By Peter Roos
ST. PETE BEACH
Concerts in Horan Park on Friday Nights
- Oct. 1 – The Tom Petty Experience
- Oct. 8 – Horny Toads
- Oct.15 – Ajeva
- Oct.22 – More is More
- Oct.29 – Tobi Keith Tribute
spbrec.com/calendar
Trunk or Treat will be in Horan Park 5-8pm on Thurs. Oct. 28th. A Halloween Movie will screen at 6:30pm.
The 7th Annual Chowder Challenge returns to Horan Park on November 7th from 1-5pm. It is a terrific fundraiser presented by the Veterans of South Pinellas County (VSPC) and sponsored by The city of St. Pete Beach. The Chowder Challenge is a chowder and soup cook-off and competition with the area’s best chefs and restaurants. It is Veteran’s Day Weekend, so the event will feature the national anthem, an Honor Guard, a Salute to Veterans and a military Induction ceremony as well. There will be live music, beer and wine, raffles, and a silent auction. The VSPC uses proceeds from their events to support returning veterans who are pursuing higher education, amongst other veteran causes. For more info and tickets ($15 adv./$20 day of) visit online at stpetebeach.org/604/Chowder-Challenge. For more info, contact Mariah Kaylor at mkaylor@stpetebeach.org or call 727-363-9245. Located at 7701 Boca Ciega Drive.
Reclaimed Watering Scheduled
We haven’t used much for a while, but the city of St. Pete Beach recently adopted Pinellas County’s 3 night/week schedule for sprinkling yards on the island. Even numbered homes can water on their choice of Tues.,Thurs., and Saturdays, and odd numbered homes Mon., Wed., and Fridays, from 8pm-6am. St. Pete Beach residents should find a reminder card in this issue.
Bucs Bash at TradeWinds Oct. 14-16
TradeWinds Island Resorts, the Official Beach Resort of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is hosting the Bucs Beach Bash Oct. 14-16. Fans can party like a pirate all weekend long with live music, cornhole tournaments, poolside parties, Bucs Watch Party and Kid Zone, plus fan favorites, like the Buccaneers Cheerleaders.
Ocean Air Market at Post Card Inn October 24th 2-7pm
LocalShops1 is holding a new market at the Post Card Inn October 24th 2-7pm at 6300 Gulf Blvd in St. Pete Beach. Food, drinks and live music for shoppers.
Development Projects Proposed
Proposed projects recently brought before the commissioners in St. Pete Beach include TradeWinds Island Grand Resorts’ expansion: TradeWinds has discussed a conceptual plan for the redevelopment of its 18-acre resort campus, including the newly-acquired Alden Suites, which includes a 1,700-foot beach walk. The roughly 3.5-acre addition to the campus could be redeveloped into another resort with at least 1,600 units and more than 140,000 square feet of shopping, dining and amenity space, according to city documents.
Don CeSar Resort’s new conference space: The Don CeSar wants to develop a conference facility on the northern side of the resort site. The 10,000-square-foot conference center would be used for meetings and weddings.
Winn Dixie might be Storage Place
The two-acre former Winn-Dixie site, located at 7625 Blind Pass Road, has been proposed for redevelopment into a self-storage facility with mixed-use commercial space.
TREASURE ISLAND MADEIRA BEACH
Football season is back and so is the KING GATOR show. Sid Rice aka King Gator lost his venue when his family sold Gators on the Pass. Leaders of his fan club have worked hard to get Sid a new stage, and it worked. The KING GATOR show is appearing at Sea Dog Brewery in Treasure Island on Gator Game Days.
Vanderbilt Oct. 9th Noon
- L.S.U. Oct. 16 TBD
- Off Oct. 23rd
- Georgia Oct. 30th 3:30 p.m.
- S. Carolina Nov. 6th TBD
- Samford U. Nov. 13th TBD
- Missouri Nov. 20th TBD
- F.S.U. Nov. 27th TBD)
The Treasure Island/Madeira Beach Chamber of Commerce has added 100 new members to its roster in the past few months compared to 35 for all of last year.
TIERRA VERDE
The Tierra Verde Tree Lighting event is planned for Dec. 4th. Holiday Events that have been shared by this time can be found at paradisenewsfl.com/HolidayEvents.
STATE OF FLORIDA
Florida’s minimum wage increased to $10/hour or $6.98/hour plus tips, for the year ending September 29, 2022.
PINELLAS COUNTY
Pinellas Early Literacy Initiative
The Helios Education Foundation invested $1 million; the Pinellas Education Foundation chipped in $500,000. Helios wants to “help make students academically prepared at every stage of the education continuum and ultimately, graduate college and be career ready,” it said in a statement.
Reverse Trade Show
Government contractors and business owners meet dozens of local agencies from the Tampa Bay Area who are ready to do business with small business enterprises! Presented by Pinellas County Economic Development & Florida Small Business Development Center. Sponsored by United Bank. October 15, 9-11am. Visit PCED.org/reversetradeshow for more information and to register.
Leadership Pinellas Latin Nights Fundraiser
Achieva Federal Credit Union is sponsoring and hosting Leadership Pinellas’s fundraiser event – Latin Nights, Friday, Nov. 5th 6-10pm at Achieva’s Dunedin corporate headquarters in the outdoor Center Court. There will be Latin music, cigar rolling, salsa dance lessons, a silent auction and other festive entertainment. Funds raised will expand the organization’s diversity inclusion initiatives and outreach to expand its mission throughout Pinellas. Tickets are on sale online ($100/each). leadership-pinellas.myshopify.com/pages/latin-nights
Community Tampa Bay Gets $10,000 Grant
“The Papa John’s Foundation selected Community Tampa Bay as a recipient of our grant as we identified their commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion that drive change in our community,” said Laura Bell, Papa John’s store relationships coordinator.
New Director of Economic Development
Pinellas County has named Dr. Cynthia Johnson as its new director of economic development. A veteran member of the department since 2000, Johnson brings two decades of leadership experience in economic development.
ST. PETERSBURG
Preserve the Burg Presents Thursday Night Movies and Music in the Park
Each Thursday in October you can listen to tunes and watch a classic movie in north Straub Park thanks to Preserve the Burg, who also sponsor Saturday morning walking tours downtown from 10-noon. Cary Grant in His Girl Friday (7th), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (14th), Field of Dreams (21st), and BeetleJuice (28th).
African American and LGBTQIA+ History Sought
The St. Petersburg Museum of History wants to enhance its archives and collections relating to the city’s African American and LGBTQIA+ histories and is asking the community for help. The 99-year-old museum is calling for images, objects, documents and personal stories that share the African American and LGBTQIA+ experiences from St. Petersburg.
The City of St. Petersburg’s New St. Pete Pier, Pier Gateway and Pier Approach Park project won the Best Landscape/Urban Development category in this year’s Southeast Best Projects contest. (photo by RiMO Photos)
Moffitt Cancer Center along with United Insurance Holdings Corp. and TPA Group submitted an offer to purchase the 4.59-acre site in order to develop a mixed-use project which would include a cancer care center, a future headquarters building for UPC, a residential building, and a public parking garage.