Come experience the holiday season in a new light: escape the commercialism and stress of a modern Christmas and capture the warmth and joy of an old-fashioned holiday with your loved ones. The Henry B. Plant Museum presents its Victorian Christmas Stroll from December 1st to 23rd, 2008, 10:00 am to 8:00 pm daily.

Bring family and friends together in the soft glow of 1891 lighting as you discover a lavish Christmas at the former Tampa Bay Hotel. There are numerous rooms, each dazzling with trees designed in unique 19th century themes. While strolling down the Grand Hallway, your spirits soar as you become immersed in Charles Dickens, beautifully wrapped gifts, Christmas stockings and Santa Claus.

Is it possible to think of Christmas without thinking of children and toys? Antique toys, lovingly handed from generation to generation, are strewn under decorated trees and displayed in antique cabinets. For Victorian girls there were dolls – dolls to dress and play with, and dolls with porcelain heads and fabric bodies. There were also dollhouses. Some were simple playthings and others were perfect architectural miniatures. For Victorian boys there were trains and boats, toy soldiers and forts, games of chance and skill, cowboys and Indians.

New this year is a three-story Victorian-styled dollhouse, complete with chandeliers, stained glass windows and fireplaces. The exquisite furniture was handmade by Bill Thirkill of Housemartin Miniatures, Nottingham, England. Bill once worked for Pinewood Studios, and helped build many of the spectacular James Bond sets. These days, Bill is better known for his fine dollhouse furniture, a skill, he says, he owes to his dad. As a boy he used to watch him working with wood for hours, and together they used to make model airplanes. His delight in woodwork had begun. Today, Bill designs furniture ranging from Tudor chairs to 1930’s bedroom furniture.

At the Victorian Christmas Stroll, the essence of an old-fashioned holiday is observed and honored as Tampa’s most popular family tradition. Complimentary spiced cider and savory cookies will be served on the veranda every day, and each evening carolers will perform music for our merriment. Visitors are invited to sing with the carolers in front of the 18-foot tree in the hallway. Admission is $10 for adults and $4 for children 12 and younger. Discount Days are December 1, 2, 8, 9, 15, and 16 when admissions are reduced to $6 for adults and $3 for children. Group tours are welcome: please make reservations for parties of 20 or more with Sally Shifke, Museum Relations Coordinator, (813) 258-7302.

The Museum Store has a huge selection of merchandise, from fanciful ornaments to embroidered linens. It specializes in exquisite holiday accessories. The Museum Store also offers books, fragrances, jewelry, children’s toys, stationary, and home accessories. Enjoy shopping in a unique Victorian atmosphere: the Museum Store is open from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm daily and no admission is required.

Proceeds from the Victorian Christmas Stroll fund significant museum restoration and preservation projects, as well as educational programming.

Find out more about the Henry B. Plant Museum at the University of Tampa.

Light Up the Season At The County’s Annual Holiday Festival

Share the holiday spirit and join in the fun at Hillsborough County’s 7th Annual Holiday Tree Lighting Festival on December 4 from 5 – 9 p.m. Snow will fall over the entire festival at Joe Chillura Courthouse Square at the corner of Kennedy Boulevard and Pierce Street in downtown Tampa. Bring a bear for the Rough Riders Teddy Bear Roundup – the first collection of the Season!

The Festival is FREE for everyone, courtesy of the Hillsborough County Commissioners and The Friends of the County Parks. Enjoy lots of FREE Yuletide treats including sodas, hot dogs, cotton candy and popcorn. Kids can delight in a variety of games and activities including a real snow slide, and arts and crafts for all ages.

Stop and visit Santa and Mrs. Claus in their Christmas House and have your pictures taken for FREE. You can’t miss the 35-foot tall Christmas tree glowing with more than 30,000 colored lights in the center of the park. Entertainment will include recording artist B.K. Jackson, who recently performed at games 6 and 7 of the American League Championship Series, and the Bloomingdale High School Orchestra, which recently performed at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Cultural Festival.

FREE parking for the event will begin at 4 p.m. at the Pierce Street Parking Garage, located on the southeast corner of Pierce Street and Kennedy Boulevard in downtown Tampa. What better way to kickoff your holiday season!

Joe Chillura Courthouse Square (map) is located on the block surrounded by Kennedy Blvd. on the south and Morgan, Madison, and Pierce Streets in the Government Center district of downtown Tampa.

The Henry B. Plant Museum presents its Victorian Christmas Stroll from December 1st to 23rd, 2008, 10:00 am to 8:00 pm daily.

