Azteca D’Oro Celebrates Its 1st Anniversary! 

Congratulations go out to co-owners Victor (at right in top photo) and Armando (not pictured) Ramos and general manager Cristina Casimiro (left in same picture) of Azteca D’Oro Mexican Restaurant, which celebrated its one-year anniversary in The Shops at Wiregrass on a rainy June 29. 

The authentic Mexican restaurant celebrated with live DJ Rico Smooth (below left) and an outdoor bar in front of the restaurant at 2000 Piazza Ave, Unit 170. 

“We were packed earlier today,” Victor said, “but once the rain hit, it definitely kept away a lot of people, even though it let up.” 

We tried to help out by posting on our Facebook page that the anniversary party was still going on — which reached about 5,000 people — but thankfully, Azteca is still open every day for lunch and dinner (we love the made-tableside guacamole, the chicken taquitos and fajitas) and still has mariachi and Latin DJ music every Thursday night and more DJ music every Saturday night. . 

For more info, call (813) 527- 6033 or visit Aztecadoro.com.

New Tampa Players Present ‘Singin’ In The Rain’ At The NTPAC July 19-21 & 26-28! 

Melanie Bierweiler plays Lina Lamont and Kyle Billington is Don Lockwood in the New Tampa Players’ production of “Singin’ in the Rain,” which has six performances the weekend of July 19-21 and July 26- 28 at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center. (Photo courtesy of New Tampa Players) 

As someone who previously performed a tiny part in a New Tampa Players (NTP) production, I can only tell you how much hard work it took to make community theater look and sound as good as it does when it finally hits the stage. 

What I can’t tell you is how much hard work it takes to blend together more than 30 cast members — some of whom sing only, others who dance only and still others who do both — and how to make it all come together seamlessly on stage after only a few weeks of rehearsals. 

But, based on my experience performing in NTP’s production of “Grease” — the first Players performance held at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center (NTPAC) off Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. last summer — I have no doubt that director (and NTP producing artistic director) Nora Paine, musical director Frank Meekins and choreographer Sarah Walston will make it happen when NTP presents the classic musical “Singin’ in the Rain” at the NTPAC for two consecutive weekends — July 19-21 and 26-28. 

Although Meekins was both director and musical director for “Grease,” Paine was the producer and stage manager for that show and Walston was the choreographer. In other words, the trio is comfortable working together, “and we all had an interest in working on ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ together,” Meekins says. “So, it all just kind of worked out. Although the tap dancing definitely makes it more challenging, we’re all very excited about this show.” 

According to Wikipedia, “‘Singin’ in the Rain’ is a stage musical with story by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, lyrics by Arthur Freed and music by Nacio Herb Brown. Adapted from the 1952 movie of the same name, starring Gene Kelly (and directed and choreographed by Kelly and Stanley Donen), the stage musical’s plot closely adheres to the original film.” 

Set in Hollywood in the waning days of the silent screen era, “Singin’” focuses on romantic lead Don Lockwood (played by Kyle Billington), his sidekick Cosmo Brown (Rhett Ricardo), aspiring actress Kathy Selden (Olivia Carr, who played Sandy in “Grease”), and Lockwood’s leading lady Lina Lamont (Melanie Bierweiler), “whose less-than-dulcet vocal tones make her an unlikely candidate for stardom in talking pictures,” again, according to the “Singin’” entry in Wikipedia. 

The stage show had its world premiere in 1983 at the London Palladium, where it ran for more than two years, and has spawned a Broadway production and many stagings worldwide. It has been called, “The greatest movie musical of all time.” 

According to NTP’s NewTampaPlayers.org website, “Each unforgettable scene, song and dance is accounted for, including the show-stopping title number, complete with an onstage rainstorm! Hilarious situations, snappy dialogue and a hit-parade score of Hollywood standards make ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ the perfect entertainment for any fan of the golden age of movie musicals.” 


All of the photos on these pages were taken during rehearsals for the New Tampa Players production of “Singin’ in the Rain,” which will have six performances at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center over two weekends — July 19-21 & July 26-28. (Photos by Charmaine George & Gary Nager)

Meekins says that in addition to the title number — “And yes, it will be raining,” he says — many of the songs are well-known, memorable and can be considered “show stoppers,” including “You Are My Lucky Star,” “Would You” and especially “Broadway Rhythm.” 

