Fr. David Says Goodbye

It was his last mass, but it felt like his first one.

The pews at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church were filled. Everyone was eager to hear what he was going to say. And, the nerves and emotions were almost overwhelming.

“It was pulling me in all kinds of different directions,’’ Father David DeJulio said.

After 16 years of leading St. Mark’s through massive growth and the construction of a new church, making hundreds of friends in the community and helping even more families, Fr. David said goodbye on June 30 to a congregation that has grown from 2,100 families when he came to the church to more than 3,800 as he departs.

He was pleased with his homily, which challenged parishioners to hold steady as they follow Christ, despite the ever-growing plague of distractions. Towards the end of the eucharist prayer, as the end of his time at St. Mark’s drew nearer, he started fighting back those emotions.

Tampa City Council member Luis Viera presented Fr. David with a city commendation, leading to a rousing 45-second standing ovation. When Fr. David tried to bring the mass to a close, his staff 

interrupted him and presented him with a plaque.

“I lost it there at the end,” Fr. David confessed. 

After gathering himself, he followed a procession of altar boys and deacons and, for the last time as their priest, walked past rows of the adoring St. Mark congregants for the final time.

”I’m not really thrilled about leaving,” Fr. David said afterwards, “but when God tells you you gotta go, you gotta go.”

He is headed north (but not too far) to St. Frances Xavier of Cabrini in Spring Hill, only 15 minutes from where his twin brother Frankie’s family lives.

Fr. David will essentially trade parishes with Rev. Richard Jankowski, who has been at St. Frances of Cabrini for 13 years.

It’s the next stop on Fr. David’s journey, which began at the age of 5, when he says he first knew the church is where he wanted to be.

It wasn’t until he was 27, however, that he entered the seminary. He graduated with a finance degree from the University of South Florida, making the long drive to classes from his family’s home in Holiday, FL.

He took a job at a bank in St. Petersburg, a job he said he truly enjoyed. But, that feeling he got in church as a kid never went away.

“It kept haunting me,” he says.

His first year in the seminary, he wasn’t so sure he made the right choice. He thought about quitting after one semester. He had been living with his girlfriend in an apartment in St. Petersburg and was in control of his life. But, when he entered the seminary, he wasn’t.

“My first year was tough,” he says. “I just really didn’t like it.”

He knew he had faith, but wondered what kind. In the end, it turned out to be a determined, resilient and unbending faith, the same kind of faith he implores his parishioners to strive for every day.

It is Fr. David’s style, which is described as easy-going, funny but still somewhat stern, that made him a popular fixture in New Tampa.

Among the first families he met when he came to St. Mark’s were Richard and Nancy Larson. Nancy was the liturgist at St. Mark’s, and Frankie contacted her about planning a party for the installation of his brother, the new priest.

The party was held at Hunter’s Green Country Club, in the community where Fr. David has lived in a home the church uses as its rectory.

Richard and Fr. David became instant friends, as did dozens of others from Hunter’s Green who joined Fr. David’s Bible study group that would meet weekly at his home. Fr. David would teach, and afterwards, there would be wine and food and cigars.

“He built my faith and he made me a much stronger person,” Richard says. “He did that to our whole group.”

Many, Richard says, weren’t even members at St. Mark’s, but Fr. David still brought them home, too.

“He was so good at evangelizing and bringing people back to the church,” Richard says. “He was just a regular guy. I think that appealed to a lot of people.”

Fr. David golfed with the group — he says his handicap is currently a 13 — and the more time he spent with those who had stopped going to church, the more those people started going again.

When they found out Fr. David was leaving, the group pitched in and bought him a membership to Southern Hills Plantation in Brooksville, 10 miles from his new church, so he could continue to spread God’s word to new friends while working on that handicap. 

After Fr. David’s final mass Sunday, he was greeted in the courtyard by Noel and Nellie Negron, whose eyes welled with tears as they thanked their longtime priest for bringing them back into the church.

Noel has been a member for 23 years, but hasn’t always been a regular churchgoer.

“I went when I felt like it,” he said. “When I met Fr. David, he brought me back. (Now) there isn’t a Sunday I miss. I love coming to church.”

Nellie recalled a story about the time her granddaughter Olivia saw Fr. David walking alone across the field next to the church, and asked if that was Jesus.

“I will always remember that story,” she said, smiling. “I love him. I am going to miss him.”

