Tampa Adds Park, More Trail In Channel District
The city of Tampa is working to complete two more recreational projects for downtown Tampa’s Channel district: a small park and a trail that leads from Channelside to Davis Islands. […]
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Calling All Volunteers: Clean-Up Event Strives To Keep Tampa Beautiful
The city of Tampa will hold its Fifth Annual Clean City Day on Saturday, March 12. The event runs from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and is filled with activities. Registered volunteers will be given a project and location to work.
Feeling Good Vibes On Beach Drive In St. Petersburg
The eclectic mix of shops and cafes on Beach Drive in St. Petersburg appear to be thriving this winter as throngs of out-of-town visitors mingle with locals to enjoy the sunshine and visit the growing arts venues that help attract people to the community.
Beach Trolley Connects St. Pete To Tarpon Springs
For years, tourists and residents have enjoyed riding the Jolley Trolley from the beaches of Pass-A-Grille in St. Petersburg to the northern tip of Clearwater Beach and points in between. They can now extend that ride even farther north to the sponge docks of Tarpon Springs.The new route, which extends Jolley Trolley public transit service from Clearwater Beach through the downtown neighborhoods of Clearwater, Dunedin, Palm Harbor and the docks at Tarpon Springs, began on Nov. 17 and will run every weekend on Fridays and Saturdays until midnight and until 10 p.m. on Sundays."We have all these communities along the Alternate 19 corridor with these great downtown areas like Dunedin and Palm Harbor on up to Tarpon Springs," says R.B. Johnson, chairman of Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority's board of directors. "The idea was to link these areas together to make it easier for tourists and residents to go to these areas of concentration without worrying about getting in and out of their cars."The route extension is financed through contributions made by the Clearwater Downtown Development Board, the municipalities of Tarpon Springs and Dunedin, Pinellas County and the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority. Jolley Trolley fare is $2 one way."It's helping promote these areas," says Johnson. "It works off of itself and builds up community. It fills that transit gap on weekends, going to restaurants and bar hopping from point A to point B, and points in between. We feel like we need to have better transit in north county. This is one small step toward that end."Writer: Missy KavanaughSource: R.B. Johnson, Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority
Sports Fans Flock To Bradenton For Global Tourneys
A series of athletic events welcomed an influx of tourism to Manatee County businesses.Most recently, the Eddie Herr International Junior Tennis Championships brought 2,200 athletes, coaches, families and friends from 97 countries to Bradenton for the 10-day event.Manatee County tourism brought in $12.2 million in 2009-10, according to The Bradenton Herald.Read the complete story.
REALM Helps Tampa’s Riverwalk Come Alive
In case you haven't noticed, more people are walking around in downtown Tampa. Some are even playing.People are actually gathering in Curtis Hixon Park on the Hillsborough River on any given day to attend an organized event, or to just, well, hang. And much of it may be due to a woman who yearned for more urban energy, saw a space and the opportunity it held, and pursued an unconventional idea.Nancy Kipnis is the founder of REALM, a grass-roots group / initiative / idea, depending on how you look at it, who moved to downtown Tampa from New York to start her PR firm. She says she loved her new town, except that no one was walking downtown. There was no urban feel or presence."I moved here from New York seven years ago and was pretty starved for a city," she says. "I do marketing and PR, and started paying a lot of attention to things that were going on downtown. I wanted to devote my business to making Tampa more of an urban center."Kipnis recognized that Tampa knew how to organize and promote the big annual events, but that it was lacking day-to-day activity downtown. So Kipnis decided to do something about it. She started sharing her concerns with her growing contacts list throughout downtown Tampa. And then Curtis Hixon Park became the focal point of the emerging Riverwalk arts scene. So Kipnis and her group of like-minded citizens began organizing events that made use of the green open space along Ashley Street between The Tampa Museum of Art and the Glazer Children's Museum on the Riverwalk. "Our core group are all doers and we decided we're going to spearhead what we're interested in," says Kipner. "Local architect Keith Bremminger, a member of the Tampa Downtown Partnership, loves dogs and spearheads Yappy Hour. Hunter Jones has a great music connection and spearheads Rock the Park." REALM also provides a fun cart that provides frisbees and footballs to park-goers in search of something to do.REALM, which stands for "The Public Realm," is gaining strength through organization. It is currently seeking funding through Pepsi Co.'s Refresh Project, which is awarding funding to people, businesses and nonprofits with grand ideas for changing their communities. And REALM is one of them.Kipnis hopes that her bid for $5,000 will get enough votes to give REALM the funds needed to organize and grow the organization to allow it to continue to evolve and bring more innovative events to the space at Curtis Hixon Park. And get people walking. And playing.Writer: Missy KavanaughSource: Nancy Kipnis, REALM
Tampa’s Future Rail Stop Positioned By Historic Cemetery
Hillsborough County's only planned high speed rail stop, off Morgran and Scott streets, will position the station next to Oaklawn Cemetery. The cemetery, founded in 1850, is home to Civil War veterans, pirates and 13 former mayors. An American Institute of Architects branch in Tampa is spearheading an effort to preserve the cemetery throughout the construction process, designate it a historic landmark and integrate into the design of the rail's station. Read the complete story.
