Things to do this weekend

In Print: Friday, November 25, 2011

Courtesy of VEE Corporation

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TUESDAY-WEDNESDAY

It's Elmo time!

When Super Grover loses his superness, it's Elmo and his team of superheroes to the rescue in Elmo's Super Heroes. Your favorite Sesame Street friends will explore exercise, nutrition, sleep, energy and hygiene through song and dance — all in a quest to put the "super" back in Super Grover. Many of the tunes are renditions of songs you'll recognize: Old MacDonald, Splish Splash and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. $12, $16 and $22, some $27 Gold Circle seats and $55 Sunny Seats available. 7 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. St. Pete Times Forum, 401 Channelside Drive, Tampa. (813) 301-2500. Before the show hits Tampa, kids can dress as their favorite superhero and meet Cookie Monster for storytelling and arts and crafts at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Glazer Children's Museum in Tampa. $15, $12.50 military/seniors, $9.50 children, younger than 1 free. Kids in superhero costumes get in for $5. (813) 443-3861.

Friday

Hike by moonlight

It has nothing to do with Twilight, but don't let that keep you away. At the New Moon Hike, you can stargaze and search for owls, bats and alligators on a moonless November night. It starts at 6 p.m.; admission is $3, $1.50 children. Boyd Hill Nature Preserve, 1101 Country Club Way S, St. Petersburg. (727) 893-7326.

Saturday

Speedboat squad, activate

The Tampa Bay Water Ski Show Team delivers their last performance of the season, with more than 100 skiers ages 6-60 performing a holiday water ski show at 4 p.m. Free. Tower Lake, 130 Burbank Road, Oldsmar. (727) 480-9365.

Don't look like a turkey

Skateboarders of all ages and skill levels can compete for prizes at the "Don't Fall" Thanksgiving Jam. Registration and practice at 11 a.m., with the event starting at noon. $15. Ross Norton Recreation and Aquatic Complex, 1426 S Martin Luther King Jr. Ave., Clearwater. (727) 729-1941.

Running plus beer? Yes!

Could there be a better combination? The Autumn Fest 5K run and a craft beer festival afterward featuring Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Torpedo, Kellerweis and Celebration, Young's Double Chocolate, Banana Bread, Blue Moon and Anchor Steam T-shirts guaranteed for first 800 runners. Race day sign-up will be at 4:30 to 5:45 p.m. at the Safety Harbor Marina, with the race and beer festival from 6 to 9 p.m. Light sticks provided for all runners. $30, Safety Harbor City Marina, 110 Veterans Memorial Lane, Safety Harbor.

Wednesday

Hot stuff, comin' through

Meet some of Tampa's hot firefighters at the Tampa's Bravest Firefighter Auction. Bid to win all-inclusive dates with firemen and enjoy drink specials, complimentary sushi and live music from 6 to 9 p.m. Proceeds benefit Camp Hopetake Children's Burn Camp. Free. Blue Martini, Bay Street at International Plaza, 2223 N West Shore Blvd., Tampa. (813) 873-2583.

Thursday

No ordinary Joe

Who wouldn't want to take a look inside the life of the father of the lap dance? The film Strip Club King: The Story of Joe Redner explores the man who has been arrested more than 140 times, earned his GED in jail, became an avid student of the law, got clean and sober, and has run for local public office seven times. See it at 7 p.m. at The Buzz, 710 Harbour Post Drive, Tampa. $5. (813) 224-9214. cigarcitymagazine.com/shop.

It's snowing in Tampa!

Ooh and ahh over the tree lighting all you want, but the kids will head straight for the snow-slide rides at downtown Tampa's Holiday Tree Lighting Festival. There's also a visit with Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus, musical entertainment, carnival and inflatable games, holiday arts and crafts, and food starting at 5:30 p.m. at Joe Chillura Courthouse Square, Kennedy Boulevard and Morgan Street. Free. (813) 276-2677. For more tree lighting festivities this weekend, see Page 36.

5 under $5

FREE After the leftovers are put away, it sinks in that the Christmas season is really here. Time to sink into it sweetly with a free showing of A Christmas Story at Pier 60 on Clearwater Beach on Saturday. Bring blankets, low lawn chairs or towels to plop on the beach. Concessions for sale. No alcohol. The movie starts around dusk.

FREE Got family in town this weekend for Thanksgiving? The weekly St. Pete Shuffle is always a fun night out. It won't be quite so laid-back this week, though, as local punk groups Flexxehawk, the Peabodies and Dead Sound will provide live entertainment. This also marks the first full-band gig in five years for the Peabodies, a local alterna-pop group whose lineup includes former pop-music critics Gina Vivinetto and Curtis Ross of the St. Petersburg Times and Tampa Tribune, respectively. The shuffleboard fun starts at 7 p.m. Friday at the St. Petersburg Shuffleboard Club, 559 Mirror Lake Drive N, St. Petersburg. Free, donations appreciated. stpeteshuffle.org.

FREE Have a holiday-themed cocktail at Miracle on 7th Avenue, which should make the tree-decorating contest a lot more jolly. Also entertainment by the Ken Apperson Band, photos with Santa, art and crafts, and hors d'oeuvres at 6 p.m. Dec. 1 at the Ritz Ybor, 1503 E Seventh Ave., Tampa. Free, but donations benefit the Pediatric Cancer Fund. (813) 247-2555.

FREE Saturdays at the Morean is a free art experience at the arts center in downtown St. Petersburg, designed for families with children ages 5-10. But this month there's another bonus: There's a gorgeous glass art tree that's perfect for Christmas photos. They also have a Christmas scene painted on another wall, so bring along your camera. The center will be open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for free art exploration with open art stations and take-home projects with instructors on hand at 719 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. Free.

FREE The annual Holiday Glass Show by Susan Gott at the Phoenix Glass Studio and Gallery in Tampa includes an exhibition of glass art and glass-blowing throughout the weekend. The opening reception is 6 p.m. Friday with a "Casting with Glass" performance by Susan Gott and her team of artists at 7:30 p.m. The exhibition continues Saturday and Sunday with daily demos and open house from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Phoenix Studio, 811 E Knollwood St., Tampa. Free.

[Last modified: Nov 25, 2011 05:59 PM]