Dishing with Mark & Carrie 4-16-2014

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Happy Easter
SUGAR Benefit for Ybor Holiday Spirit
    The doors opened for the Sugar Party at Honey Pot Sunday. The red floor to ceiling curtains were draped for the soon to be dramatically opened for the biggest desert party benefit in Tampa!  30 restaurants donated their deserts and helped make the charity night a huge success.
    “The costs for holding the December event,  Ybor City Holiday Spirit  is getting more expensive.” said Mathieu Stanoch, promoter of the huge GaYBOR/ Ybor City citywide Christmas community event.
     “We now have an addition of 6 high school bands that want to participate in the 7th Ave parade. We need more money and sponsorships to make this all happen. So smaller venue benefits are being held for the Christmas Holiday Spirit events.” This is the 4th year for the Ybor City Holiday Spirit but 7th year for holiday decorating of the streets in Ybor City. GaYBOR members, local residents and YCDC  come together to decorate 7th Ave, Centennial Park and 15th, 16th & 17th streets. It is now a community holiday destination with the snow falling on 7th Ave during the night parade. Last year over 40,000 families drove to experience the snow parade.
    The Sugar Party had plenty of assorted deserts, puddings,cookies and specialty drinks to sample along with a full line-up of great entertainment for the attendees.
        A very special call out to Florida Entertainment Group, D. Stephen Moss, Steve Donahue and staff for supporting new innovative artsy ideas in our historic Ybor City

New Happenings In St Pete

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    A special Mark & Carrie day out and we were told of a lot of new ventures happening in St. Pete. To experience the ‘Mystical St. Pete Carpet Ride’ we had to pick up friend & local singing star, Judy B. Goode for comradery. Now open but have changed their names is Triple X Cafe & Bar located on 2924 5th Ave. North. Grand Opening will be in 2 weeks. We met super friendly bartender Jason, with his tattoo muscled arms and told us of the new additions. A newly built stage for bands, karaoke, and performers have dressed up the old Crum Bar. Beer. wine and a very nice bar menu with Thursday dinner specials. This Thursday is homemade Chicken Parmesan.
    Getting ready to open on Central Ave is a newly remodeled building turned club opening in May. We took a sneak peak with the construction workers putting new bar tops on the newly assembled bars with very high open airy ceilings. It looks like a winner! We were told it will be called, “Eddy’s”!  The Queen & I Thai Restaurant was our stop for great Laos style Papaya salad and Vietnamese  Pho Soup! Bryan was there with all his warm charm. The place is really busy. New Thai menu items that were recently added he told us to try. Yumm!!
    Onward to the Broken Tusk on 28th St.and met up with long time friend &  bartender Kevin and bar owner, Levi. The fenced in patio is spectacular and is open weekends. New outdoor patio furniture near the outside bar, weekly karaoke, daily drink specials and a lot of cheerful friends. Levi said new things are going to be happening with a possible new club on St. Pete’s southside near the water. Announcements soon!
     Judy wanted to show us her singing digs at the newly renovated Hollander Hotel at 4th Street North & 4th Ave North. A welcoming step back to 1920’s Florida with a total $2 million dollar remake of the old 100 room Travel Inn Hotel. A wide veranda wrapping the outside and street frontage, huge fans creating a springtime breeze and wicker furniture that you can just snuggle in comfort. The artwork is so eclectic and reminded us of the Monty Python Show. Unique positioning of art and painted picturesque walls scenes throughout the bar and the restaurant. You’ll also have to make it a point to meet the 70 year old moose at the bar named “NAM”.
    We met the owner, Mike and the General Mgr Nick & his partner who run the dog friendly boutique hotel. It is also listed on Travelocity TAG lists for GLBT travelers and tourists. The sampling order of shrimp, hot jalapeno pepper cream cheese dumplings was out of this world tasty and sparked a great conversation with tourists eating around us. Judy showed us where her monthly shows are performed in the middle of the restaurant. She performs the third Saturday of the month with Pianoman Paul Thomas to packed crowds.
    Lucky Star Bar on Central & 28th had our old friend and distinguished local actor, Daniel serving us. He is going to be starring in a new play coming in May at the Studio @620 in downtown St. Pete. The crowd was a roundtable of customers from the old Suncoast Resort. Great seeing old friends again.
    That was our monthly  ‘Mystical St Pete Carpet Ride” news

