The Glazer Children’s Museum — A Fun Place To Go With Your Kids This Summer! 

(Photos by Gary Nager)

So, with still three weeks left before the end of the sweltering summer and your younger kids have to go back to school, where can you take them for a fun day — any day — in air-conditioned comfort? 

I suggest a trip to the Glazer Children’s Museum, located in the heart of downtown Tampa’s Arts District, right near the Straz Center for the Performing Arts and the Tampa Museum of Art. 

If your kids love The Very Hungry Caterpillar and other books by Eric Carle, the Glazer Children’s Museum in downtown Tampa is hosting the traveling “Very Eric Carle: A Very Hungry, Quiet, Lonely, Clumsy, Busy Exhibit” through September 8. 

I had two reasons for wanting to visit the Glazer Museum. The first was that Jannah and I were going to be babysitting our young grandchildren — 4-1/2-year-old Rosie and her 15-month-old brother Gio — for five days and there’s only so much pool, TV/screen and dining out time this Grammie and Grampa can handle without having something to do and Gio isn’t old enough yet to sit through a movie, much less Busch Gardens or (gulp) Disney. 

The second motivation was the fact that the museum was hosting a new traveling, temporary exhibit that first opened in May — the “Very Eric Carle: A Very Hungry, Quiet, Lonely, Clumsy, Busy Exhibit.” Even my sons, now both in their 30s, grew up being read, and then reading themselves, Carle’s most famous book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and when I saw the promotional photos for the exhibit, with giant versions of each page that kids can walk through, I thought the opportunity was too good to pass up — especially at only $18 per person. 

But, while Rosie enjoyed the Carle exhibit — especially standing in front of the butterfly wings of Carle’s transformed caterpillar and tromping through the tall grass like the author’s The Very Clumsy Click Beetle — Gio was too young to appreciate it and even Rosie found almost everything else at the museum to be more interesting — and fun! 


Even before you get inside, your kids will know a big, fun time awaits them! 

Your kids will love tromping through the tall grass like Carle’s The Very Clumsy Click Beetle. 

Gio thinks shopping carts are just so much fun, whether they have food in them or not! 
Something For Every Young’n! 

While I refuse to call them “littles,” there’s no doubt that if you have children from toddler age up to at least 6-8 years old and maybe as high as age 10, there truly are many things all of them will enjoy at the Glazer Children’s Museum. 

On the first floor of the Glazer Children’s Museum, there are fun activities that involve water, lights and sound. In addition to the Eric Carle exhibit, the second floor has a fun “working farm” among its many exhibits that is perfect for kids from toddlers to at least ages 6-8. But, the excitement gets even bigger when you venture up to the third floor. 

On the first floor, your journey begins with “Tugboat Tots,” where the kids get to steer a mini tugboat, “fish” off a mini-pier and play “I Spy” with an ocean mural. There also is an open play space for kids ages 3 and under that Gio loved, especially the “tasty” blocks (photo left). Rosie put on a smock and played not only with gliding boats through the water, but also with light and sound on the colorful “Light Cloud” piano, which also is on the first floor. 

But, the second level was probably both of the kids’ favorite. It started with a visit to a farm, where Rosie sat on a pig statue’s back and bottle-fed it and got to “milk” a cow statue (with fairly life-like udders), while Gio gathered tomatoes and oranges in a wheelbarrow and walked around with them. 

From there, Gio spent a lot of time checking out the “Safety Village,” where he could put groceries at the Publix supermarket in a shopping cart (he thought the empty cart, above, was super-fun, too!), sit in a fire truck at the firehouse and play with stuffed animals at the “Vet Clinic.” Rosie first checked out the Eric Carle exhibit and then flew off to the two-story-tall, fully-enclosed “Water’s Journey Climber,” where she climbed way up high (tentatively at first, but she caught on fast) and then loved the journey back down even more! 

Rosie also got very into the “Family Play Project” area, where she cut and pasted different paper and fabric swatches to create a unique artwork. 

Both kids enjoyed the “Twinkle Stars Theater,” where Rosie tried on costumes and Gio loved banging the buttons that controlled the lights and sound on the theater’s stage. 

Rosie then found the “Vet Clinic,” where she looked at pretend X-rays of some stuffed animals and then took time to properly groom them with a blow drying hose. 

Rosie also felt like a big girl while sliding down the fire pole at the firehouse and watching her skeleton move along with her on “Skelevision” at the “Hospital” sponsored by St. Joseph’s Hospital. 

