Trifecta of Taste
In a perfect example of LGBT organizations working together, the Tampa Bay Business Guild, St. Pete Pride and the Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival are combining efforts to bring back the popular â┚¬Å”Taste of Prideâ┚¬Â event. This time around it's called the Taste of TIGLFF and Street Fair and will coincide with the 22nd year of the film festival on Saturday, Oct. 15. Several restaurants are already on board and the special even twill close down the streets of downtown Tampa around the historic Tampa Theatre and the TECO Plaza. Vendor space is still available and Taste of TIGLFF replaces the former Tampa Bay Business Guild Expo. For details visit TBBG.org.
PLAY no more
The live music venue created and nurtured by popular lesbian duo Halcyon is no longer around. PLAY, which opened to much fanfare more than a year ago in the former home of the Spurs country bar, closed its doors over the summer with little more than an announcement on Facebook. But, as they say, life goes on, and it's rare that a building remains vacant for long in Ybor City. So now, in the former home of Spurs and the former home of PLAY is now called Collage and features art exhibits, performance art and dance music. A VIP reception brought out the who's who of Ybor on Sept. 10 and rumor has it that the outdoor patio with the large stage will be enclosed so the amazing space can be enjoyed come rain or shine. Collage is on the corner of 8th Avenue and 17th Street.
It's up in the airâ┚¬Â¦really!
LGBTs around Tampa Bayâ┚¬â€Âand the stateâ┚¬â€Âreceived their invitations to the 35th annual All Hallows Ball recently and learned this year's theme: â┚¬Å”Up In The Air.â┚¬Â The annual Halloween masquerade ball is Saturday, Oct. 29, at the Tampa Convention Center. Any number of costume ideas come to mind with the theme, but invitations explicitly say that no helium filled balloons are allowed at this year's festivities. Balloons filled with regular lung air, however, are fine. You can bet that the convention center will be packed with creative LGBTs and that camera phones will be flashing wildly. So if you can't make it or didn't receive an invitation, stay tuned to Facebook for a bevy of offerings from the celebration.