“The title song is actually performed twice — once by Don Lockwood at the end of the first act and the second time by the entire cast (at the close of Act 2), all of whom who will be singing and dancing together in the rain,” Meekins says. “I 

know it will be amazing to see this cast come together for that finale. All of the cast members have different levels of experience, but I have no doubt that it will all come together.” 

Get your tickets now for “Singin’ in the Rain” at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center (8550 Hunters Village Rd., off Bruce B. Downs Blvd.). The show (presented through the generous support of Hillsborough County and Florida Arts and Culture and with special arrangement through Music Theatre International) will be performed Fri.-Sat., July 19-20 and July 26-27, at 8 p.m., and at 3 p.m. on Sun., July 21 & 28. Tickets cost $21-$35 and are available at NewTampaPlayers.org. 

For more information, call (813) 543-6252 or see the ad below. 

2024 Senior Class President’s Speech Honors The Memory Of Paul R. Wharton 

(Above, l.-r) Jeffrey Schroeder, Stephen Michelini, Zack Chandler and Mary Wharton Schroeder at the Wharton High graduation, where Zack honored the memory of Mary’s father, Paul R. Wharton, the man for whom the school was named. (All photos provided by Hillsborough County Public Schools)

Wharton High senior Zack Chandler was at a baseball game with his teammates this spring when he noticed that every one of them had the same name on the backs of their jerseys. 

In fact, it was on all of the jerseys for all of the sports at his school — and on a lot of other shirts, too. They all said, “Wharton.” 

Of course they did, since that’s the name of the school they all were attending. 

It hit Zack that although he vaguely recalled that Wharton High was named after someone, he had no idea who that person was or why he was chosen to have a school named after him. 

So when Zack, who was the school’s 2023- 24 senior class president, was given the honor of speaking at his graduation ceremony on May 25, he knew what he wanted to do. 

Rather than talk about himself, Zack wanted to find out who exactly Paul R. Wharton was, and why Zack’s school was named after him. 

Photos of Paul Wharton

“I did some research and found out what a cool guy Mr. Wharton was, and how he affected the community,” Zack says. “I wanted to make a metaphor out of it. Don’t take things that you have every day for granted.” 

He learned that Wharton retired as the assistant superintendent for Hillsborough County Public Schools, after serving as principal of both Plant and Robinson high schools. He started in the county as an innovator who advocated for vocational and technical schools in the District, and also served as principal of the Brewster Vocational Technical Institute. 

Wharton did all of that after starting his career teaching in a one-room school house in Springfield, KY, and then serving in the U.S. Army before moving to Tampa. 

Zack found that Wharton had passed away in 2009, but Zack wanted to invite Wharton’s family members to his graduation to hear Wharton honored in front of the student body. 

Mary Wharton Shroeder is Paul’s daughter, and she attended the ceremony, along with her husband Stephen Michelini and her son Jeffrey Schroeder. She says this was the first time anyone had approached her about recognizing her dad at the school. 

Zack Chandler during his graduation speech

Mary and her family were seated in the graduation ceremony’s VIP area and were honored when Zack acknowledged them from the podium. “I was delighted,” she says. “I know what an amazing man Daddy was, and all the things he did for this community. It’s just a wonderful thing.” 

She says that if her dad had been able to address those students at Wharton, he might have told them it’s important to choose carefully who they emulate. They should choose their role models wisely, because who they look up to will make a huge difference in who they become. 

“It made me so proud of him to receive the recognition that he so deserved,” Mary says. “He never asked for the recognition, but he earned it because he helped to shape our community. He was always a leader and had a great sense of humor.” 

It’s been more than 25 years since Wharton High opened on August 21, 1997, so it’s understandable that today’s graduating seniors had never before heard of the man for whom their school was named. 

But now, thanks to Zack Chandler, they have. 

Wyndfields Blvd. — Wesley Chapel’s Major Arterial Road With (Too) Many Names?!? 

It may end up with many names, but one day, it will all be connected. The photo below left is the existing Wyndfields Blvd. in Union Park, looking north toward the future Wyndfields Blvd. extension through the South Wyndfields development. (Above) This photo is taken on the under-construction Watergrass Pkwy. extension in the Watergrass community, looking south towards the future connection to River Glen Blvd. in Avalon Park Wesley Chapel. See the map below to see where these pieces of the roadway connect. (Photos by Joel Provenzano)

There’s a main north/south road that’s planned to connect New Tampa directly into the middle of Pasco County. It will run from the K-Bar Ranch Pkwy. extension in Hillsborough County, all the way north to eventually intersect with Prospect Rd., near the south side of the Mirada development in San Antonio. You read that correctly. 