The Negrons have already been to his new church, and plan on stopping in for a mass here and there.

Richard says he will do the same, as, he suspects, many others who knew Fr. David also will do. He joked that he will definitely see Fr. David again, “because I made him promise he would do my funeral.”

Priests usually serve 12 years at one church, but Father David was given 16, so he could spend some time enjoying the church he helped to build.

Fr. David was named pastor at St. Mark’s in 2003, preaching from the Family Life Center the church flock was quickly outgrowing. He envisioned a spiritual center for New Tampa, a place for families to come together in prayer. A fund-raising campaign was started, and the although the economic downturn in 2008 forced a delay, on June 6, 2015, the $10.1-million, 35,000-sq.-ft. sanctuary was dedicated. 

Today, the church is only $1.5 million from paying off a $5-million loan to finish it.

“It’s kind of a slip of the tongue to say it’s “my place,” but I feel connected here,” Fr. David says proudly. I spent half my priesthood here. It’s always going to have a special place in my heart, wherever I am.”

Father David will always be remembered for his stewardship over the sanctuary project, which he credits as a testament to the “tremendous sacrifices on the part of parishioners.”

But, it’s just a small part of the legacy he hopes he leaves behind.

“Obviously buildings are important, but what happened here is we created a place with a story,” he says.

He says he wants to be remembered not only for helping create a beautiful structure to worship in, but also for what has happened inside it. He is proud that St. Mark has been a place where families feel welcome, where you’re greeted by four or five people before you even got to your seat, where he challenged his parishioners’ faith and helped guide them through both happy and difficult times.

He fostered a community that did many good things, a community that he helped connect to God through his teachings.

At the end of the day, and 16 wonderful years, it was all that he could ask.

“I started to think about him not being here, and it was a very emotional thing,” Noel said. “When you have someone you can turn to for some encouragement and leadership and someone to guide us…and now he won’t be here. He was a good shepherd for us.” 

Big Changes Coming To WaterGrass

Florida Medical Clinic will be the first of what is likely to be many businesses coming to the Promenade Business Centre.

Florida Medical Clinic (FMC) is set to be the first occupant of the long-planned Promenade Business Centre located at the Curley Rd. entrance to the WaterGrass community. But, it won’t be the last.

On June 19, Pasco’s Board of County Commissioners approved a large-scale comprehensive plan amendment, amending the Future Land Use designation for the property from TC (Town Center) to PD (Planned Development) on 77 acres at the northeast and southeast corners of the Curley Rd. intersection with Overpass Rd.

The Promenade Business Centre PD will consist of an employment center within the WaterGrass Master Planned Unit Development (MPUD). The business park concept, according to the background summary, “proposes mixed-use development that incorporates office, retail and multi-family/townhomes with a focus on Business Park uses that encourages target industry job creation.”

The Promenade Business Centre would add roughly 1.2 million square feet of corporate business park uses, including for such things as medical clinics, corporate headquarters, research and development facilities and business accessory retail (like food service within an office complex) uses.

The development may also feature multi-story buildings that would incorporate uses such as cafeterias, restaurants, banks, health or fitness facilities, meeting rooms, co-working spaces, off-street parking and on-site day care facilities, according to the summary.

The parcels proposed for the business center also would include two parks and Pasco Fire Rescue Station 38, a 10,843-sq.ft. facility which broke ground last year and is expected to open this fall.

A new charter school, next to Station 38, also is in the concept plans. 

FMC’s Latest Foray Into WC

The Florida Medical Clinic WaterGrass Medical Building is set to begin construction later this year and will open in late 2020, says Barbara Kininmonth, VP of sales and marketing for Crown Community Development (also the primary developer of Seven Oaks). 

The two-story, 30,000-sq.-ft. facility is needed in the quickly growing area, Kininmonth says. “There is going to be a variety of things at the front of WaterGrass,” she says. “Florida Medical Clinic really wanted to be at that location with all the new housing coming to the area. We thought there would be good support for that.”

FMC also has two major nearby complexes: 60,000 sq. ft. on S.R. 54 in Land O’Lakes and the newer, 85,00-sq.-ft. complex  just south of AdventHealth Wesley Chapel on Bruce B. Downs Blvd.

Kininmonth also says that the rest of the Promenade Business Centre tenants will be market-driven.