Among her favorite exhibits on the second floor, though, were the “Pizza Place” — where she created and “cooked” a pizza of her own design in the oven that looks hot, but isn’t — and the “Ice Cream Parlour,” where she made a two-scoop cone for Grampa and a cup of ice cream with toppings for Grammie. 

On To Big John! 

The third level of the Glazer Children’s Museum is where you’ll find “Big John,” purported to be the “world’s largest” triceratops. The 66-million-year-old fossilized dino, which is on loan for three years from Tampa-based businessman Siddhartha Pagidipati, is the focal point of the museum’s dinosaur exhibit. Big John was reportedly reconstructed in less than a week upon his arrival to the museum. 

Gio had a blast playing with the plastic dinosaurs and popping out of a dinosaur egg, while Rosie properly matched bone shapes to a small version of Big John’s skeleton. Both kids also got a kick of weighing themselves against Big John’s 10-ton weight. 

Of course, by now, the children had to visit the cute store back on the ground floor, where we bought them a mini-copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and a transparent car filled with plastic dinosaurs. 

The museum also has a great private room for hosting kids’ birthday parties. 

Hop On The Pirate Water Taxi! 

Of course, after this three-hour romp, the kids were tired and hungry and, since we parked in the lot next to the museum, we were able to walk down to the Hillsborough River at the adjacent Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park and catch a ride on the Pirate Water Taxi that took us upstream to Armature Works — only one stop away. Because we’re Florida residents, adults can stop at all 16 of the Pirate Water Taxi stops all day for $26, while children ages 2-12 can ride all day for $16 (those under age 2 ride for free). Rosie thought it was so cool that she was riding a boat since her parents were on a cruise while we were watching them! 

More About The Glazer Museum 

The 53,000-sq.-ft. Glazer Children’s Museum opened in 2010 after a $22-million capital campaign, with construction beginning in 2009. It was named in honor of the Glazer Family Foundation, which donated $5 million. The Foundation, at that time led by Edward Glazer and his brother Bryan, was founded by their father, the late Malcolm Glazer, who was the owner and president of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Manchester United Football Club. 

The Glazer Children’s Museum dates back to Tampa’s original Safety Village, located in Lowry Park, which opened in 1965. According to the museum’s website, the museum’s Mission is to “create and foster engaging, impactful PLAY experiences for children and families to learn and thrive.” Its Vision is “a community that values PLAY as the foundation for the learning and development of families across generations.” 

All I can tell you is that it is a super-fun place and a great way to spend a day with your children or grandchildren. 

The Glazer Children’s Museum is located at 110 W. Gasparilla Plaza in downtown Tampa. A “Playmaker Membership” costs just $250 ($55 tax deductible) and includes 12 months of play for up to six members, access to members-only events and other discounts. For more information, including everything about memberships and donations, call (813) 443-3861 or visit GlazerMuseum.org. For the Pirate Water Taxi, visit PirateWaterTaxi.com. 


Rosie had so much fun creating and then “baking” her pretend pizza in the oven at the museum. “Don’t worry, Grandpa,” she told me. “It only looks hot. It’s not really.” 

“Singin’ in the Rain” Is Another Hit For The Players!

I don’t know if I’d agree that it is (as some have called it) the “Greatest Musical of All Time,” but I do know that the New Tampa Players’ production of “Singin’ in the Rain” at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center (NTPAC) offers a super-fun evening (or afternoon) of entertainment!

The Neighborhood News was on hand for last night’s opening night of “Singin'” and there’s no doubt that the talented cast and crew of NTP’s production of the show — which originally was one of the first great movie musicals starring Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Donald O’Connor and Jean Hagen — do justice to this story of two Hollywood stars trying to transition from silent films to “talkies.”

With great singing and dancing by Kyle Billington in Kelly’s role as Don Lockwood, Olivia Carr in the Reynolds role of talented starlet Kathy Selden, Rhett Ricardo as Lockwood’s best friend Cosmo Brown (the role made famous by O’Connor), and the scene-stealing Melanie Bierweiler absolutely nailing the Oscar-nominated Hagen role as Lina Lamont —  the silent film star who can’t sing or dance — and an outstanding ensemble cast, 12-piece orchestra (a record for the Players) and crew, “Singin’ in the Rain” gives you plenty of value for your entertainment dollar. NTP producing artistic director Nora Paine directs and fellow Players veterans G. Frank Meekins (musical director) and Sarah Walston Pilllips (choreographer) deliver a toe-tapping, tap-dancing, rollicking good time. 

