Category: New Tampa

Suncoast Arts Festival Draws Big Crowds With Eye-Catching Art

Wesley Chapel artist Alan Metzger didn’t sell any of his original art all weekend, but when he packed up Sunday at the conclusion of the 11th annual Suncoast Arts Festival (SAF) at the Shops at Wiregrass mall, he did so with plans to return.

“I thought it was a real good event,’’ said Metzger, who did sell 20-40 prints of his work, including a commemorative poster for the International Polo Club of Palm Beach for which Metzger won an award and some acclaim. “The (SAF) event was really well run, and I was impressed.”

The SAF, held on Paseo Dr. down the heart of the mall the weekend of Jan. 16-17, got a perfect day of weather on Saturday for its biggest crowds, and then survived a major overnight storm to once again pull off a successful event.

Artists came to the area from places like Satsuma, FL, Aurora, CO, and Eastham, MA, selling all kinds of fine art, jewelry and other crafts.

“I’m really pleased with how everything went,’’ said Jennifer Douglas, who owns Jennifer Lee Events, which managed this year’s SAF. “Even the bad weather (early Sunday morning) did very minimal damage. The skies cleared just in time for another gorgeous day.”

Proceeds from the festival are donated to Pasco County schools through the Fine Arts of the Suncoast’s grant program.

Eleven grants were awarded Sunday to Pasco County art students, including Wiregrass Ranch’s Darcy Fermin.

Fermin was awarded the grant so the school could work with its printing press to making etchings and linoleum carvings and create one-of-a-kind prints. Students there are researching the pros and cons of different printing press art.

Douglas said that while she wouldn’t have official attendance figures for a few weeks, in recent years the event has drawn roughly 100,000 visitors over the course of the weekend and this year’s crowds were similar to those in the past.

The festival had a free, hands-on art garden and art “makerspace,” where kids could create their own works of art. In front of the Dillard’s at the mall, sidewalk artists used chalk to create drawings of colorful frogs, a large octopus, a 3-D rendition of BB-8 (the droid from the latest “Star Wars” movie) and others.

This also was the first year the street art was a commissioned exhibit, which was sponsored by Tampa Bay Business for Culture & the Arts.

Metzger said the rough overnight weather did scatter the tent and some of the artwork of one of the artists across from him, but the festival’s staff did a great job of retrieving the tent and art and restoring it to its proper place.

Some artists did choose to leave before the bad weather arrived on Sunday to be safe, Lee said, because their art was more delicate, but she also noted that there was a total of 125 booths set up by artists and sponsors, and 116 confirmed artists, as well as seven sidewalk chalk artists, and that business was as brisk on Sunday as it was the day before.

On the main stage across from Macy’s, De Lei’ed Parrots (photo on next page) provided musical entertainment on Saturday and the popular Florida-based band the Black Honkeys played on Sunday.

The 2016 SAF’s Best of Show Award went to Maitland, FL artist Rolly Ray Reel, who has been exhibiting at art festivals all across the country for 45 years and has appeared at this event before. His booth featured mixed media pieces that toed the line between painting and sculpture, incorporating found items like chains, stones and metal with acrylic and oils into some very interesting art that caught the eyes of many those passing by.

Other winners this weekend included:

1st place, 2D — Ed Myers

2nd place, 2D — Collin Margera

3rd place, 2D — Jinsheng Song

1st place, 3D — Tim Peters

2nd place, 3D — Harry Welsh

3rd place, 3D — Nancy Cutler Jewelry

1^st place, jewelry — Obayana Ajanaku

2nd place jewelry — Kathleen LaValley Masterson

Best booth design — Jake Asuit

Emerging Artist winners

1^st — Ana Christina

2^nd — Jalen Rehsi

3^rd — Bree Leviston

For a complete list of the art winners, including chalk art and emerging artist winners, visit SuncoastArtsFest.com or TheShopsAtWiregrass.com.

Irish 31 to Open at Wiregrass Mall!

A Neighborhood News Exclusive By Gary Nager

Former USF football star Jay Mize, who already has four successful Irish 31 restaurants (in Hyde Park Village, Westshore, Westchase & at the Amalie Arena), says he hopes to open his fifth & sixth locations by the end of 2016.One of those new locales is on Clearwater Beach & the other is in The Shops st Wiregrass mall, in a shared building that just began site work next to Panera Bread.

