Advertisement

Plan your weekend April 7-9: Tampa Bay Blues Fest, Chillounge Night, Easter egg hunts

 
Buddy Guy performs during the SiriusXM's Bluesville Blues Festival at SiriusXM Radio on November 11, 2014 in Washington, DC. [Getty Images]
Buddy Guy performs during the SiriusXM's Bluesville Blues Festival at SiriusXM Radio on November 11, 2014 in Washington, DC. [Getty Images]
Published April 6, 2017

Plan your weekend

Music

Tampa Bay Blues Festival: The festival returns Thursday through this weekend with Buddy Guy as the headliner Friday in Vinoy Park in St. Petersburg. Saturday brings The Rides, a supergroup featuring Stephen Stills, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Barry Goldberg. And Tab Benoit closes out the festival Sunday. Tickets start at $45 per day Friday and Saturday, $35 Sunday and $110 for the weekend. VIP is $200 Friday, $250 Saturday, $150 Sunday and $450 for the weekend. tampabaybluesfest.com.

Date night

Chillounge Night: The outdoor lounge party turns Curtis Hixon Park into a date-night destination loaded with daybeds and lounge furniture. There will be a Brazilian Samba parade, a fashion show, three live bands and fireworks. The lounges are first-come, first-served, but you can bring your own lawn chair (no blankets). $25 online, $35 day of. VIP is $120-$150 and includes select food items, beverages, desserts, Kahwa coffee, and samples of premium craft whiskey. 6-11 p.m. Saturday. 600 N Ashley Drive, Tampa. (941) 448-0995. chilloungenight.com/tampa-2017.

Wicked good

Kristin Chenoweth: The bubbly Broadway star with the enormous voice canceled on us back in March, but we can't stay mad at Cheno because she's back Friday. She gave us Glinda the Good Witch in Wicked, tipsy April Rhodes on Glee and villain Velma Von Tussle in Hairspray Live. Expect the Emmy- and Tony Award-winning singer and actor to mix it up, with songs from Broadway, pop music and classic torch songs. Tickets from the March show will be honored. 8 p.m. 1111 N McMullen-Booth Road, Clearwater. $45-$100. (727) 791-7400. rutheckerdhall.com.

Food

Festa Italiana: It's all about Italy in Tampa's 20th annual Festa Italiana. There's a bocce ball invitational, Italian Idol singing competition and homemade vino competition, but we all know the main attraction is the food. At the La Cucina Galbani Cooking Pavilion, chef Marco and other local chefs will be demonstrating dishes, from homemade ricotta gnocchi and grilled chicken parmesan to s'mores cannoli. More than 35 area restaurants will offer food and on Sunday, international superstar Zucchero headlines the main stage. Benefits the Italian Club Restoration Fund. $5 advance, $10 day of, 11 and younger free; $75 VIP. Centennial Park, 1800 E Eighth Ave., Tampa. (813) 394-0559. festaitalianatampa.com.

Drag shows

Bianca Del Rio and Miss Richfield 1981: Two popular drag performers are making stops in the Tampa Bay. The winner of RuPaul's Drag Race Season 6, Bianca Del Rio, considers herself a "clown in a gown" and is performing at 8 p.m. Friday in Ferguson Hall at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa. $41. strazcenter.org. Drag star Miss Richfield 1981 (the creation of actor Russ King) is a big star on the gay cabaret circuit. Her new show is called "2020 Vision: A Survival Guide to the New World." Miss Richfield will bring her message of hope — or at least survival to the HCC Ybor Campus Mainstage Theater, 2204 N 15th St., Tampa, at 8 p.m. Saturday. $35. (813) 253-7695. tiglff.com.

Take the kids

Easter Egglow: Not your typical egg hunt. This one is in the dark. Three age-specific hunts for glow-in-the-dark eggs and treasures with free food and DJ dancing. Free. Bethel Church, 1510 W Hillsborough Ave., Tampa. (813) 238-2348. 7:30 p.m. Friday. For more Easter fun, parades and egg hunts, see tampabay.com/holiday.

Take the dog

Incredible Dog Challenge: Athletic dogs from around the country compete in a variety of "Olympic-style" events at St. Petersburg's Spa Beach this weekend for the Eastern Regionals of the Purina Pro Plan Incredible Dog Challenge. Events include high-flying disc routines, weave pole racing, agility, Jack Russell hurdle racing and dog diving — where dogs take a running leap off a 40-foot dock into a 19,000-gallon pool. It runs 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday at 615 Second Ave. N, St. Petersburg. Free for spectators.

Spicy

Pepper Fest: Some like it hot and the England Brothers Bandshell Park in Pinellas Park turns up the heat this weekend. Look for spicy barbecue and other sauces, rubs, marinades, pickled products and other hot pepper foods to sample, along with plants for sale, hot sauce and salsa competitions and, of course, a hot pepper-eating contest. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday (with an After Burn Party from 5 to 9 p.m.), 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. $3, 12 and younger free. 5010 81st Ave. N, Pinellas Park. (727) 423-8433.

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