The title song, of course, is a timeless classic, but we also loved Ricardo’s “Make ‘Em Laugh,” Kyle and Olivia’s “You Were Meant for Me,” NTP vet Kyle Fisher singing “Beautiful Girls,” Olivia’s turn on “Good Morning” and the full company’s take on both “Broadway Melody” and the reprise of “Singin’ in the Rain” that closes the show.  

If you haven’t yet bought your tickets, there were seats still available for all of the following performances:

Tonight at 8 p.m.

Tomorrow (Sunday, July 20) at 3 p.m. (only a couple of single seats left)

Friday-Saturday, July 26-27, at. 8 p.m.

Saturday, July 27, at 3 p.m.

Sunday, July 28, at 3 p.m.

Visit NewTampaPlayers.org to get yours or visit the NTPAC box office at 8550 Hunters Village Rd., Tampa 33647!

Indian Street Kitchen Opens In The KRATES! 

We told you last issue that the Chicken Boss was being replaced at the KRATEs by Indian Street Kitchen, the faster-food concept from owners Harry and his brother Mike Patel from Persis Indian Grill, the instant hit that opened earlier this year next to Double Branch Brewing in the Village at The Grove. 

Well, the new Indian Street Kitchen KRATE opened just in time for the hugely popular June 28 R&B Only Night and although we didn’t end up sampling the cuisine that night, the new eatery is indeed now serving “every type of Indian street food,” as promised by the Patels.

In addition to the sticky, spicy Masala wings shown here, Indian Street Kitchen has everything from chicken nuggets and egg and spring rolls to paneer (cheese) and chicken tikka rolls, vada pav (deep-fried potato dumpling slider sandwiches), crunch corn and even Masala calamari, to name just a few — and nothing on the menu costs more than $11.99! 

The next time you visit The Grove or the KRATEs, stop in at Indian Street Kitchen (5888 Grand Oro Ln., Suite 110, Unit 34) to check out this new fast casual restaurant. And please, tell Harry and Mike that I sent you! — GN

Tampa Police & Viera To Host A Follow-Up Public Safety Town Hall On July 30 

Few answers provided, no suspects named at June 24 Town Hall, following three fatal shooting incidents in four days in New Tampa 

The room at the New Tampa Recreation Center was packed as Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw (third from left at dais) and District 7 Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera (with microphone) update the community about the two fatal shootings within a couple of days of each other in New Tampa. (Photo by Charmaine George) 

In the five days from June 17 through June 21, there were four people killed or found dead in New Tampa, in three separate shooting incidents, which prompted Tampa Police Department (TPD) Chief Lee Bercaw and District 7 Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera, himself a New Tampa resident, to co-host a Town Hall meeting at the New Tampa Recreation Center in Tampa Palms on June 24. 

Then, another incident which began on E. Bearss Ave. ended with a Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) Deputy run over by a suspect in Tampa Palms on July 5. Considering how little major crime has taken place in New Tampa in the 30 years I’ve owned the Neighborhood News, this spree of major crimes certainly has been a cause for concern for local residents. 

First, To Recap… 

On June 17, 24-year-old Kyle Prisco of Wesley Chapel was fatally shot in mid-afternoon broad daylight on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., in front of the Chase Bank in Pebble Creek. Prisco was found on the ground outside his white Mercedes. He was pronounced dead at the scene and, although Prisco’s name was not released until a few days later, the Bean Bar Co. owner Danielle Henry organized a GoFundMe campaign “to assist Kyle’s sister, Kayla, and his mother, Lisa, with any expenses related to the funeral,” which was held at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church on Cross Creek Blvd. on June 27. That campaign had raised nearly $24,000 of a $30,000 goal at our press time, with nearly 300 donations made. 

Kyle Prisco & his sister Kayla (Photo source: GoFundMe) 

Although that incident alone was shocking enough in normally peaceful New Tampa, on June 21, two people were fatally shot and a third taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries in an incident that began in front of the Portofino Apartments on New Tampa Blvd. at the front of the West Meadows community, where the body of a man was found with gunshot wounds. A short time later, Hillsborough Sheriff’s deputies found a vehicle near Bearss Ave. with the two other people with gunshot wounds, one of whom was pronounced dead. 

