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Plan your weekend: Tampa Pride, 'The Room,' Disney on Ice, Michael Bolton at Busch Gardens and tiny homes

 
A tiny house is seen in Ybor City. A Tiny Home Show is coming to the Florida State Fairgrounds this weekend. [RICHARD DANIELSON | Times]
A tiny house is seen in Ybor City. A Tiny Home Show is coming to the Florida State Fairgrounds this weekend. [RICHARD DANIELSON | Times]
Published March 21, 2018

Parade

Tampa Parade, Street Festival: Now in its fourth year, Tampa Pride Diversity Parade returns Saturday to the streets of Ybor City with grand marshals former Tampa police Chief Jane Castor and the Rev. Jakob Hero-Shaw, senior pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church. The pet-friendly event kicks off from Nuccio Parkway at 1 p.m. You can also check out the Tampa Pride Street Festival from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday with an artisans area, a community health fair and two entertainment stages in the Hillsborough Community College parking lot.

Film

Gasparilla International Film Festival: We've got celebrities in town this weekend including Friday, when Ybor City will witness the spectacle that is Tommy Wiseau, (Oh, hi Tommy) who is even stranger than James Franco played him in The Disaster Artist. Wiseau and cult accomplice Greg Sestero present The Room at the Attic, 1510 E Eighth Ave., 11 p.m. for festival pass holders only. They'll also introduce their latest collaboration Best F(r)iends, 9 p.m. at Centro Ybor 10. Then on Saturday, actor Eric Stoltz (Mask, Pulp Fiction) presents his latest work as a director, Class Rank, 7 p.m. at Centro Ybor 10. Schedules and ticketing are available at gasparillafilmfestival.com. Prices range from free to $75 for Gasparilla's weekend film pass.

Stage

The Bodyguard: Canadian R&B star Deborah Cox headlines ain a role made famous by Whitney Houston in the film with Kevin Costner. The musical based on that film has the added aura of a concert. It runs today through Sunday at the Straz Center. $40 and up. (813) 229-7827. strazcenter.org. Read more with Cox at tampabay.com/things-to-do/stage.

ON THE CHEAP: 5 things to do this weekend under $5

Take the kids

Disney on Ice: The latest ice skating show, Disney on Ice: Reach for the Stars, should be called "reach for your wallet" because let's be honest, parents are helpless to not fork it over for a show with royal sisters Anna and Elsa and snowman Olaf singing Let it Go and In Summer. Then you get Sebastian with the hot crustacean band and the Daughters of Triton introducing Ariel in an '80s pop montage. Seven shows Friday through Sunday at Amalie Arena, 401 Channelside Drive, Tampa. $18-$100. (813) 301-2500. For show times, see amaliearena.com.

Get small

Great American Tiny Home Show: For people who love the idea of scaling back, the Tampa tiny house show may fit your teeny-tiny niche. There will be builders, project experts, lifestyle authors and panel discussions. There will also be a display of tiny homes, modular homes, container homes and portable structures with building equipment, tools, supplies and accessories. 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Florida State Fairgrounds, 4802 U.S. 301 N, Tampa. $15, $10 senior/military; 12 and younger free. (855) 640-9944.

Comedy

Lavell Crawford: This stand-up comedian and actor is perhaps best known for playing Saul Goodman's bodyguard Huell Babineaux in Breaking Bad but his Comedy Central special Can A Brother Get Some Love? — filmed in his hometown of St. Louis — only added to his devout comedy fan base. $30. Improv Comedy Theater, 1600 E Eighth Ave., Tampa. (813) 864-4000. improvtampa.com. 8 p.m. Friday through 7 p.m. Sunday.

Dance

Shen Yun: In a massive effort, this dance and music company splashes the senses with colorful costumes and lavish digital animation. Chinese artists, some of whom escaped persecution, founded the New York-based group in 2006, in part to revive 5,000 years of history suppressed during the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s. The show runs daily through Sunday at the Mahaffey Theater, 400 First Street S, St. Petersburg. $80 and up. (727) 892-5798. For show times, go to themahaffey.com.

Easter

Flashlight Egg Hunt: We've got lots of egg hunts this week in the run up to Easter on April 1. Among them: kids ages 4 to 10 need to bring a flashlight and a basket to hunt for thousands of eggs at this Easter-themed event with arts and crafts, games and a hot dog picnic. $12. Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center, 550 Laura Lane, Dunedin. (727) 738-2920. 6:30-8:30 p.m. Saturday. Find loads more at tampabay.com/easter.

Festival

Primavera Music Festival: This music festival Saturday in Safety Harbor, features a variety of local and regional acts and "Florida's largest Easter egg drop." There will also be food trucks, fireworks, arts, crafts, a 90-foot Ferris wheel and a full day of music. One of the day's big names, Bradenton-raised, Nashville-based alt-soul singer R.Lum.R, who is playing major summer fests like Bonnaroo and Hangout. Joining him are Ethan Parker, the Groove Orient, Ajeva, the Black Honkeys and more. Gates open at noon; fireworks at 9 p.m. Safety Harbor Waterfront Park, 110 Veterans Memorial Lane. $19 and up. p rimaverafest.com.

Family

Showmen's Riverfest: Produced by former carnie workers who aim to preserve rural Hillsborough County's place in carnival history, this four-day festival will do what they do best — put on a show! There will be rides, food and games in a family-friendly environment. 5-11 p.m. today and Friday, noon to midnight Saturday, noon to 7 p.m. Sunday. 6915 Riverview Drive, Riverview. Free admission and parking; $20 for all-day ride armbands. (813) 765-7031.

Food Fests: This week's Tampa Bay food events are kind of weird

DIY

Gulf Coast Maker and Comic Con: This celebration of the "Do-It-Yourself" spirit includes electric race cars, a gaming expo, costume contest, cosplay, drone races, robotics and mechatronics. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. St. Petersburg College Seminole Campus, 9200 113th St. N. Free admission.

Theme park

Busch Gardens Food and Wine Festival: If you find the image of Michael Bolton crooning near a mob of kangaroos ridiculous, you clearly don't know Michael Bolton. The singer has proven time and again he's got a nice sense of humor about himself, appearing in videos with the Lonely Island (Jack Sparrow) and starring in his own Netflix comedy special (Michael Bolton's Big, Sexy Valentine's Day Special). Bolton takes the stage at 6 p.m. Sunday in Gwazi Park for the Food and Wine Festival. But first, '90s rockers Better Than Ezra (Good) and Tonic (If You Could Only See) get this weekend's action kicking at 5:30 p.m. Saturday. Both shows are free with park admission. Food and drinks are extra. buschgardens.com.

More Music: This week's best concerts, including Dashboard Confessional and more

Florida Orchestra

A Little Night Music: Cellist Lynn Harrell solos with the Florida Orchestra for an intimate treat. A Little Night Music features the two-time Grammy winner in Haydn's Cello Concerto No. 1 and Max Bruch's Kol Nidre. Harrell has performed with Itzhak Perlman at the Grammy Awards, with the Hong Kong Philharmonic in the three-week Lynn Harrell Cello Festival, and with the top musicians and conductors around the world. 8 p.m. Friday at the David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa, 8 p.m. Saturday at the Palladium Theater cq, in St. Petersburg; and 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater. $15-$45. (727) 892-3337. floridaorchestra.org.

Contact Sharon Kennedy Wynne at swynne@tampabay.com. Follow @SharonKWn.

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