Once completed, this one road of many names will be a little over 11 miles long (mostly in Wesley Chapel) and end up connecting 10 major existing and future developments together, becoming one of Pasco’s most important north-south thoroughfares. But, most local residents aren’t even aware of the overall plan occurring right in their own backyards. We did the research and pored through hundreds of public records to bring you the complete picture. 

This road will be much bigger than many might realize. At just over 11 miles long, that would make it longer than the combined north-south stretches of Morris Bridge Rd., Eiland Blvd., and Handcart Rd. The only north-south road that might be longer in the area would be the Meadow Pointe Blvd./Curley Rd. combination, once those thoroughfares are fully connected together as one road, with the planned realignment of Curley Rd. through the Chapel Crossings community. 

Parts of Wyndfields Blvd. already exist, but different segments are now being constructed at different times, in bits and pieces — and with a number of different names. It’s like a ninja road that is very stealthily being put together, with multiple names and multiple dead ends, seemingly isolated in each development. But, before you know it, it will be stitched together to become one major continuous road. 

The History 

If you’ve been paying attention, you probably couldn’t help but notice that Wyndfields Blvd. (the southernmost portion of this road) has been getting mentioned a lot in recent Neighborhood News articles including; “Will Rezoning Provide Viera’s Safety Cut -Through in K-Bar?” a couple of issues ago. 

But Wyndfields (the 1,200-acre MPUD development) has been talked about for a long time — almost 20 years — and has been mentioned in over a dozen articles in this publication since then. 

Many times, decades before they are ever built, county planners will envision where future roads will go, as areas begin to grow with new development, and new infrastructure is needed. These are know as “Vision Roads” and are often the responsibility of land developers to build in order o get their communities approved. These roads often take the names of the major DRIs (Developments of Regional Impact) or MPUDs (Master Planned Unit Developments) in which they are located. That’s why this one road will possibly end up with at least five different names when it’s all finally built. 

Why Should We Care? 

Wyndfields Blvd. will be one of three “local collector” connections between Pasco and Hillsborough counties, including Meadow Pointe Blvd. (existing), and Kinnan St./Mansfield Blvd. (restricted). Of course, there also is Bruce B. Downs Blvd. (C.R. 581), which is located between the Wiregrass Ranch and Seven Oaks communities but only goes 3.5 miles from the Hillsborough line north to S.R. 54 in Pasco. 

But, the north-south “Vision Road” we’re calling Wyndfields Blvd. has long been a high priority for Pasco County. Many local leaders, developers and residents feel that connecting multiple developments together fosters stronger communities and helps to alleviate and spread out the traffic burden from other main roads, and reduce travel times. Some on the Pasco side have proven to be a little more cautious when that traffic may originate from Hillsborough. 

Gary Gaal, a New Home Consultant with M/I Homes in K-Bar Ranch, says that, “Every future road benefits us even more.” Gaal has been working out of K-Bar for years, has attended HOA meetings, and has heard from county representatives. He is hopeful that with each new approved connection to spread out the traffic burden, Pasco might be more amenable to opening up the long-contentious Kinnan/Mansfield connection. “Any time you have open roads it helps immensely, but I understand Pasco’s hesitancy,” he says. 

When asked if he believes Pasco would open up Kinnan/Mansfield with the completed Wyndfields connection, Dist. 7 City of Tampa Councilman Luis Viera says he doesn’t believe it would be a done deal, but notes, “Having a pathway there [to get the connection open] would be great, it would be good and encouraging for all residents.” 

The connections to Hillsborough were studied years ago as part of a report commissioned by Pasco County, which reviewed the potential traffic impacts. What appears to be a done deal, however, is the Wyndfields Blvd. connection between the two counties, which is part of the required development agreements on both sides of the county line. 

