If you’re planning to vote in the Midterm General Election on 𝐓𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟑, today — 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟔 — is the last day you can register to vote in that election, regardless of which county you are in or your party affiliation. The Florida Department of State has an easy link to both register to vote and check your voter registration status, so please click one of the links below if you’re not registered or you’re not sure of your registration status or if your voter registration has the same address as the one on your Florida Driver License.
This is an important election for our nation, our state and our local counties, including three proposed Amendments to the Florida Constitution. For the full text of those amendments, please visit 𝐕𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐇𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡.𝐠𝐨𝐯 for New Tampa or 𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐕𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬.𝐠𝐨𝐯 for Wesley Chapel. 𝐓𝐨 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐕𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐓𝐨𝐕𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐚.𝐠𝐨𝐯
Sure, we already have a lot of dentists in Wesley Chapel, but the super-personable Dr. Navid Ramsi and his Ramsi Dental is proud to be the latest general/family dentist to open an office in our community, at 26851 Tanic Dr., Suite 101, in the Cypress Glen Professional Park north of S.R. 56 near I-75.
Dr. Ramsi and his staff hosted a well-attended North Tampa Bay Chamber ribbon-cutting event on Sept. 16, which introduced the local community to the new office. The practice offers “Comprehensive Dental Care for Every Stage of Life.” Dr. Ramsi told us that he sees patients of all ages, from children through senior citizens.
According to the practice’s website, Dr. Ramsi earned his Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) degree from the University of Florida College of Dentistry, where, “he was selected as a Hinman Scholar in recognition of his clinical ability, leadership and commitment to patient care.”
Dr. Ramsi offers all general dental services, such as cleanings, extractions, root canals, oral cancer screenings, emergency, periodontal (gum) and fluoride treatments, sports mouthguards and night guards, as well as restorative treatments, including fillings, bridges and dental implants.
Cosmetic services include ceramic crowns, veneers, ZOOM! whitening, ClearCorrect® aligners and even facial Botox® treatments. The modern office features digital impressions, cone beam computed tomography (CBCT, which captures high-resolution 3D views of teeth, jaws and adjacent anatomy) and more.
For more info about Ramsi Dental, visit RamsiDental.com or call (813) 651-8357. — GN; photos by Charmaine George
Our 2026 Reader Dining Survey & Contest continues, with FOUR more chances to win up to $200 in FREE dining at the restaurant of your choice anywhere in the Tampa Bay area!
All we’re asking you to do in this issue to win FREE dining is the following:
1) Tell us your FIVE (5) Favorite Restaurants located in Wesley Chapel (WC) — in zip codes 33543, 33544 & 33545, plus locations on Wesley Chapel Blvd. & S.R. 54 in Lutz between WC Blvd. & Oak Grove Blvd. Please do NOT include ANY restaurants located in New Tampa’s 33647 zip code on the WC (top left) entry form HERE.
2) For another chance to win, tell us your FIVE (5) Favorite Restaurants located in New Tampa (NT) — in zip code 33647, plus locations on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. and E. Bearss Ave. from BBD west to Livingston Ave. in zip code 33613. Please do NOT include ANY restaurants located in Wesley Chapel’s three zip codes on the NT entry form HERE.
3) For yet another chance to win, tell us your Favorite Pizza Place AND your Favorite Latin (but NOT Mexican) Restaurant in New Tampa or Wesley Chapel on the entry form HERE.
3) And for still one more chance to win, tell us your Favorite Thai restaurant AND your Favorite Indian Restaurant in New Tampa or Wesley Chapel on the entry form HERE.
You’ll receive one entry into our random drawings to win up to $200 in FREE dining at the restaurant of your choice located anywhere in the Tampa Bay area for each correctly-filled-out entry form you submit!
HERE ARE OUR OTHER RULES!
1) DO NOT write the name of your one favorite place in WC or NT in more than one Top-5 space on their respective entry forms. Only its first-place vote will count.
2)In order for your votes to count and help your favorite restaurants, you must include your real first AND last name, the community you live in (Palm Cove, Williamsburg, etc.), your daytime phone number where I can reach you (which I will only call if your name is selected to win a prize) and your valid email address.