The WaterGrass community recently held its Grand Opening for Phase III, the latest residential offering, with seven neighborhoods and builders Meritage Homes, D.R. Horton, Taylor Morrison and Vitale Homes.

Phase III will be the last single-family-home phase of the community, which currently has 800 residents, a number which will swell to 1,900 when WaterGrass is built out.

Promenade Park in Phase III, which sits on four acres and Kininmonth calls a “unique” amenity, also is close to opening. 

“Everything is meant to be family-centric,” she says, adding that Phase III will be completely private and gated, and will include a resort-style pool, large splash pad, shaded picnic area, open playfield, two dog parks (one for large dogs, and another for smaller dogs), a playground and a pavilion with luxury seating and WiFi where parents can relax within view of the playground and splash pad.

“The market in Florida, in Wesley Chapel in particular, has been very very strong and growing,” Kininmonth says. “A lot of exciting things are happening in Pasco, and we’re glad to be here.”

Time To Take Out The Trash!

Those blue bins still have Pasco County District 2 commissioner Mike Moore seeing red.

Moore is renewing an old fight against donation bins that seem to be a breeding ground for mini-junkyards, as a recent spate of trash dumpings have pushed him to ask for stiffer rules and harsher penalties.

Moore, who originally pushed to enact an ordinance passed in 2016 making it harder to leave unmanned bins scattered around the county, is rolling his sleeves back up. The Seven Oaks resident’s district serves most of Wesley Chapel, and one recurrent dumping ground on S.R. 56 just east of I-75 has him particularly unhappy.

“When we did that (ordinance in 2016), a bunch of them did go away,” says Moore. “It wasn’t as bad. But now that the dust has settled, they have been starting to reappear all over the place.”

That may not be much of a surprise. The 2016 ordinance required that those operating the donation bins apply for a permit, which entailed producing a site plan and receiving written permission from the landowner, as well as a regular pick-up schedule to be followed.

And how many bin operators have applied for a permit since then?

“Zero,” says Moore.

Three of the dumping locations — there are many all across the county, Moore says — that have gained a lot of attention among Neighborhood News readers the past month are in Wesley Chapel, including one near his home.

A pair of bins placed across the street from the Wesley Chapel Mini car dealership near the Texas Roadhouse restaurant, and another near the Sam’s Club (also on S.R. 56) have been attracting items not intended as donations.

Photo: Dan Ballman (Facebook)

Resident Dan Ballman posted the photo above on the Wesley Chapel Community Facebook page on June 9 pleading for an answer to the illegal dumping problem, with a two pictures of the dumping site between Texas Roadhouse and TD Bank.

One picture, he wrote, was taken on May 26, and the second was taken two weeks later, after the junk pile had doubled in size.

A dresser, at least five couches, six mattresses, a television set and what appears to be a dishwasher can be seen in the pictures. it looked as if enough items were dropped off to fully furnish a one-bedroom apartment. 

Facebook page members have called the dumpers “lazy,” “horrible” and “disgusting,” while suggesting that the county install cameras in certain hot spots to catch the lawbreakers in the act.

Moore says the county already has asked code enforcement and the Pasco Sheriff’s Office to investigate, and said cameras have been placed at other locations he cannot reveal.

Moore said some bins have been seized as evidence for potential criminal proceedings. Although the bins are labeled for charitable donations, the commissioner thinks they are full-fledged businesses cashing in.

“Companies are collecting textiles to be reimbursed for it, to sell it,” Moore says. “Some say they give a portion of the funds to charity. We can’t confirm or deny that, because when you call the number on the bin, there’s no answer.”

While the bins themselves — which are not picked up in a timely fashion and are often overflowing — are a problem, District 1 commissioner Ron Oakley pointed out that those dumping items with no intention of putting anything in a bin also are an issue. 

Commissioner Moore, however, said it is the bins themselves that begin the process of sites turning into junkyards. Commissioner Kathryn Starkey called the bins “magnets” for junk haulers to unload their stuff.

Moore said he suspects some of the junk dumpers are professionals who get paid to haul away large items but then decide to unload it somewhere other than the nearest junkyard — the Pasco County Transfer Station (PCTS) at 9626 Handcart Rd. in Dade City — to avoid paying a fee.

The PCTS charges $2.96 for every 100 pounds dumped.

When the county has to clean up these eyesores, it is at the taxpayers’ expense, Moore says.