Calling All Volunteers: Clean-Up Event Strives To Keep Tampa Beautiful
The city of Tampa will hold its Fifth Annual Clean City Day on Saturday, March 12. The event runs from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and is filled with activities. Registered volunteers will be given a project and location to work.
Feeling Good Vibes On Beach Drive In St. Petersburg
The eclectic mix of shops and cafes on Beach Drive in St. Petersburg appear to be thriving this winter as throngs of out-of-town visitors mingle with locals to enjoy the sunshine and visit the growing arts venues that help attract people to the community.
Beach Trolley Connects St. Pete To Tarpon Springs
For years, tourists and residents have enjoyed riding the Jolley Trolley from the beaches of Pass-A-Grille in St. Petersburg to the northern tip of Clearwater Beach and points in between. They can now extend that ride even farther north to the sponge docks of Tarpon Springs.The new route, which extends Jolley Trolley public transit service from Clearwater Beach through the downtown neighborhoods of Clearwater, Dunedin, Palm Harbor and the docks at Tarpon Springs, began on Nov. 17 and will run every weekend on Fridays and Saturdays until midnight and until 10 p.m. on Sundays."We have all these communities along the Alternate 19 corridor with these great downtown areas like Dunedin and Palm Harbor on up to Tarpon Springs," says R.B. Johnson, chairman of Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority's board of directors. "The idea was to link these areas together to make it easier for tourists and residents to go to these areas of concentration without worrying about getting in and out of their cars."The route extension is financed through contributions made by the Clearwater Downtown Development Board, the municipalities of Tarpon Springs and Dunedin, Pinellas County and the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority. Jolley Trolley fare is $2 one way."It's helping promote these areas," says Johnson. "It works off of itself and builds up community. It fills that transit gap on weekends, going to restaurants and bar hopping from point A to point B, and points in between. We feel like we need to have better transit in north county. This is one small step toward that end."Writer: Missy KavanaughSource: R.B. Johnson, Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority
Sports Fans Flock To Bradenton For Global Tourneys
A series of athletic events welcomed an influx of tourism to Manatee County businesses.Most recently, the Eddie Herr International Junior Tennis Championships brought 2,200 athletes, coaches, families and friends from 97 countries to Bradenton for the 10-day event.Manatee County tourism brought in $12.2 million in 2009-10, according to The Bradenton Herald.Read the complete story.
REALM Helps Tampa’s Riverwalk Come Alive
In case you haven't noticed, more people are walking around in downtown Tampa. Some are even playing.People are actually gathering in Curtis Hixon Park on the Hillsborough River on any given day to attend an organized event, or to just, well, hang. And much of it may be due to a woman who yearned for more urban energy, saw a space and the opportunity it held, and pursued an unconventional idea.Nancy Kipnis is the founder of REALM, a grass-roots group / initiative / idea, depending on how you look at it, who moved to downtown Tampa from New York to start her PR firm. She says she loved her new town, except that no one was walking downtown. There was no urban feel or presence."I moved here from New York seven years ago and was pretty starved for a city," she says. "I do marketing and PR, and started paying a lot of attention to things that were going on downtown. I wanted to devote my business to making Tampa more of an urban center."Kipnis recognized that Tampa knew how to organize and promote the big annual events, but that it was lacking day-to-day activity downtown. So Kipnis decided to do something about it. She started sharing her concerns with her growing contacts list throughout downtown Tampa. And then Curtis Hixon Park became the focal point of the emerging Riverwalk arts scene. So Kipnis and her group of like-minded citizens began organizing events that made use of the green open space along Ashley Street between The Tampa Museum of Art and the Glazer Children's Museum on the Riverwalk. "Our core group are all doers and we decided we're going to spearhead what we're interested in," says Kipner. "Local architect Keith Bremminger, a member of the Tampa Downtown Partnership, loves dogs and spearheads Yappy Hour. Hunter Jones has a great music connection and spearheads Rock the Park." REALM also provides a fun cart that provides frisbees and footballs to park-goers in search of something to do.REALM, which stands for "The Public Realm," is gaining strength through organization. It is currently seeking funding through Pepsi Co.'s Refresh Project, which is awarding funding to people, businesses and nonprofits with grand ideas for changing their communities. And REALM is one of them.Kipnis hopes that her bid for $5,000 will get enough votes to give REALM the funds needed to organize and grow the organization to allow it to continue to evolve and bring more innovative events to the space at Curtis Hixon Park. And get people walking. And playing.Writer: Missy KavanaughSource: Nancy Kipnis, REALM
Tampa’s Future Rail Stop Positioned By Historic Cemetery
Hillsborough County's only planned high speed rail stop, off Morgran and Scott streets, will position the station next to Oaklawn Cemetery. The cemetery, founded in 1850, is home to Civil War veterans, pirates and 13 former mayors. An American Institute of Architects branch in Tampa is spearheading an effort to preserve the cemetery throughout the construction process, designate it a historic landmark and integrate into the design of the rail's station. Read the complete story.