To cap off that one gruesome week, earlier on June 21, Tampa Police (TPD) officers found a decomposed body in a car near the Metro Self Storage adjacent to the New Tampa Nature Park on Doña Michele Dr. 

With the people of New Tampa desperate for answers about the incidents on BBD and New Tampa Blvd., no suspects had yet been arrested or even named in either of those shootings and no additional details about them have yet been released. 

Even so, Chief Bercaw said his primary reason for hosting the Town Hall — which was packed with a standing-room-only crowd of about 200 local residents — was to try to assure the public that they are safe. 

“These incidents appear to be unrelated and were not random,” Chief Bercaw said. “In the case of the shooting on New Tampa Blvd., it is believed that all of the people involved knew each other.” 

He also noted that because Prisco’s body was found on BBD, which is a county road, HCSO was leading that investigation, “but we are working feverishly, day in and day out, and closely with the Sheriff’s Department on both of these cases.”

Even so, many in the audience of New Tampa residents were wondering why no one from HCSO attended the Town Hall to provide any updates or at least show support for the event. 

Andre Aris 

“I can’t speak for them,” Chief Bercaw said when I asked that question shortly after the meeting ended, “but I assure you that we have a great working relationship with the Sheriff’s Office and are sharing all information on these cases.” 

As for the decomposed body, sometime after the June 24 Town Hall ended, it was reported that TPD had arrested and charged 29-year-old Andre Aris (photo) with the first-degree murder of the 35-year-old man who was found “in an advanced stage of decomposition” in that 2006 Dodge Charger. 

Although the dead man — whose body was riddled with bullets — was not officially identified by TPD, a lanyard hanging around the man’s neck contained a Florida driver’s license that helped investigators identify him as 35-year-old Andre Dyke. 

Those investigators learned that Dyke had been living out of his red Dodge Charger and discovered, with the help of license plate readers, that someone else had been driving the car after he died, according to a TPD report. The Dodge was found at the Hunter’s Key townhomes, an apartment complex located a few hundred feet north of where Dyke’s body was found. TPD said that Aris had recently dumped the body between Metro Self Storage and the New Tampa Nature Park. He also faces a charge of Grand Theft of a motor vehicle. 

About The Town Hall 

Councilman Viera, who has hosted dozens of Town Halls on a variety of subjects, some better attended than others, said that he found the crowd at the June 24 meeting encouraging. 

“I’m not going to say it’s a pleasure, because of why we’re all here, but it is a pleasure to see so many people here, because it obviously shows that we all want to hear from law enforcement about these incidents. It shows that the New Tampa community, which has sometimes been accused of being apathetic, will come out in force when they have major concerns about public safety.” 

With most of the speakers who asked questions of the police at the June 24 Town Hall saying they didn’t feel safe because of the sudden wave of violent crimes in New Tampa, Chief Bercaw asked for the community’s help, especially if they had any video or information that could help with the cases. 

One question asked whether “Shot Spotter” — a gunshot detection, acoustic surveillance technology that uses sensors to detect, locate and alert law enforcement agencies of possible gunfire incidents — could be brought to New Tampa, Dep. Chief Calvin Johnson, who also was at the dais answering questions, said that the technology didn’t make sense for New Tampa, “because there aren’t normally enough shooting incidents here to warrant that investment. Plus, unlike in, say, East Tampa, people here would immediately call 9-1-1 if they heard shots fired.” 

Meanwhile, although Chief Bercaw also said that TPD was close to making an arrest in the New Tampa Blvd. incident, no arrests had been announced at our press time for this issue. He added that although the lack of information coming out is troubling to the local residents who spoke at the Town Hall, “Sometimes, I want to tell but I also don’t want to compromise the case.” 

The TPD Chief also said that New Tampa has three very strong Neighborhood Watch groups and “If you’re not yet a part of one of those groups or your community doesn’t yet have one, please join or help start one. See us after this and we will provide assistance for you.” 

To that end, residents of the Ashington Estates community in Tampa Palms later sent Viera a notification that they were organizing a Neighborhood Watch for their community. 

Chief Bercaw also promised that, “This is not the end, this is the beginning.” And, true to his word, TPD and Councilman Viera already have organized a follow-up community meeting on public safety that is scheduled for Tuesday, July 30, 6 p.m., at the Compton Park clubhouse (16101 Compton Dr.), also in Tampa Palms. 