On May 21 at a Board of County Commissioners meeting in New Port Richey, Moore suggested that the county ban unmanned collection bins altogether, which would affect legitimate collection bins like those used for recycling and those used by churches. County assistant attorney Kristi Sims said that the county would “quite definitely” be sued.

“I cannot stand up here and tell you we will win,” Sims said.

What the county has done is that it has begun monitoring various sites and seizing bins, and some sites that have been cleared out have since been repopulated with more bins — or more junk. 

The county also sent 40 letters to property owners where the bins are being placed, asking if they had given permission; 15 of those letters involved bins from one company.

About 20 have responded, “and not a single one has said they gave permission,” Moore said.

Those who haven’t replied have until July 1 to do so.

Sims suggested that Moore hold off on pushing for a ban and allow for renewed enforcement efforts this summer to take hold. “Let’s see how this shakes out,” she said.

Moore said the county needs to end the problem as soon as possible. He is promoting strict enforcement of the ordinance and stiff penalties — including third-degree felony charges for dumping more than 500 pounds (or 100 cubic feet in volume), which carries with it up to five years in prison.

“I’m frustrated,” Moore said, “That’s why we’re taking it to next level. Now, we’re going to go out, and we’re going to catch them. We’re going to prosecute (them). We need to catch a few of them, and if they meet the criteria for a felony, they are going to be in bad shape.”

The Lagoon Review: Pricey, But Definitely Worth Checking Out!

Since opening its gates to the public, the Crystal Lagoons® amenity at Epperson Ranch has been a hot topic in and around Wesley Chapel.

Depending upon who you listen to, it’s the world’s greatest amenity, or just a glorified community swimming pool; it’s a great day out with the family, or a money pit; it’s just like the beach, or a charmless knockoff.

Nothing seems to fire up the locals more than lagoon talk. And, while we’re not here to settle the debate, after spending a day there with the wife, two teen-age boys and some friends, I can say this: While pricey, it’s definitely worth checking out.

First off, the lagoon is not an amusement park. It isn’t Adventure Island, a comparison some derisively make. It isn’t a river, it isn’t a lake and it isn’t a beach.

If you plan to look at the Crystal Lagoon through any of those prisms, you will be disappointed.

Here, however, is what it is: a pretty cool and unique nearby getaway with sand, palm trees, crystal clean water and enough food, drink, music and activities to entertain your family for most of a full day.

If you live in Epperson, congratulations. It is a fantastic amenity, and for $25 a month, I say it’s well worth it. It’s a slam dunk, really, unless you’re one of the residents unhappy that the public is taking up some of that beach space, but someone has to pay for the lagoon maintenance until many more of the 4,000 planned homes in Epperson are built and occupied.

If you don’t live in Epperson, your perspective may differ (but remember, it wasn’t built for you).

It is $25 per person to visit, but only $5 if you go with a resident (so make some friends while you’re there!).

The $25 gets you in the door and, if you get there early enough, a spot on the beach, as well as access to the swimming areas of the lagoon. 

We heard no complaints about the refreshingly chilly water — now that the summer weather is turning all of our smaller pools into oversized bath tubs — but we did hear a few requests for more, or larger, swimming areas. Parts of the lagoon are roped off for the water obstacle course known as Wibit, and to make room for paddleboarders and kayakers to make their way around the lagoon. The swimming areas did seem a bit small, but that probably all depends upon the size of the crowds the day you visit.

The water is everything developers said it would be — clean, clear and refreshing. The beach area was filled with folks relaxing in chairs, enjoying a beverage and working on their tans. Because the surrounding areas aren’t fully landscaped, the lagoon can feel a bit sterile, but there were a lot of happy faces and energy in the crowds. You may miss the expanse, the salty air and the waves lapping at your feet while walking in the cool sand along the shore of an actual beach, but otherwise, the lagoon does a pretty good impression. 

We did wish there was more shade, but personal umbrellas are not allowed. If you can’t find a seat with some respite from the sun, there are shaded areas — in what is called “premium seating” — a few steps away from the beach that will cost you $12 for two chairs and an umbrella, and $20 for four chairs and an umbrella. It’s a gorgeous area, and is a purchase we agreed will be well worth it on our next visit. 

The a la carte pricing at the lagoon — yes, even for residents, although they get a discount — can make for an expensive day, and some will find it annoying.

The slide will cost you $10 for the day, not a bad deal for those who plan on using it over and over. A rock wall, which wasn’t open the day we went, costs the same. And the Wibit, which was a huge hit with the teenage boys and everyone else who tried it, is available for $10 for a 45-minute session. 