4) This year’s FREE dining prizes include the Grand Prize of $200, as well as prizes of $100, $75, $50 & $25. — GN
The Grounds Of The Late Local Artist Lewis VanDercar’s Home Will Host The ‘Spookfest’ On Oct. 3; Tours To Continue All Month
Christine & Bobby VanDercar will open up the grounds of the late surrealist artist Lewis VanDercar’s “The Warlock House Enchantment” for a family-friendly “Spookfest” on Oct. 3, and for “Warlock House Statuary Night Tours” every Tuesday & Friday night in October.Photos by Charmaine George
Lewis VanDercar (Photo Source: TheWarlockHouse.com)
Unless you live in Wesley Chapel’s Quail Hollow area, you may not be aware that at the northwestern end of where Quail Hollow Blvd. ends and becomes Queen Sago Pl., a renowned surrealist artist and self-proclaimed warlock named Lewis VanDercar built a domed house in 1973 that looks like something out of a storybook.
VanDercar, who passed away in the house in 1988 at the age of 75, called his eight-acre property “Enchantment,” and the house passed to his daughter Muggins, who still lives there with her son Bobby and his wife Christine VanDercar.
For the 15 or so years VanDercar lived on the property, he transformed it with dozens of his own weird, spooky-looking statues and sculptures, unconventional architecture and gardens.
VanDercar also was known for throwing wild private parties every Halloween night, a tradition that Bobby and Christine have revived. But this year, for the first time ever, the property now known as “The Warlock House Enchantment” also will be opened to the public on Saturday, October 3, 2 p.m.-6 p.m., for “Spookfest,” a family-friendly event where, according to Christine, “children will explore different areas of the property with Warlock Apprentice Passports, meet characters, collect stamps, play games, make crafts and discover art and history, and ultimately, complete their passport adventures for a prize.”
Bobby VanDercar shows us his grandfather’s statue of Buddha.
She adds that throughout October, “We’re also offering small Warlock House Statuary Night Tours every Tuesday and Friday at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m., allowing visitors to experience Lewis’ artwork, statuary, architecture and stories beneath the trees after dark.”
But, Christine says, “The events are really just the timely reason to tell what we think is the more interesting story: that a piece of old Wesley Chapel is still here.
“Our family is working to preserve Lewis VanDercar’s legacy while once again making the property a living part of the community rather than simply something hidden behind the gates.”
Muggins, Bobby and Christine have archival photographs of Lewis and the property, and family members will be available to share stories about Lewis and the earlier days of Wesley Chapel.
Photographer Charmaine George and I got to tour not only the property but also inside the house — which will not be open to the public for any of the events. The walls inside the home are adorned with surrealist art painted by Lewis, as well as many of his press clippings from throughout his career, which began in Miami in the late 1930s, when he worked as an animator (drawing Popeye cartoons) before serving as a merchant seaman in the Merchant Marine during World War II.
One of the wild peacocks roaming the grounds of The Warlock House Enchantment.
According to TheWarlockHouse.com, he also transformed that house in Miami’s Morningside neighborhood “with his cement sculptures, grotesque gargoyles, mythical creatures and faces of every age and culture peering from the walls. Visitors (including neighborhood kids) were free to explore this whimsical menagerie of art.”
The website also says, “VanDercar liked to style himself as a warlock and clairvoyant… he cheerfully claimed to have mysterious powers like ESP and levitation…He placed outrageous Classified ads in The Miami Herald offering a ‘pet poltergeist’ for sale” and other absurd hoaxes.
“In 1973, at the height of his fame, VanDercar left Miami in search of quieter surroundings,” settling in the home where Muggins, Bobby and Christine now live (photo below).
Christine, Bobby & Muggins VanDercar with one of Lewis’ dragon sculptures.
“The driveway is lined with stone walls carved into eerie faces, and odd statues (dragons, tiki heads and mythical figures). He was literally painting up until days before his death. In his own words, he had spent ‘30 years and died doing what he liked — a fulfilled artist’s life.’”
“The Warlock House Enchantment still stands as a folk-art landmark. Visitors to the property can see first-hand the fading but magical world he built.”
Christine says that despite the spooky nature of the statues, “There is no warlock or black magic here. The ‘Spookfest’ will not be scary for children. We believe they will love it here!”
Please note that the grounds are beautiful but rustic and Charmaine and I can attest to the fact that there are mosquitoes present, as well as some wild (live) peacocks and a parrot.
