By Nanette Wiser
PLAY BALL
Witness the excitement of a Tampa Bay Rays baseball game at home in Tropicana Field in downtown St. Pete. You can ride the SunRunner from St. Pete Beach to the Trop! Rays are looking hot in their 25th season, hoping to advance to Major League Baseball’s postseason for the fifth consecutive year in 2023. For the littlest sluggers, enjoy the 10,000-gallon Rays Touch Tank well as some of St. Pete’s favorite eats with local concession offerings from fanciful milkshakes and treats from Beans & Barlour to tuna poke and sushi bowls from Pacific Counter.
On April 15, The Rays honored the 76th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking baseball’s color barrier in 1947 with community events and an annual investment of $100,000 to support organizations committed to ending systemic racism. The Rays Baseball Foundation and Rowdies Soccer Fund announced the recipients for the 2023 Racial Equity Grant. Each recipient will receive $20,000 in funding to support their community efforts to make an impact in the areas of housing, workforce development, health equity, criminal justice reform, education, and youth development. Police Athletic League of St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg College Foundation, University Area Community Development Corporation Inc., United Negro College Fund and United Way Suncoast-Campbell Park Resource Center.
TWO WHEEL ADVENTURES
See the city like a local with St. Pete Biking Tours. All bike tours are 3-4 hours and include bicycles, helmets, souvenir water bottles and on occasion, complimentary food, and beverages. Choose among the history and heritage tour, art and mural tour, downtown St. Pete city tour, pedaling for pints tour and hidden gems food and wine tour. StPeteBikingtours.com You can go far by bike in paradise with Bike/Walk Tampa Bay, a consortium of organizations who want to make biking and walking the preferred mode of transportation. The website offers resources for bikers and walkers, info on the Fred Marquis Pinellas Trail and bike rules, cycling tips and how to take your bike on a bus. Bikewalktampabay.org
THE BIG KAHUNA
Let’s face it; the Gulf doesn’t get that much surf wave action except during storms. But you can try out the sport safely at Surf Style’s Indoor Surfing FlowRider wave machine in Clearwater Beach. The FlowRider challenges wave gliders to balance on surging waves and if you wipeout, you fall on a soft riding service. Practice tricks, hone your skills and see if you are Big Wave material. surfstyle.com
MEMORIAL EVENTS
May 19 — Carry the Load memorial walks
Free registration, 8am-9pm, throughout Pinellas County. This fundraising campaign to honor and remember the sacrifices of our nation’s heroes and make Memorial Day matter again comes to Pinellas County May 19. Begin the day at 8am with a memorial in downtown St. Petersburg to the city’s fallen officers. The walk will get to Bay Pines National Cemetery about noon, continuing to Seminole, Clearwater and Dunedin before ending the day at the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. Walkers can participate in any or all the day’s segments. For information about participating and fundraising, visit carrytheload.org/memorial-may
May 28 — Memorial Day Flag Placement
9am, Bay Pines National Cemetery, 10000 Bay Pines Blvd., St. Petersburg. Volunteers place some 25,000-30,000 small flags on individual gravesites. For this event, volunteers must register with Flags for Fallen Vets to obtain flags. https://tinyurl.com/4xhkw94x
May 29 — Bay Pines Memorial Day Ceremony
10 and 11am., Bay Pines National Cemetery 10000 Bay Pines Blvd., St. Petersburg.
May 29 — Clearwater Memorial Day Salute
6-7pm, Crest Lake Park, 201 S Glenwood Ave., Clearwater. Local veterans’ organizations will be present including the Military Order of the Purple Heart represented by Florida’s first Purple Heart Chapter, Dunedin’s JFK 1963 Chapter. Keynote speaker will be Jack Tilly, the 12th Sergeant Mayor of the Army (retired). Restored military vehicles will be on display.