Cristino’s Coal Oven Pizza’s Grand Opening & Ybor Ribbon Cutting

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    Cristino’s Coal Oven Pizza & Italian Restaurant located on the corner of 8th Ave & 17th St had its Grand Opening Celebration in Ybor City. The Ribbon Cutting ceremony had family members attending from New York, New Jersey, Texas, Virginia and Florida with Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn. Sharing the ribbon cutting merriment with brothers Lenny, Marco & Joe Cristino’s was their gracious Italian Mother, Caterina  from New York City. City officials included Tampa’s Economic & Urban Development Administrator, Bob McDonaugh and Vince Pardo, YCDC manager.
    The Ybor City business leaders and area invitees experienced some of the best Italian food Tampa has to offer. On the sampling tables were Chicken Parmesan, Cheese Ravioli, Secret Family Hand Me Down Meatball Recipe, 24 delectable varieties of daily prepared Gelato and of course a lot varieties of the specialty, Coal Oven Pizza! The beautiful Italian singing sensation, Rossana Spallino sang festive Italian songs to the grand opening crowd. Soon she had the crowd dancing throughout the outside courtyard.
    The Italian eatery is a great addition to all the other great restaurants in Ybor City. Cristino’s Italian Restaurant also have an Italian Coal Oven Pizza restaurant in Clearwater on Ft. Harrison. Lines wait for reservations and tables to eat that light smokey flavored pizza.
    “You can’t have anything better than great all handmade prepared food, friendly table service and a wonderful caring staff.” said owner Lenny Cristino. ” I love this historic Ybor City area.”
    Open daily for lunch and dinner with a full liquor bar. And don’t forget to try their famous homemade Italian Gelato! A real treat. Outside or inside seating for your enjoyment.

NEW Hot Spring Arrivals at MC FILM

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    Think Spring and Summer with new arrivals of Cool White Linen Shirts and White Shorts. The designer shirts are light and eye catching at any type of event planned.
    Beach attire is arriving weekly. New swim wear lines include Frank Dandy from Sweden, BWET from Spain, Steel from Columbia along with 2014 lines of UNICO, Pistol Pete, AussieBum , Ajaxx and Andrew Christian fashions.
    For the eco-friendly is the designer Earth Sun Moon animal themed shirts. Yes, a lot of BEAR Shirts also!
ATTENTION………………. NOTICE…………………..
Proposed City-wide Nightclub Ordinance

  The draft of the Proposed Nightclub Ordinance will be presented to Tampa City Council this Thursday at 9:00 a.m.  This is being presented as a staff report.  For those individuals who wish to speak to this item will be allowed to speak up to 3 minutes under Public Comments, which is at the beginning of the meeting.

WHEN

Thursday, April 17, 2014
9:00 a.m.

WHERE 

Tampa City Council Chambers
315 E. Kennedy Boulevard, 3rd Floor
Tampa, Florida  33602

 

 
Donations Sought For New Gulfport Library LGBTQ Collection

For Immediate Release: April 15, 2014

Donations Sought For New Gulfport Library LGBTQ Collection

Contact: Daniel Hodge; (727) 366-4086; dan@igc.org

 

GULFPORT, FLORIDA: The non-profit Circle of Friends of the Gulfport Public Library has announced its intention to create a new LGBTQ Resource Center at the Library, bringing together books, periodicals and other media in a special collection that will serve as a community resource for Pinellas County and Florida.  The Resource Center would be the first of its kind for a public library in the State of Florida.

A subcommittee of the Circle of Friends has been formed to chart a course toward developing and maintaining the LGBTQ (Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer) collection.  The committee is now actively seeking donations of books, CD’s, DVD’s, periodicals and other media which may be useful additions to the new collection.  Donated items should be in new or gently used condition.  Members of the public interested in donating materials may bring or send them to the front desk of the Gulfport Public Library (5501 28th Avenue South, Gulfport, FL 33707).  Please label your donations accordingly if they are specifically intended for the LGBTQ collection.  Committee members reserve the right to add donated items to their book sales inventory for fund-raising if items are not suitable for the collection.

Monetary donations are also welcome and are tax-deductible.  For this purpose, please make any checks payable to the Circle of Friends of the Gulfport Public Library and note that the donation is intended for the LGBTQ Collection.  For more information, please contact Committee Chairperson Roger Turner, (727) 698-7657 or RLTurner39@tampabay.rr.com.

You Can Not Make This Up

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You Can Not Make This Up
    Lost Cell Phone at “G” BAR
    Its common for people to leave cell phones at clubs for one reason or another. When a phone is found the next day at bars staff  try to find the owner. If the phone is not locked they call the last number called from the phone and ask if they know who this was and to please call them they have the phone.
    One Sunday morning, Robert of Florida Ent. Group found a phone at G.BAR. He proceeded and called the last number and a sweet very elderly woman answered the phone whispery. She said yes she knew who the person was that had this number. It was her lovely granddaughter visiting her from up north. Robert said that the phone was found on the sidewalk in front of G. BAR and she could come & pick it up.
    Then the grandmother asked, “What does the “G” stand for?” Robert quickly thought I can not tell her Gay so he said, “God.”
     The grandmother said, “That is definitely a place my granddaughter would go to.”
     LOL LOL you just can not make this up.

From the MC Film Mail Bag

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Step up to the plate for the Tampa Baseball Museum
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Step up to the plate for the Tampa Baseball Museum

 

The Tampa Baseball Museum at the Al Lopez House needs your help to open in 2014. Home Plate Pavers and limited edition cigar boxes are now available for purchase, which raises funds to rehabilitate the Al Lopez House and develop the exhibits to honor Tampa’s rich baseball heritage.