Dep. Hall Leaves TGH 
Hillsborough Sheriff’s Ofc. Dep. Kalin Hall Leaves Tampa General Hospital a day after having surgery on his broken leg after rammed by the BMW being driven by William Todd Lewis, Jr. (Photos provided by HCSO)

The incident where HCSO Deputy Kalin Hall ended up with a broken leg didn’t start in New Tampa. Shortly after midnight on July 5, the 11-year HCSO veteran stopped a suspect he wanted to question at the intersection of E. Bearss Ave. and N. Nebraska Ave. because he noticed the suspect’s black BMW was unable to stay in one lane. When the vehicle took off, Dep. Hall said he did not give chase, but ended up locating the vehicle 25 minutes later, this time backed into a parking space at the Amberly Place apartments on Plantation Oaks Dr. in Tampa Palms (off Amberly Dr, and just east of BBD). 

When Hall got out of his vehicle, the BMW rammed into him and ran over his leg. The 33-year-old deputy was treated at Tampa General Hospital for one leg that was broken in two places, a broken ankle, and a stress fracture in the other leg. 

William Todd Lewis, Jr. 

The good news in Dep. Hall’s case was that he was able to leave TGH the next day and that William Todd Lewis, Jr. 24, the suspected driver of the BMW, and two other people were arrested a few days later. 

As Lewis drove away after ramming Dep. Hall, Hillsborough Sheriff Chad Chronister said the suspect called his girlfriend and told her what had happened. He then ditched the BMW about a mile away from the scene. The girlfriend called Lewis’ mother, who picked up her son and drove him home. 

Detectives went to the home and, when they interviewed Lewis, they said he showed zero remorse and asked for an attorney. An arrest warrant was issued for Lewis, but a surveillance team had been keeping tabs on him and believed he was about to take off again. According to Chronister, the surveillance team saw Lewis and his friend get a rental car and watched them fill it with items from inside the home where Lewis was staying. 

Zachoiry Carnegie

Law enforcement officers followed Lewis as his friend drove them into Pasco County. When the pair stopped at an unidentified shopping plaza, deputies arrested both of them.

Lewis was charged with aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, possession of more than 20 serious bodily injury, reckless driving with serious bodily injury, aggravated fleeing to elude serious bodily injury or death and fleeing to elude a police officer.

Meanwhile, Lewis’ friend who was driving the rental car, 24-year-old Zachoiry Carnegie, was charged with having a baggie of Xanax that didn’t belong to him. According to Chronister, Carnegie was out on bond after being arrested by the Tampa Police Department for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, which has since been upgraded to attempted murder.

Keilise Garrison

In addition, Lewis’ girlfriend, Keilise Garrison, 23, also was arrested. She was charged with accessory after the fact. She deleted all of her text messages, so she also was charged with tampering with physical evidence.

“Instead of doing the right thing, Garrison made the conscious decision to conceal Lewis’ involvement,” Sheriff Chronister said. “This choice to protect a criminal rather than uphold justice is not only deceitful but also deeply disappointing,. Her selfishly motivated actions undermined the integrity selfishly motivated actions undermined the integrity further risk. For her role in this incident, she will face the full consequences of her actions.”

Chronister also noted that he expects Lewis’ charges to be upgraded to attempted murder of a law enforcement officer and that there would be at least one more arrest in this case, but didn’t say whether or not that additional arrest would be of Lewis’ mother.

Meet Treble Makers Dueling Piano Bar & Restaurant’s New Owners 

In case you missed it, Treble Makers Dueling Piano Bar & Restaurant is now under new ownership, as Jordan and Jason Scott (top photo) have purchased the popular eatery and night spot from the former partnership trio of Lee Bevan and brothers Jamie and Joe Hess. 

Jordan and Jason, the latter of whom is an accomplished pianist and musician himself who previously booked the dueling piano players that perform every Friday and Saturday (and now Thursday night, too) at Treble Makers, formally introduced themselves to their customers on June 20. 

“We’re committed to making sure the food, service and entertainment meet and exceed your expectations,” Jason said. “We do have some menu changes coming up but first, we’re working as hard as we can to make sure you always enjoy your visit to TrebleMakers.” 

In the meantime, the restaurant’s cool robot server (below right) will still bring you the same delicious menu items (like the baked Imperial crab dip below left) many of you already know and love. And, don’t forget to try the new $8 lunch specials! 

For more information about Treble Makers (6034 Wesley Grove Blvd.), including the new $8 lunch menu items, call (813) 406-4371 or visit TrebleMakersofWC.com.