Caught @ Steam Fridays
Photos of the Week
Photos of the Week
Happy Birthday John
King Corona
The Reservoir
Mayor Dick Greco
Click for More Photos at Ybor City Wine Bar
Caught @ Steam Fridays
Click for More Photos at G.BAR
Click for More Photos at Hamburger Mary’s
Click for More Photos atJJ’s Cafe & Bar
Click for More Photos at Centro Cantina
Caught @ GaYBOR/Ybor CityDishing with Mark & Carrie 11-26-13
We Are #1
Everybody knows that Tampa is a GREAT Place to Live. Now HRC (Human Rights Campaign) http://www.hrc.org/files/assets/resources/MEI_2013_report.pdf agrees. In a National GLBT Evaluation of Municipality Laws, Tampa scored 89 out of 100 possible points. Tampa is the highest rated #1 GLBT City in Florida.
A big Thank You goes out to our Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, Tampa City Council and the GaYBOR District Coalition for being a very progressive community.
President John F Kennedy In Tampa 50 Year Dedication
Week 8: The Tampa Citizen Police Academy
The Mark & Carrie Experience
Graduation
WOW did the 8 weeks of classes go by fast!!! We made great new friends and have a new respect for our Tampa Team Police Officers. We hope that you also enjoyed following our experiences in the Citizens Police Academy.
Tampa’s famed Chief of Police Jane Castor, District Majors, staff, students family & friends were all there for our Special Graduation Ceremony.
Thanks to the Columbia Restaurant who catered the graduation event with a special menu and a graduation cake. The newly appointed Citizen Police Officers and their families laughed at the classes videos the corporal made during our weekly seminars. Tazing, police car chases, shooting, SWAT team exercise and our ride alongs were in the often funny moments DVD.
To participate as 1 of 20 members in the next springs Citizen Police Academy contact Tampa Police downtown special events.
Lighting of Holiday Tree
Once again the community has come together in GaYBOR/Ybor City for the Holidays. The 34′ elaborately decorated Christmas tree in Centro Ybor was officially lit by Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn last Wednesday to a packed crowd.
The organizers of “Ybor City Holiday Spirits”, Mathieu Stanouch and D. Stephen Moss with their non profit, “One Tin Soldier Productions” is heading up a full assortment of activities throughout historic Ybor. Last years parade in the snow had over 25,000 parade attendees. The holiday parade is larger this year with 14 high school bands, floats and local political leaders and of course Santa Claus! Anticipated crowd of over 45,000 residents and tourists is expected. It is a real community holiday affair and holiday experience for all members of the family.
This is the 3rd year for the Ybor City Holiday Spirit and the snow falling 7th Ave. parade. Also the 7th year of decorating GaYBOR and Historic Ybor City started by GaYBOR District Coalition and worked with the YCDC in Ybor City in 2007.
Last Sunday hundreds of volunteers help decorate Ybor City by putting up holiday garland decorations on all the historic Ybor lamp posts.
The next big open Holiday event will be the “Snow on 7th Holiday Parade” on Dec 14th at 6pm. Please plan to attend
You Can Not Make This Up.
KiKiKi III Sold
The Oldest Gay bar in Tampa was sold this past week. We understand the building was purchased at auction by the engineering company next door. The KiKiKi #1 was downtown where the bus station is today. The KIKI#2 was just a few blocks away in the downtown area. The KiKiKi #3 was at 1908 W Kennedy Blvd for over the past 30 years. Many of us jokingly called the KIKIKI… The Frat House.
The one thing you could say about the KiKiKi is that they were “Consistent.” Our very first time at the KiKiKi 2 was in 1980. We had just moved to Tampa from Minneapolis to go to USF. Minneapolis was at least 10 years ahead of Tampa in those days. It was Gasparilla and we went to our 1st Gay Bar in Tampa to watch the parade.
The parade was winding it’s way thru Downtown Tampa. Inside the dark wood planked walled bar there were 2 guys shooting up drugs in the men’s room. Mark said “That’s it we are moving back to Minneapolis today!!!” 34 years later and we are still in Tampa, I guess Carrie won that one.
Over the following years we made many good friends at the KiKiKi. The owner was Cesar R. and the manager Stevie. Cesar’s brother was the famous Rene who owned the Kennedy Blvd. Gay Show Bar, “Rene’s” on Kennedy Blvd. There are many fun stories about the KiKiKi.
Everybody always said… “The KiKiKi has the Wildest floor show in Tampa Bay and doesn’t even have a floor show! If you sat in there long enough you would see everybody walk thru the doors of the KiKiKi!!!”
Dishing
“Show Your Joe”
K-mart commercial Joe Boxer Christmas put in a few Jingle Bells”
<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”//www.youtube.com/embed/-RWzd3Q-Qtg” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>
.
Calendario Romano
Some friends of ours just returned from a trip to the Vatican in Italy. They were so very excited because they found us the perfect Italian souvenir. It was a calendar of the HOTTEST Priests in the Vatican!!! LOL LOL It was the perfect gift!!!
Get yours at www.calendarioromano.org
.
Photo of the Week
Sometimes we all just forget how much things have changed for the better in America. After the Kennedy Dedication Marker we were looking at the photos. This one just hit us. WOW, … 50 years ago when President Kennedy was in Tampa this photo would have turned heads on so many different levels.
Take a close look at this photo. There is Mark & Carrie (Bd member) with Shirley Foxx-Knowles, Tampa’s City Clerk & chair of HCHAC ( Hillsborough County Historical Advisory Council ) holding the City of Tampa Flag.
Mark & Carrie 2 openly gay white guys. Shirley a woman in power and African American woman. All three in one photo. In 1964 this would have been a NO WAY.
Today, we don’t think anything about it. What a Great City & Country we all live in!