You can buy all three together for $20, which will save you some money, but you might want to skip the rock wall and save your money for an extra session on the Wibit, pictured here (left).

Kayaks and paddleboards are available to rent for $10 an hour. Those who are serious about each might want to skip both — there’s none of the waves, scenery and wildlife that makes saltwater or whitewater kayaking and paddleboarding fun — but it’s great for those who don’t often get the chance and the always-calm waters make it ideal for first-timers. 

For example, we have friends who will spend seven hours on Crystal River paddleboarding, and we told them the lagoon might not be for them. But another friend, who is convinced alligators, sharks and snakes will devour her and her family if she joins us on a river one weekend, went to the lagoon a week later on our recommendation and rented a paddleboard and kayak and absolutely loved it, with plans to return every chance they get this summer.

The lagoon does not allow outside food, although you can bring your own water. We brought a large thermos, but were shocked to see bottles of water on sale for only $1. There also were $5 mimosa and bloody Mary specials, beers were between $4-$6 and things like hot dogs ($3) and nachos ($4) were very reasonably priced. 

Tampa Sammich, one of the popular food trucks that rotate in and out at the lagoon, was selling Cuban sandwiches — and they were quite tasty — and other grilled sandwiches for $9, grilled cheese and chicken wraps for $6, and canned and bottled sodas for only $2.

Perhaps we have been scarred by the ridiculous prices at concession stands at sporting events — raise your hand if you’ve ever bought a $15 beer — but we found the food and drink at the lagoon to be a bargain, and certainly much cheaper than we anticipated.

The lagoon also has a stage for live bands and DJs, although nothing was playing the day we attended, and a shaded, sunken bar that also offers not only reasonably priced drinks but also great respite from the heat.

One minor nit: the artificial green grass in parts of the lagoon gets amazingly hot, so watch your step. We learned our lesson when starting a game of cornhole. 

So, is the lagoon pricey? A little. A family of four that decides to partake in all or most of the activities, and then grab lunch, will spend at least $200. That’s an expensive day trip. 

But, bypassing the 45-minute drive to one of our Bay-area beaches, missing the traffic and parking hunt and not having to lug your chair and cooler across the sand might make it a more convenient option at times.

The lagoon may never replace the beach, or a river or lake, or Adventure Island, but it’s not trying for that anyway.

It is what it has been advertised as — a first-of-its-kind-in-the-U.S. amenity designed to sell thousands of homes and keep those local residents entertained.

Is it worth a visit? You bet, if just to say you’ve been to the lagoon.

We have. And, as everyone in our group agreed — we’ll be back.

BayScape Bistro At Heritage Isles — Best-Kept Secret No More!

The husband-and-wife team of Eddie and Lourdes Bujarski have helped hundreds of young people learn how to safely prepare and cook food from all over the world during their 18 years of running the Culinary Arts Program at New Tampa’s Wharton High. 

That era ended at Wharton in December of 2017, after the Bujarskis took over the newly revamped restaurant at the Heritage Isles Golf Club the month before. When Eddie told me that during my most recent visit to their BayScape Bistro, I wondered why they continued to work at Wharton even though they had already taken the reins at the open-to-the-public eatery inside Heritage Isles.

“Well, when you’re a teacher,” Eddie told me, “you definitely feel obligated to finish out the semester. We couldn’t just leave those kids like that.”

That kind of commitment to their students is the same dedication the Bujarskis have brought not only to BayScape Bistro, but also to the local community — especially the residents of Heritage Isles.

“We found that the residents weren’t really eating at the restaurant unless they were golfers,” Eddie says. “Lourdes and I decided that we would have to change that to be successful here.”

And, change that they have. Although BayScape Bistro has a simple and not overly diverse menu, the menu items are all made with the same commitment to quality the Bujarskis tried to instill in their culinary students, many of whom have gone on to post-secondary cooking schools like the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) and Johnson & Wales University, and on to professional culinary careers.

In addition, at least 20 of those former students have worked at BayScape Bistro and several of them have told me how much they appreciate the Bujarskis’ no-nonsense approach to the restaurant business. 