Details Of The Road Plan 

So what’s the total length of Wyndfields Blvd. from Hillsborough up through Pasco? How much is already constructed and open to traffic, how much is under construction and how much is still planned? How will it affect each of the developments it goes through? Below are the lengths of the road (and its names), from south to north, in each community. For the full details of each, see the map below): 

K-Bar Ranch (New Tampa): (proposed as Wyndfields Blvd.) – 0.9 miles 

Union Park: (existing Wyndfields Blvd.) – 1 mile 

Wyndfields South: (under construction [UC] as Wyndfields Blvd.) – 0.9 miles 

Two Ridges: (UC as Two Ridges Rd.) – 1.6 miles; 

(proposed Two Ridges Rd.) – 0.4 miles 

Avalon Park WC: (existing River Glen Blvd.) – 1.5 miles; (proposed River Glen Blvd.) – 0.2 miles 

Vida’s Way: (proposed Watergrass Pkwy.) – 0.5 mile; (UC Watergrass Pkwy.) – 0.5 mile 

Watergrass: (existing Watergrass Pkwy.) – 0.8 mile 

Kirkland Ranch: (prop. name unknown) – 1.7 mi. 

Magnolia Island & Evans: (prop. name unknown) – 1.3 miles 

Total Length of the Road: 11.3 miles 

K-Bar Ranch: Huge (2,200+ acres total) K-Bar Ranch has been a long-term growing community, with new houses still being built, making it the only “unfinished” major community in New Tampa. In a previous issue from this year, we had an article talking about the newest part of K- Bar that the Eisenhower Property Group (EPG) submitted to Tampa on March 1, called “K-Bar Ranch Homestead Parcel Phase 1.” This community would have just under 500 new homes on a 400-acre site adjacent to Morris Bridge Rd. EPG is well on its way to having its rezoning approved as, a couple of weeks ago, it passed its first reading with the City Council. 

The most important part of this proposed community were the two roadway extensions shown in the plans. The first was the proposal to extend K-Bar Ranch Pkwy. to the east, out to Morris Bridge Rd. The second was a proposed north-south collector road shown to connect K-Bar Ranch Pkwy. with the existing north-south road (Wyndfields Blvd.) inside of Union Park, connecting Hillsborough County to Pasco. 

While it’s not known if the road’s name will still be Wyndfields Blvd. in K-Bar, at its very southern end, this collector road will align with Nature’s Spirit Dr., inside of K-Bar’s separately developed Easton Park community, where there currently is an odd intersection to nowhere. This intersection is where K-Bar Ranch Pkwy. will pass through east-west. From this intersection, the road would travel 0.9 miles north into Pasco County. 

In the previous article, it was mentioned that Wyndfields Blvd. ended 540’ north of the county line, but between the article’s release and now, this missing 540’ in Union Park has now been constructed, bringing the end of pavement right up to the Hillsborough County line, making it easier for the K-Bar development to connect to it. 

Union Park: Union Park is a large (580-acre) MPUD isolated back behind Meadow Pointe, where the last of its 1,800 dwelling units were just completed and sold this year by DR Horton. Until the Woodcreek development was recently built next door, the only way in and out of Union Park was via Oldwoods Ave. out to Meadow Pointe Blvd., where a traffic signal had to be installed to handle the heavy traffic. With the roads now built in Woodcreek, there is now an indirect way to get out to S.R. 56. 

The existing north-south road (Wyndfields Blvd.) currently starts at the Pasco/Hillsborough county line and runs north through Union Park for about 1 mile (as a two-lane road) and it ends at Oldwoods Ave., just past the wood bridge at a T-intersection (near Union Park Charter Academy; see photo on pg. 6). Pasco owns a small tract of land on the west side of that school, where the road will be extended up into the bottom of Wyndfields South to continue north to S.R. 56. This will provide a much easier (and direct) way for residents of Union Park to get in and out of their community with good access to S.R. 56 and Morris Bridge Rd. 

Wyndfields South: Wyndfields South will be a 378-acre development (mostly on the south side of S.R. 56) being built in many phases by DR Horton in conjunction with engineering firm WRA. Current plans show that it will have a total of approximately 960 residential units (138 villas, 212 townhomes, and 610 single-family lots). It’s part of the greater Wyndfields MPUD which encompasses 1,200 acres. 

In the plans, Wyndfields Blvd. is expected to be two lanes (as built by the developer from its southern property line near Union Park to run north up to S.R. 56 ), for a distance of approximately 0.9 miles, with the option for Pasco County to widen it to four lanes in the future, as was shown in the recent “Innovate Pasco 2050” Planned Wesley Chapel Area Road Improvements list. 

Wyndfields South includes the recently constructed community of Woodcreek, which also will have a connection to Wyndfields Blvd. via internal roadways (Rosepine Blvd.). The Bainbridge Apartments that are currently under construction also will have a rear connection to Wyndfields Blvd. To handle all of the traffic and allow for easier lefts-out for residents, the Wyndfields developer is responsible to permit, pay for, and install a new traffic signal at the intersection with S.R. 56 when it meets warrants. Wyndfields Blvd. will widen out to a 4-lane road as it approaches the signal. 

