Legoland: Prepare to get wet on the Quest for Chi

By Robbyn Mitchell

Times Staff Writer

Prepare to get very wet in the pursuit of the all-powerful Chi energy source at Legoland Florida.

The Quest for Chi opens July 3 as a part of a 5-acre park expansion called the World of Chima based on the Legends of Chima product line.

The interactive ride includes a journey through Chima in a watercraft fitted with water cannons. ...

For Tampa's elite 'pros,' cornhole more than a tailgate game

There's a lingo you hear when you get around a group of serious cornhole players.

The words airmail, woody, pitcher's box and slider hang in the air among the uninitiated — familiar sounding, but not at all what you're thinking.

Every night, these terms fly around in conversations among Tampa Bay's cornhole elite, a group that has grown steadily since the tailgating game gained more popularity in Florida in the past 10 years....

From This Day: Kathryn Rieker and Daniel Plummer

SPRING HILL — Daniel Plummer walked slowly out to his mark on the stage carrying a newspaper and briefcase. As Christina Perry's 1000 Years began to play, Kathryn Rieker — barefoot with arms in dance position— appeared on the opposite side of the stage.

Daniel's large frame struggled through turns but succeeded as he lifted Kathryn, spinning her lightly before she would touch the ground again and leap into a graceful pose. ...

Convention creates costumed camaraderie

Steps inside the hotel lobby, a person with a blue face and metallic gold wings waded through a crowd of costumed kids stopping every 10 feet to pose for pictures. The squeals echoed off of the marble floors: "Goldar! Holy crap, it's Goldar!"

It wasn't the character actor who portrayed the villain in the 1990s TV show Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. But for three days at the Khaotic Kon anime and gaming convention at the Sheraton Tampa East Hotel, the costumed fan could have been....

Review: Funk Fest makes smooth transition to Tampa's Curtis Hixon Park, with Anthony Hamilton, Salt-N-Pepa and more

Anthony Hamilton brings the whole damn show.

The R&B singer famous for stripped-down ballads Pray For Me, The Point of it All and Charlene didn’t let his catalogue drag down his 90-minute set to close out the two-night Funk Fest in Tampa’s Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park Saturday night.

In front of a crowd of about 7,000, the crooner took his ballads to church, blending a soulful rendition of The Lord’s Prayer into Pray For Me. Before that, he let loose his happy feet and best old school dance moves from the wop to the snake proving he could shake a leg just a well as he could sing for his fans. The former background vocalist for R&B artist D’Angelo even gave his live band and background singers, The Hamiltones, a chance to shine in the set and display the vocal acrobatics that delight R&B fans....

Salt-N-Pepa's Cheryl 'Salt' James Wray talks about breaking up, shopping at Walmart and paving the way for women in hip-hop

Monday through Thursday, Cheryl James Wray is a mom, a homemaker and occasional Walmart shopper. But on the weekends, she boards a plane as half of the pioneering female rap duo Salt-N-Pepa and travels the world to perform the hits that made her a part of pop culture history.

This weekend her destination is Tampa as one of several acts at Funk Fest, which runs Friday and Saturday at Curtis Hixon Park (click here for details)....

At Tampa's Dragon Boat Races, even the slowest boats have fun

Mary Denise Schobel hopes her team can eke out a win in one of its three races at Saturday's Tampa Bay International Dragon Boat Festival. But she's not willing to bet on it.

Eight weeks before the races at Tampa's annual Asia Fest, Schobel's team, a group of 22 people who signed up through a recreational sports league, met for the first time.

They gathered on a pier and stepped unassuredly into a 38-foot dragon boat. "I don't think we go into to it expecting anything but having fun and getting out there and meeting people," said Schobel, an executive assistant from Clearwater....

Cigar City teams with local band Have Gun, Will Travel on High Road Ale

What does Bradenton rock band Have Gun, Will Travel taste like?

Hoppy, citrusy and refreshing, according to Cigar City Brewing, which recently brewed a pale ale in the group's honor.

The new High Road Ale, named for an upcoming single, is part of a collaboration between the band, Cigar City and Rock Brothers Brewing. Rock Brothers hopes to expand the project to create distinctive brews for several other bands, said Kevin Lilly, co-owner of the company. ...

Review: Tracy Morgan occasionally hilarious, mostly harmless at Hard Rock Cafe in Tampa

Right away, Tracy Morgan acknowledged the paradox of having a stand up comedian perform at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Tampa Sunday night.

“They don’t even do comedy here,” he yelled in his trademark incredulity. “Comedy and gambling don’t go together. Ya’ll depressed cause you just lost all your money. You ain’t gon’ laugh.”...

The secret fuel of 4/20? It's the beer, not the bud

Can't a psuedo-holiday catch a break?

This year's marijuana festivus, 4/20, falls on the same Saturday as Record Store Day and two days before Earth Day. They seem like a natural combination of events, hippies and hipsters gathering defiantly to turn back the clock on humanity.

SweetWater Brewing Co. made the connection with its sponsorship of Saturday's The 600 Block 420 on 4/20, a concert festival featuring more than 20 bands at four St. Petersburg venues....

On April 20, Munchies 420 Cafe is Sarasota's most smokin' spot

With only one booth and perhaps a dozen stools, it's hard to know if you're going to be able to grab a table at Munchies 420 Cafe and enjoy the heart attack in a bag they've just sold you.

Despite its name, everything's low-key inside the Sarasota restaurant. One Jamaican Flag hangs on a rear wall. Only the chicken nuggets bear the pot-referential moniker ­"Dankalicious." There aren't any hookahs, bongs or customers sparking up in the parking lot. Just gigantic sandwiches, deep-fried everything and a crowd of inebriated people trying to make decisions. ...

From This Day: A blind date pays off with love

Karen Traenkner sat in Rapscallions Restaurant in Land O'Lakes, enamored. Then David Koser took her hand and gently stroked her palm.

"I said to myself, 'Oh boy! This is it. I'm gone,' " said Karen, 63, an employee of Dade City.

Four years later, on the last day of 2012, Karen and David said "I do" during a noon ceremony at the Pier Hotel in St. Petersburg in front of seven witnesses. ...