The skies are crystalline, the air is fresh, the social distancing is in full effect — it’s a great weekend for some of our area’s top outdoor events. But indoor options abound as well — read on.
1. Sanding Ovations Sand Sculpting Exhibition
“They did that with sand?” will be the question on everyone’s lips once again as this annual sand sculpture spectacular returns to Treasure Island Beach. There’s no Masters Cup competition this year because COVID-19 travel restrictions prevented international sculptors from taking part, so instead there’s a theme — Sandhenge — and the invited sculptors include local, national and Canadian artists. Plus… kites! The Fall Fly Kite Festival has been incorporated into the event, with kites flying north of the sand sculptures. There’ll be live entertainment, food vendors, refreshment tents and a bar, too — all of it modified for the era of social distancing. 11/19-22: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Thurs. & Sun.; 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Fri. & Sat., with lighted displays, DJ and night kite flies Friday and Saturday and fireworks Saturday night at 8. Free admission. 10400 Gulf Blvd., Treasure Island, sandingovationsmasterscup.com.
2. CraftArt with a Twist
In its 23rd year, the Florida CraftArt Festival in downtown St. Pete is morphing from a weekend-long show featuring 100 craft artists into a smaller two-Saturday affair with 18 artists, to be held outside and across the street from CraftArt’s gallery on Nov. 21 and 28. The standards are high and the delights are many at CraftArt, which is the only statewide organization promoting fine craft artists. Participants this Saturday include:
- Ceramics: William Kidd, Suzy Pease, Harry Welsch, Andrew Wender
- Fiber: Leeann Kroetsch, Robert Stadnycki
- Jewelry: Marc Aune, Charles Bahringer, Linda and Carl Caristo, William Carlie, Lynn Hardesty
- Metal: Javier Dones
- Mixed Media: Artists of ArtLofts, Anne Ross Oliva
- Sculpture: Terry Andrews
- Emerging Artists: Tyler Quintin (Ceramics), Diana Hirschhorn (Jewelry), Janna Kennedy (Mixed Media)
Sat. Nov. 21, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free admission. 501 Central Ave. and across the street in Regions Bank parking lot, St. Petersburg, floridacraftart.org.
3. Pelican Women’s Championship
Unless you’re a VIP, a sponsor or the guest of a player, you’re SOL when it comes to seeing this new LPGA Tour tournament in person. But it’ll be broadcast via tape delay on the Golf Channel, where it should be a shining showcase for the Pelican Golf Club in Belleair and an opportunity to watch (among the 108 players competing for a $1.5 million purse) the amazing young South Korean golfer Jin Young Ko (#1 in the world) and local heroine Brittany Lincicome. Golf Channel, Nov. 19-22, 4 p.m.
4. Festival of Trees
An awesome display of creativity and kindness in which volunteers decorate holiday trees and wreaths and sell them to benefit those with intellectual and developmental disabilities served by The Arc Tampa Bay. Now in its 36th year, the festival has adjusted its format from a weekend of sales and celebration at the Long Center into a more socially-distanced approach for 2020 themed “It’s Christmas Time in the City.” The public will be able to view and purchase trees at more than 40 “pop-up” locations throughout north and central Pinellas from Nov. 20-Dec. 4. For a map of participating locations and to enter a raffle for AmeriLife’s three feature trees now on display at Westfield Countryside mall, go to thearctbfoundation.org/event/festival-of-trees.
5. Cuban Sandwich Festival
The ninth annual celebration of Tampa’s contribution to the world of sandwiches features food, music, sandwich competitions and an attempt to make The Biggest Cuban Sandwich in the World — the goal is 200 feet. The sandwich is then cut up and donated to a homeless shelter to feed over 500 people. Social distancing and masks will be required to attend. Sun., Nov. 22, Centro Asturiano de Tampa, 1913 N. Nebraska Ave., Ybor City. Free tickets available for three time slots: 11 a.m.-2 p.m., 2-4 p.m., or 4-6 p.m. Register at eventbrite to reserve your ticket; VIP options available, too. cubansandwichfestival.com
6. Winter Village Tampa
As of this writing, the temperature had plummeted to… 70! Clearly time to pull on a sweater, lace up the skates and head to Curtis Hixon Park in downtown Tampa to take a turn on the ice rink! A festive kickoff to the holiday season, the Village also features a cafe, pop-up shops, rides on the Curtis Hixon Park Choo Choo and lots of special events, including a chance to chat with Mrs. Claus and give her your letter to Santa to deliver to him personally. The Man with the Bag might even make a few surprise visits to the Village himself. Opens Friday, Nov. 20. Continues Thursdays-Sundays through Jan. 3. Curtis Hixon Park, 600 N. Ashley Drive, Tampa. Admission to the Village is free. Timed tickets to the skating rink ($15, skate rental included) can be purchased online here. More details on hours, shops, etc. at wintervillagetampa.com.
7. Suncoast Jazz Festival Goes Virtual
The jazz festival has postponed its in-person 30th anniversary celebration till next year, but meanwhile they’re presenting a free online fest so you can groove on tunes in the safety of your living room. Genres include jazz, swing, big band, blues, banjos and zydeco, played by such artists as Nate Najar, La Lucha, James Suggs, Professor Cunningham and many more. Fri.-Sun., Nov. 20-22, on Facebook, YouTube and suncoastjazzfestival.com.
8. Tampa Bay Transgender Film Festival
In a time when the rights and even the lives of transgender people are threatened by reactionary legislation and violence, the Tampa International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival is throwing the area’s first Transgender Film Festival on Friday, Nov. 20, the Transgender Day of Remembrance. Five documentary films will be launched with full streaming access at noon on Friday: Out Loud, Pier Kids, Keyboard Fantasies, I Was Not Born A Mistake and Transkids. To close the festival, at 7 p.m. on Sun., Nov. 22, a Transgender Healing Space will be available exclusively for any registered attendees who identify under the trans+ umbrella. This private, affirming space will be live and virtual. View the films at tiglff.com.
9. Lucinda Williams via Ruth Eckerd
The legendary Lucinda, goddess of gravel-voiced authenticity, continues her “Lu’s Jukebox“ livestream series with Bob’s Back Pages: A Night of Bob Dylan Songs, Nov. 19, 8 p.m. Tickets are on sale now at RuthEckerdHall.com.
10. See a Play — in Person or Online
There are some excellent shows up and running right now, and some of them you don’t even have to leave home to see. American Stage and actor Janis Stevens evoke the spirit of Kate Hepburn as “a force of nature,” says Creative Loafing‘s Jon Palmer Claridge about the company’s virtual staging of Kate: The Unexamined Life of Katharine Hepburn (through Nov. 29, americanstage.org). Both Kate and LAB Theater Project’s intriguing drama Lies have won “thumbs-up” ratings from the judges at Theatre Tampa Bay (through Nov. 22, labtheaterproject.com). And I suggest you make reservations now for the final two performances in December of Jobsite’s Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992. I saw it on opening night, and I guarantee you won’t forget it. The power and versatility of Andresia Moseley, who plays 27 characters in all, is amazing, and the topicality of Anna Deavere Smith’s script, taken directly from interviews in the aftermath of the Rodney King police beating and subsequent riots in 1992, is stunning. (Dec. 1 and 2, 7:30 p.m., Jaeb Theater at the Straz, jobsitetheater.org).