Two Ridges: Two Ridges is the area immediately north of S.R. 56 and, as you might expect, contains two ‘Ridge’ communities being built by GL Homes — Winding Ridge on the south side and the age-restricted (55+) Valencia Ridge under construction on the north side, which stretches from the north side of Winding Ridge (where the east-west Chancey Rd. extension will be built) all the way up to S.R. 54. These communities also are part of the Wyndfields MPUD. 

The road (now named Two Ridges Rd.) will extend north for 2 miles as a 4-lane divided corridor, starting at S.R. 56, where it will align with Wyndfields Blvd, and ending at S.R. 54, where it will align with the existing signal at River Glen Blvd that goes into Avalon Park. Currently, the southern 1.6 miles of Two Ridges Rd. (connecting with S.R. 56) is under construction and the northern 0.4 miles (to connect with S.R. 54) will be done at a later date. 

The southern part needed to be done now, as it provides the only access into Valencia Ridge. The existing community of Ashton Oaks also will be connected to this new road at Grecko Dr., giving those residents access down to S.R. 56 for the first time. 

Avalon Park Wesley Chapel: Avalon Park is the massive 1,800-acre MPUD on the north side of S.R. 54 at River Glen Blvd., which includes a number of established and new communities, some of which are still under construction by home builder DR Horton. The road (River Glen Blvd.) has been around for a long time now, and currently serves as the community’s main north-south road. 

The signal at the newly widened S.R. 54 was designed in such a way that the new Two Ridges Rd. will be able to easily tie in as the southern leg of that intersection, allowing motorists to continue north into Avalon Park. As you travel north, that existing portion of River Glen Blvd. is 4-lane divided, and about 1.5 miles long, but there is still roughly 0.2 miles left to construct on the north end to tie into the future Watergrass Pkwy. extension that will be constructed in the Vida’s Way community. 

Vida’s Way: Vida’s Way is a new 332-acre community that’s currently being constructed by Pulte Homes. It’s located just north of Avalon Park Wesley Chapel and just south of Watergrass. It’s part of the larger Depue Ranch MPUD, which encompasses approximately 930 acres. The road will be extended 1 mile north through here, and will eventually connect River Glen Blvd. to Watergrass Pkwy., ultimately giving Watergrass residents another way to access S.R. 54. 

Currently, only the northern half (0.5 miles) of the road (the Watergrass Pkwy. extension) is under construction, as a 4-lane divided roadway, which is connecting to Watergrass Pkwy. The active construction ends at the south side, where the future east-west Wells Rd. extension also will be going through this community. The remaining 0.5 miles of the Watergrass Pkwy. extension will be south of that, and will connect with the north end of River Glen Blvd. to become one road. 

Watergrass: Watergrass is an established MPUD of nearly 1,040 acres of beautiful homes. A little less than halfway through Watergrass, along Overpass Rd., you’ll run into the existing north-south Watergrass Pkwy., which serves communities like Whispering Oaks Preserve and Windchase Villas on the north end and, on the south end, Whisper Pointe, The Gardens and Cypress Bend. This existing stretch of road is about 0.8 miles long, top to bottom. 

As the new part of the Watergrass Pkwy. extension is being built in Vida’s Way to the south, the developer also is widening the existing part through Watergrass from 2 lanes to 4-lane divided, from the southern end near the Cypress Bend community up to Overpass Rd. At the northern end, Watergrass Pkwy. dead-ends as a two lane road at the Kirkland Ranch property line. 

Kirkland Ranch: Kirkland Ranch is situated to the north of Watergrass, immediately east of Curley Rd., on just over 1,000 acres of land. It’s mostly undeveloped, except for the existing Kirkland Ranch Academy of Innovation and the brand new Kirkland Ranch K-8 dedicated magnet school that, according to the Pasco School District’s website, will be focusing on world languages and entrepreneurship. The magnet school is planning to be open for the upcoming 2024-25 school year. 

According to the Pasco Vision Road map, the Watergrass Pkwy. extension is planned to run north through Kirkland Ranch, behind both schools, for approximately 1.7 miles, until it intersects with Keifer Rd. at the north end of Kirkland’s property boundary. Currently, Kirkland has not submitted any preliminary development plans to the county, so this community is still a ways out. It’s unknown if the extension will retain the Watergrass name or be called something different. 