The Warlock House Enchantment is located at 25950 Queen Sago Pl. The “Spookfest on Saturday, October 3, 2 p.m.-6 p.m., will be a family-friendly Halloween adventure filled with magical villages, interactive activities, peculiar characters, crafts, games, live entertainment, food, vendors and surprises around every corner. Costumes are encouraged. Tickets cost $15 for adults, $10 for kids ages 10+ and kids under age 10 are admitted free. For more info and to purchase tickets, visit TheWarlockHouse.com/warlock-family-spookfest-wesley-chapel.
And please tell Christine, Bobby and Muggins that you read about them in the Neighborhood News!
The gate you will enter if you attend the “Spookfest” on Oct. 3.
Those of you who have met me are probably aware that I’m an excitable guy. I get all worked up whether I’m talking about my family, the Tampa Bay Lightning, new restaurants, new businesses, new developments and events happening in our area.
One of the events that I am super-pumped to be able to announce in this space is the upcoming first-ever “Taste of North Tampa Bay.”
North Tampa Bay Chamber president & CEO Hope Kennedy actually was the one who first made the announcement about the Taste (photo) — which is now scheduled for Saturday, March 13, 2027, at Saddlebrook Resort — but it was to such a small group of people at a VIP Chamber event at Saddlebrook on Sept. 17 that I still feel like I’m getting to be the first to announce it to (potentially) a large group of locals.
And, Hope, new Saddlebrook VP of business & partnerships Freddie Wyatt and Jannah and I are thrilled to be planning the Taste on the beautiful grounds of the recently revamped resort.
As I did for more than two decades for the Taste of New Tampa, I will be handling the procurement of restaurants and ongoing promotion for what promises to be a huge event — with Freddie bringing in musical acts and possibly even some celebrity chefs, while also helping Jannah and Hope’s crack Chamber team with bringing in sponsors and vendors.
Having the event at Saddlebrook will certainly make my job easier. Without even making any effort yet, we already can count on the resort’s delicious RARE 1981 steakhouse, The GOAT sports bar, BREW coffee shop and Palmhaus outdoor grill to be providing samples for the event. I also plan to hit not only every restaurant in Wesley Chapel and New Tampa but also many outside of our direct area — from Dade City to South Tampa and from Lutz/Land O’Lakes to Dunedin, Tarpon Springs and New Port Richey.
“We’ve got 484 acres of land here,” Freddie said at our recent first organizational meeting for the Taste. “We can fit as many restaurants on these grounds as you can get, Gary.”
And of course, Saddlebrook has its own on-site transportation, so we can even spread out the restaurants, sponsor and vendor booths.
We haven’t yet finalized any of the pricing to attend the event, but we are definitely planning to have “General Admission” and “VIP” tickets that will be all-inclusive for food and even adult beverages. We may even try to include some packages with overnight stays at the resort. Can we include golf? Tennis? Pickleball? Spa services? Why not? It’s all there at Saddlebrook!
We also have not yet settled on the cost to have a basic vendor table, nor have we fixed the pricing yet for the various levels of sponsorship, but trust me, we’re working on all of it and, as soon as we know, you all will be the next to know.
Freddie asked me how many people we can expect to attend this shindig. I told him I had no idea — not only has there not been a Taste of New Tampa since before the Covid-19 pandemic, but the crowd at the last Taste — in 2019 — was estimated at about 2,000 people.
Even so, I know we had anywhere from 5,000-8,000 attendees at previous events and, with Saddlebrook as the venue and the number of restaurants in just our two distribution areas alone having more than doubled since then, I believe that anywhere from 50-80 restaurants (I think my record for food and beverage participants in years past was 57) and 5,000-10,000 people could easily be on hand for this first Taste — with a portion of all net proceeds being donated to local charities.
As restaurants, sponsors and business vendors commit to be part of this one-day party (that Hope says she hopes to extend to both days of a weekend in the future), you will see ongoing updates in our Wesley Chapel and New Tampa print issues, as well as on our website (NeighborhoodNewsOnline.net) and our “Neighborhood News” Facebook and Instagram pages.
In the meantime, if you are or know a restaurant or business owner who may be interested in participating in the first-ever Taste of North Tampa Bay, please email me at Ads@NTNeighborhoodNews.com. You also can call our office number at (813) 910-2575. Or, call the North Tampa Bay Chamber office at (813) 994- 8534 or email office@northtampabaychamber.com. But please, do NOT call or contact Saddlebrook about the Taste!