Mize says the Irish 31 at Wiregrass will be 2,800 SF & will feature the same great chef-inspired (I call it ‘Irish-plus-gourmet’) cuisine as the other Irish 31 locations.

“It’s sort of a race to see which of our new stores opens first,” Mize says. “But we hope both will be open by the end of 2016.”

Mize noted that he couldn’t disclose the business that would share the building at our press time, but, “we know it’ll be good for us because we’re compatible with everyone.”

Visit Irish31.com for more details.

Harrison’s Contest Winner Helps Pitch New E-Cig Law

By Gary Nager

Congratulations to Tampa Palms resident and Liberty Middle School sixth grader Christian Breslin, who sparked the idea for the bill Rep. Shawn Harrison selected as his favorite in his recent “That Should Be A Law” contest.

Rep. Harrison says he was proud to present House Bill 1143 on Jan. 6, a proposal that will regulate the use of e-cigarettes and “vaping” devices under the Florida Clean Indoor Air Act. Thanks in part to Christian’s presentation before the legislative committee (photos), the bill passed its first committee by an 11-2 vote.

“The best part is that this idea came to me from a young constituent in my District as a result of my contest,’’ Harrison said. “And, it’s actually good public policy because there currently is no regulation (in Florida or the U.S.) about what chemicals can go in these things.”

Harrison also noted that many of the proposed bills he considered for the contest were about smoking, “but Christian’s was the most innovative. Until they (e-cigs) are regulated by the Federal government, I think it’s best to err on the side of caution and regulate their use (in Florida), just like regular cigarettes.”

We’ll keep you posted about the bill’s progress in the legislature.

Suncoast Arts on tap this weekend at Wiregrass mall

By Celeste McLaughlin

On Saturday and Sunday, the “main drag” through the Shops at Wiregrass – Paseo Drive – will again be filled with all kinds of art for the 11th annual Suncoast Arts Festival (SAF).

Created and produced by Fine Arts of the Suncoast, the Festival typically attracts about 100,000 people (photo from last year, right) over the two days of the event. About 125 fine artists and craftsmen will have their art on display, including sculpture, jewelry, painting, drawing and even sidewalk chalk art.

“Artists travel here from all over the country,” says Jennifer Douglas, who owns Jennifer Lee Events, which is managing this year’s festival. “They’re coming to participate in our juried competition, which will award $10,000 in prizes.”

Kids can participate in the free hands-on art garden, with activities and take-home crafts throughout the weekend, and can complete a scavenger hunt to earn prizes. There also will be an art “makerspace,” a creative place for older kids. According to Douglas, the makerspace environment helps kids, “understand the symbiotic relationship between art and technology, and shows them how art translates into many areas of our lives.”

This year’s “Chalk Walk” will be the first to feature only professional street artists. In the past, the Chalk Walk has been an amateur competition, but this year, it’s a commissioned exhibit, sponsored by Tampa Bay Businesses for Culture & the Arts.

Other highlights of this year’s SAF include a glass-etching experience and an emerging artists exhibit, where artwork by Pasco County high school students will be on display.

Entertainment will be provided all weekend long at the main stage across from Macy’s, with headliners De Lei’ed Parrots and The Black Honkeys.

Proceeds from the Festival are donated to Pasco County schools through the Fine Arts of the Suncoast’s grant program. Any teacher in a Pasco County school (public, private, or charter) can apply for these grants for any fine or performing arts discipline, including dance and music, to supplement art programs in the school, giving students special experiences beyond their school’s typical curriculum. Recipients of the 2016 grants will be announced at the festival on Sunday.

For more information, visit SuncoastArtsFest.com.

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Kumquats Return To Dade City!

Downtown Dade City’s always-fun 19th-annual Kumquat Festival will be held on Saturday, January 30, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

“It’s real, authentic, old Florida featuring a unique and funky little fruit,” says John Moors, executive director of the Greater Dade City Chamber of Commerce, which puts on the event.

Kumquats are small citrus fruits grown near Dade City. Moors says this year’s crop is plentiful and is being harvested now, in advance of the Festival.