“They really know what they’re doing,” says Tristan, a former Wharton culinary student now working on his four-year culinary degree at Johnson & Wales while he hones his craft at BayScape Bistro. Tristan was the amazing young chef creating unique, made-to-order pasta dishes during BayScape’s recent Thursday night all-you-can-eat (for only $10 per person; $5 for kids under age 10!) sauté station, one of the restaurant’s newer “Daily Signatures”..  

I can assure you that the smell of fresh garlic being heated in oil is enough to get you to try the pasta station, which gives you options like tender, grilled chicken, mojo pork, bacon, fresh spinach, tomatoes and much more, with your choice of pastas and a hearty marinara or creamy Alfredo sauce — or try it “Gary’s Way” (registered trademark pending), with just the garlic and oil.

According to BayScape’s online menu, Monday is “Sauté Night,” but Eddie says it has been so popular that the night Jannah and I were there (Thursday is also Trivia Night at BayScape) was the “tryout” for Thursday.

Tuesday is “Take-Out Tuesday,” where Eddie, Lourdes and their staff create different-each-week to-go packages which feed a family of four — for only $20! I unfortunately missed the recent fried chicken Takeout Tuesday, but Eddie promised me there will be more.

Wednesday is Ladies NIght (with $1 glasses of wine for the ladies), but it also is “Wings Wednesday,” where anyone can get six Buffalo or mojo wings for only $5.

On Fiesta Friday, which was mine and Jannah’s first experience with Eddie’s loyal crowd of super-fun regulars who come for dinner and stay for karaoke, you can enjoy tacos, fajitas and other Mexican favorites. It was our Fiesta Friday visit that convinced us to have both my birthday party in January and my “Gary’s 25 Years of Neighborhood News” celebration in April at BayScape, and I heard no complaints about the catering-style food at either of those events.

Saturday is “Live Music Night,” with a rotating lineup of artists and groups performing. Eddie says it’s also the night where he usually serves a steak or, occasionally, a fresh fish feature entrée, although he admits he hasn’t yet found a supplier with the kind of fresh fish he wants at the right price.

Sunday is “Family Night,” where one kid eats for free for each adult entrée purchased. The kids also are kept entertained with indoor games.

Jannah and I also have other favorites at BayScape, from the BayScape chef salad (with mojo pork, chicken and bacon and what Jannah says is the best ranch dressing around); the French dip sandwich with real au jus for dipping; the same tender roast beef also is available as a dinner plate with brown gravy; the grilled chicken club sandwich and the BayScape Cuban.  There’s even a grilled veggie and cheese sandwich on the menu.

Breakfast, Too?

The picture above is the best breakfast I’ve had in New Tampa or Wesley Chapel. The thick-cut brioche French toast with two eggs perfectly over easy and the tastiest thick-cut bacon around with truly amazing cottage-fried potatoes and super- fresh (and delicious) fruit costs only $9.99. If you don’t need the French toast, the cost is only $7.99 with regular toast! 

And, best of all, breakfast is served all day, so you can even have it for dinner if you have such a craving. Other breakfast dishes to try are the meat-lover’s hash, country fried chicken & eggs with pepper gravy, the “breakfast in hand” sandwich, pancake breakfast, create-your-own omelets and even a yogurt parfait with fresh fruit and house-made granola.

Still More To Come!

Eddie and Lourdes promise that more items will be added to BayScape Bistro’s unique menu, based on customer demand and boy, considering the place hasn’t yet been open for two years, there are a lot of regular customers enjoying the restaurant and bar, which has some of the most reasonable premium alcohol mixed drink prices around.

Friday karaoke nights are always packed and most of the main portion of the restaurant was full for Trivia Thursday. And, with Takeout Tuesdays averaging at least 50 family-of-four meals every week, it’s obvious that Eddie and Lourdes are building something special in New Tampa, even though Heritage Isles is almost at the Morris Bridge Rd. eastern end of Cross Creek Blvd.

And, keep reading the Neighborhood News for more info about a family-oriented Back-to-School Business Expo, in conjunction with the North Tampa Bay Chamber, coming sometime in August! There will be food, games for the kids and booths available for kid-oriented business sponsors.

BayScape Bistro at Heritage Isles (10630 Plantation Bay Dr.) opens at 9 a.m. for breakfast (8 a.m. on Sat. & Sun.) and stays open for lunch & dinner until 9 p.m. (10 p.m. on Fri. & Sat.).

For info, call (813) 994-3445, visit BayScapeFlorida.com or see the ad on pg. 39 of this issue.