Magnolia Island & Evans: Just north of Kirkland Ranch and Keifer Rd. are two developments listed in the Pasco development mapper, Magnolia Island MPUD (216 acres) and Evans (219 acres) which are part of the historic Villages of Pasadena MPUD. According to the map, the vision road will extend north through these two developments for approximately 1.3 miles until it intersects with Prospect Rd. at the north end. There are no current plans for either development, so it will still be a least a few years before the full 11 miles of what we collectively refer to as Wyndfields Blvd. is completed. 

Rain, Admission Fees Can’t Put A Damper On R&B Night At The KRATEs 

The crowd for the R&B Only Night at the KRATE at The Grove Container Park on June 28 was still building as the music started. (Photos by Charmaine George) 

 For everyone on local Facebook community pages who claimed that not just the R&B Only Nights, but also the KRATE at The Grove Container Park itself, were “over,” let’s just say that, in the words of Mark Twain, “the reports of (their deaths) are greatly exaggerated.” 

On June 28, neither the heavy rains that started shortly after the gates opened at 5 p.m. and continued off and on for two+ hours and kept the music from starting promptly at 7 p.m., nor the new $5 pre-sale (and $10 day-of) admission fee that was implemented for the first time for that evening could “dampen” the enthusiasm of the people who have loved the R&B event for more than a year now — nor keep them away. 

While waiting for the rain to subside, the Grove’s VP of operations Vance McAllister told the Neighborhood News that there were already about 3,000 pre-sold tickets at $5 a pop when the online sales shut down at 11:59:59 on Thursday night. 

“Although we really have no idea exactly how many people attended these before, since we didn’t sell tickets or control entry to the event,” McAllister said, “we heard estimates of as many as 8,000 people at the May event, so we knew something had to be done. We love this event as much as the people who have been showing up for it do, so we knew we had to do something to keep it safe for everyone.” 

A couple of issues ago, we mistakenly told you that the R&B Only Nights at the KRATEs were being produced by Tim Hancock’s Jazz Tyme Productions, but that was an unintentional mistake on my part. 

The R&B Nights actually are being produced by Nico Brown of Nico Brown Productions and Nico called me to let me know of my mistake before the news hit that he was going to begin charging admission fees to attend his super-popular R&B Nights beginning with the June 28 event. 

Nico Brown 
(Source: Nico Brown Productions Facebook page)

Since the moment he announced on Facebook that he was going to start charging admission, Nico had been dealing with a lot of backlash but even more support, especially from The Grove management and the KRATEs. 

On June 28, with virtually no one yet in attendance after 6 p.m. (when previous R&B Nights were normally already packed) and with the rain coming down hard, then subsiding, then pelting him (and anyone else outside) again, Nico was still hard at work setting up the event — knowing that not only was the rain eventually supposed to end but also that he had at least 3,000 people who pre-paid the $5 admission fee by the night before to enjoy his first paid R&B Night. 

When the rain did finally break for the remainder of the evening sometime after the intended 7 p.m. start time, Nico and his crew were scrambling to get the sound equipment set up for DJ Control. By sometime after 7:30, DJ Control not only got the music started, he also introduced saxophonist Marlon Boone, who got the early attendees going right away with some jazzy R&B sounds. Later in the evening (although we weren’t still on hand to verify it), DJ Psycho and guest vocalist Rubi Mar also were expected to hit the main stage. 

But, everything else that both Nico and The KRATEs promised on their respective Facebook pages would be different about this first paid R&B Night also came true: there were 22 Pasco Sheriff’s Deputies on hand and the only way to get into the event was through the gates, which had plenty of tennis-ball-green-shirted attendants on hand to either take the $5 prepaid tickets or sell $10 day-of admissions. In addition, there was a clear path set up down the center aisle between the KRATEs on both sides between the stage and the admission gate (photo below left) and another blocked off path behind the first sea of personal chairs brought in by those early attendees. 

Did anywhere near the estimated 8,000 people who attended in May or the 3,000 who prepaid their admissions end up showing up? I can’t answer that. All I can say is that those who were there seemed to once again have a great time, enjoying the music and each other, checking out the food from the KRATEs and dancing. 

In other words, it was still very much R&B Only Night at the KRATEs, so don’t miss the next one on Friday, July 26, 7 p.m.!Â