With more than 425 vendors and 40 sponsors, historic downtown Dade City will be transformed to include arts and crafts, a car and truck show, live local entertainment, a farmer’s market and all kinds of kumquat pies and products.

“Our vendors offer a wide variety of interesting, eclectic, and homemade items,” says Moors. “And, of course, all of our shops and restaurants will be open.”

About 40,000 people attended last year (photo), and Moors expects that this year’s Festival will attract a similar crowd. He says Dade City’s downtown has new restaurants, including a Mediterranean/Greek restaurant and a cigar lounge, which complement the great southern food people have come to expect in the quaint old town.

And, those who attend the Festival will see another sign of downtown revitalization, with the opening of a new City Hall and police headquarters this month.

Admission and parking are free, and free transportation also is provided from multiple satellite lots. New this year, Moors says vendors will offer their kumquat pies for sale in the parking lots, so guests can purchase theirs right before they head home and not have to carry their pies around during the event.

For more info, see the ad on this page or visit DadeCityChamber.org.

Sophia's lemonade stand raising money for K-9 safety

By Celeste McLaughlin

Sophia Contino, who lives in Meadow Pointe and attends Sand Pine Elementary, is an eight year old who wants to save lives. More specifically, she wants to save canine lives by providing the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO)’s K-9 officers with bulletproof vests.

Sophia’s dad, Jason, first heard about the need to supply vests for the Pasco Sheriff’s K-9 unit at the June 2, 2015, meeting of the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC), of which he is a member. He told Sophia what he had heard, and she came up with the idea of having a lemonade stand, where all of raised the money would be donated to the K-9 cause.

“The reason I am raising money is, I love dogs and I love people,” says Sophia in a video on her Facebook page, which already has been viewed more than 1,000 times at Facebook.com/SophiaPCSOK9 (or search “Sophia’s PCSO K9 Association Campaign”).

Her dad says the Continos don’t currently have a dog at home, and Sophia may be trying to fill a void left by the loss of their beloved black lab, Payton, who passed away when Sophia was five.

Her first goal is to raise $2,500, which is the cost of one higher-end canine bulletproof vest that also measures the dog’s biometrics. Once she meets that goal, she plans to present the money to Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco in person. And, her dad says, “Sophia asked me how many vests the Sheriff’s Office needs. I was told they need 11, so she really wants to raise enough money to buy 11 vests.”

According to the Pasco Sheriff’s K9 Association website, there are currently nine active K9 officers and Jason says he is aware of at least one more joining the Sheriff’s Office soon.

Sophia says she charges 50 cents for each cup of lemonade, but that she often receives much more, even $20, for one cup, once people know the cause they’re supporting with their purchase.

Although her first lemonade stand made just a small profit, she has received much more financial support from her Facebook page. Her dad says they have received donations from as far away as New Hampshire and Illinois, and donations to her campaign had totaled more than $1,000 as we went to press with this issue.

Closer to home, Sophia has gotten support from local businesses, including Jefferson Bank, which set up an account where anyone can walk into any branch (including the one in Tampa Palms at 15302 Amberly Dr.) and make a donation to “Sophia’s Pasco County Sheriff’s K9 Fund.” She also has been invited to set up a lemonade stand at Wesley Chapel Nissan (located at 28519 S.R. 54, which she did for the first time on January 9).

Troy Stevenson of Wesley Chapel Nissan, a member of the WCCC who was instrumental in bringing awareness of the issue to the group, has helped the dealership (which is owned by Jay Rosario) raise $10,000 to donate to PCSO to get the ball rolling for the K-9 vests. He also got permission for Sophia to sell lemonade at the dealership.

“Sophia is a dynamo,” says Troy. “I wish I had her selling cars for us. She could raise $10,000 herself before she’s done.”

Want to support Sophia’s efforts? Come out and buy lemonade at her next lemonade stand, which will be on Saturday, January 18, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. It will be held in conjunction with a free shredding event by local business Shred360 at the Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce office (6013 Wesley Grove Blvd., #105, in The Grove at Wesley Chapel plaza). Or, check out her Facebook page, where you’ll find a link to make a donation via PayPal. You can also make a donation at the Jefferson Bank branch in Tampa Palms.