Help pave the way to preserve Tampa’s baseball heritage

Cement your love of the game in front of the Tampa Baseball Museum with an engraved paver in the shape of home plate.

 

Inscribe a personal message, memorialize a family member or signify a special occasion on a Home Plate Paver that will become a permanent fixture of the museum and be seen by thousands of visitors each year.

 

Only 140 pavers are available – secure yours today for $1,000. Pavers ordered by May 15 will be among the first placed in Home Plate Walk when installation begins in June.

Honor Cigar City’s influence on baseball 

Cigar aficionados will love one of the limited edition Tampa Baseball Museum cigar boxes. Only 500 of these black lacquered wood cigar boxes emblazoned with the Tampa Baseball Museum logo will be produced.

 

Each box is filled with 10 premium Rocky Patel Sumatra Honduran Blend cigars.

 

Own a piece of Cigar City’s baseball heritage for only $100.

 

All proceeds from the pavers and cigar boxes will help build the Tampa Baseball Museum at the Al Lopez House. From Little League to Major League, the museum will preserve, honor and celebrate Tampa’s historic role in the game of baseball.

 

For more information or to purchase one of these products, call (813) 247-1434 or visit the Tampa Baseball Museum website.
The Tampa Baseball Museum at the Al Lopez House is being developed by the Ybor City Museum Society, a nonprofit organization that preserves and promotes Ybor City’s cultural heritage and supports the Ybor City Museum State Park.

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http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0015oKgJxo8YhvMqz9BPRt0_aj7t50ExQXtgkGuW7ZbzkZBrYNvWQwou9JNUs9JNO2ZucV7Xwv74hGp_XJZ6ApIV5DzN9t6LAd93OTacjO5DdM9GVlyHARbajeZqMEATp20CuOTCaZokQsQSPAvC-TrZfW9q-0WcBxX8o_rS0A_vDoP0HyFvbExHIU0IyAwtlgec-Ih5WjUfZpxTNF_ViSKHHZRMRpTNhbMDJ4l9hDVhT5ed_bjHP7DDJ1sf6LgMW7WACrB9SbOh1S4tBk6K1h5dTjpvUOW1lowWv6zio9dOT3SkuPSimIM-bkQC0m0oqhJ-h8NYWjttVsgr_csBhv9RBr_rQZOUglllzrdDXo7DyFQA97WXcBUkg==&c=IPXPhEOkUgUkoN224c8O_qAK0ksq0qvdGar7ZBAhoqd9zVD45opWCA==&ch=VCT_e1nTqLp8PBMolkKfMx6YzucxkvxIHCpVemcMbNJGkvOwBqtw8g==
Tampa Baseball Museum at the Al Lopez House
2003 N. 19th Street | Tampa, Florida 33605
(813) 247-1434
********************

CRAFT BEER FEST Weekend

Join Creative Loafing and 11 of the best craft breweries Tampa Bay has to offer for a daytime festival in Ybor Square on Saturday, April 19. Each brewery is bringing 2 brews for attendees to sample and enjoy!

General Admission is $25 in Advance and includes 16 drink tickets, which equates to 4 full pours or 16 3 oz. samples, or any combination in between! The event is from 1 to 5 p.m. Food will be available for purchase from Spaghetti Warehouse. GA attendees get to take home their Spring Hops tasting stein, can pose with rockabilly pinups styled by La France and Tribeca Salon, and enjoy a specially curated selection of rock & roll tunes that’ll blare through speakers in the courtyard all day long.

VIP Admission is $50 in Advance and includes 20 drink tickets (5 full pours, 20 3 oz. samples, or any combination in between!) and a catered lunch by Tampa Bay Brewing Company from 12 to 1 p.m. in CL Space. VIP attendees can arrive to the event an hour early for complimentary cocktails, exclusive food, tunes by The Woolly Bushmen, and the company of La France and Tribeca Salon’s styled rockabilly pinups.

One drink ticket gets an attendee one 3 oz. sample from any participating brewery. Four tickets gets an attendee a full 12 oz. pour. Extra drink tickets can be purchased at the check in table for $1 a pop.

Breweries Pouring at the Event include Dunedin Brewery, Brew Bus Brewing, Big Storm Brewery, Cigar City Brewing, Cigar City Brew Pub, Three Palms Brewing, Rock Brothers Brewing, Cigar City Cider & Mead, Coppertail Brewing Company, Tampa Bay Brewing Company, Southern Brewing & Winemaking, and Saint Somewhere Brewing Company

  * * * * * * * * * 

http://www.ybormarket.com/

Ybor City Saturday Market
Centennial Park East Pavillion
9:00 am to 3:00 pm

Looking for fresh produce or a special Easter gift? Visit the Ybor Market this Saturday in Centennial Park. For more information, please contact Lynn Schultz at 813/241-2442 or visit www.ybormarket.com.