Find out more about the Henry B. Plant Museum at the University of Tampa.

Annual Empty Bowls Luncheon.

2008 marks the 14th anniversary for annual hunger luncheon to be held again in downtown Tampa’s Lykes Gaslight Park (map).

Over a thousand guests share in a simple meal of soup and bread that signifies the plight of the hungry just prior to Thanksgiving. Guests take away an “Empty Bowl” memento created by local schoolchildren, and can also bid on bowls and pottery donated by professional artists and offered in a silent auction. $10 per person to attend.

Proceeds benefit America’s Second Harvest of Tampa Bay.

From <a href=”http://www.stairclimbtampabay.com/stairclimbtampabay/”>Climb Tampa</a>:

Join us for one of the most unique events in Tampa Bay.  On March 21, 2009, hundreds of people will huff and puff their way climbing the 42 flights in the Bank of America Plaza in downtown Tampa.  This is more than your same old 5K this event is a vertical race to climb 42 floors/914 steps.  Whether climbing for a winning time or simply to cross the finish line in honor or in memory of someone with lung disease, this event is a great way to challenge yourself physically.  We guarantee that all finishers will have a newfound respect for healthy lungs!

All proceeds benefit the American Lung Association for lung cancer research, education, and prevention programs.  Many do not realize that lung cancer is still the number one cancer killer in both men and women.

Don’t want to sponsor?  Then walk instead!  Register for the 5th Annual Turkey Gobble 5K/10K Run & Walk.

To register, call Cynthia at 229.1305.  The first 300 participants to register will get a free commemorative long-sleeved t-shirt!  A $10 donation to the YMCA’s Building Strong Kids Campaign is greatly appreciated.

Find out more at the Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA.

5th Annual Turkey Gobble 5K/10K Run&Walk
Thursday, November 27 (Thanksgiving) at 7:30am

Find out more at the Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA.

The TMA Square Foot Society is now accepting contributions equal to the cost of a square foot of the new building’s construction.

TMA SQUARE FOOT SOCIETY
Step Up, Make A Difference
And Help Create The Experience.

A project of this magnitude requires the support of the entire community. Your donation toward the construction of the new TMA will create a lasting legacy for future generations. It will enable TMA to provide new programs and services for families, promote the spirit of community through the expression of ideas, and contribute to the revitalization of downtown Tampa.

Make your contribution to the campaign for the new TMA today. Construction costs to build this beautiful new 66,000 square foot facility are $26.6 million – or $404 per square foot. You can show your support of this fine institution and the future of the City of Tampa by investing in one square foot – or several square feet.

Join the TMA Square Foot Society and receive a certificate recognizing your contributions, along with a t-shirt that proudly announces I helped build the new TMA.

Plus, depending on your level of giving, you will receive a complimentary free museum membership with your donation to the TMA Square Foot Society.

To donate to the museum’s Capital Campaign or the TMA Square Foot Society, call 813.259.1735.

Related links:

• Tampa Museum of Art
• The New Tampa Museum of Art

BLOOMINGDALE HIGH SCHOOL ORCHESTRA PRESENTS ON THE ROAD TO CHINA
Tickets:
$25 General Seating
$100 VIP Seating

The Bloomingdale High School Orchestra has been invited by the Beijing International Youth Festival Organizing Committee to participate in the American Orchestral Salute to the 2008 Beijing Olympics from June 23rd-July 3rd 2008. The “On the Road to China” concert and silent auction scheduled for Tuesday, March 25th at 7:30 PM the Tampa Theatre, will go to help the students raise funds for their trip. In addition to student performers, the cutting edge music group Black Violin will performing as well. This classically trained duo fuses lyrical string music with hip hot beats to create a unique sound sure to please audiences of all ages. Please join us for a night filled with music and Olympic dreams!

Purchase tickets at the Tampa Theatre box office (Tampa Theatre map).

The Preview Party is Friday, March 14, from 7 – 9 p.m., Plant Hall lobby, $50 per person.
The Chiselers Market is Saturday, March 15, from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. or until everything is gone.

The Market includes plants and flowers; jewelry; kitchenware; bargain center; books and art; electrical items and tools; china, crystal and silver; collectibles; and toys.

There will also be sandwiches, hot dogs, drinks, desserts, and popcorn.

The Market is presented by The Chiselers, Inc. as a fundraiser for the restoration of Plant Hall.

Plant Hall (map) is located at the University of Tampa in the RiverWest district.