburg; 7 p.m. Thurs., 8 p.m. Fri. -Sat., 2 p.m. Sat.-Sun.; $21-$44. freefalltheatre.com.
One more for the road ... Blueprint with Supastition, DJ Raregroove, Rival, Jon Ditty, BC Says Music Editor Leilani Polk: "An underappreciated indie hip hop artist from Ohio who’s been active since 1999, Blueprint has collabed with RJD2 in Soul Position, is counted as one-half of Greenhouse (with Illogic), and maintains an active solo career as well. He returns to Dunedin a year after his last performance behind King No Crown, a fourth full-length that dropped in April and finds the producer/rapper’s conscious verses, precisely-worded flow and unexpected rhyme schemes paying tribute to fallen artists like Dilla and Eyedea and offering reflections on hip hop, power, life, revolution and other topics over pulsing and grooving, out-side-the-box production. Back up from N.C. emcee Kam Moye (aka Supastition) and LA’s DJ Rare Groove along with several high-quality local hip hop acts." Sunday night at Dunedin Brewery, Dunedin.