Page 74 - 2024-2025 Travel Guide to Florida

WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA
JANUARY
Downtown Dunedin Art Festival Outback Bowl, Tampa
FEBRUARY
Downtown Dunedin Craft Festival Dunedin Mardi Gras Parade and Festival Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Gasparilla Pirate Festival, Tampa
Krewe of Sant’ Yago Illuminated Knight
Parade, Tampa
Publix Gasparilla Distance Classic
MARCH–MAY
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay Food and Wine Festival, weekends
MARCH
Florida Strawberry Festival, Plant City Gasparilla Festival of the Arts, Tampa
APRIL
Bern’s Winefest, Tampa
Dunedin Highland Games & Festival
Mainsail Arts Festival, St. Petersburg
Pier 60 Sugar Sand Festival, Clearwater Beach Tampa Bay International Dragon Boat Festival
MAY
Riverfest, Tampa Riverwalk Tampa Pride
MAY–AUGUST
Summer Nights, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
JUNE
St. Pete Pride Festival and Parade
SEPTEMBER–OCTOBER
Howl-O-Scream, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
OCTOBER
Clearwater Jazz Holiday
Creatures of the Night, ZooTampa
at Lowry Park
Tampa Bay International Gay &
Lesbian Film Festival
NOVEMBER
Clearwater Beach Uncorked
Dunedin Celtic Music & Craft Beer Festival
NOVEMBER–DECEMBER
Christmas in the Wild, ZooTampa at Lowry Park
NOVEMBER–JANUARY
Christmas Town, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
DECEMBER
Outback Bowl New Year’s Eve Parade, Ybor City Victorian Christmas Stroll, Henry B. Plant
Museum, Tampa
on the pitch. The Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup championship in both 2020 and 2021.
Take the family out to the ball game during spring training, or during the regular season for that matter. Beginning in March, the Toronto Blue Jays take their swings at the TD Ballpark in Dunedin, while the New York Yankees play spring ball in Tampa and the Philadelphia Phillies step up to the plate in Clearwater. The Jolley Trolley travels from Clearwater to Dunedin and on to Tarpon Springs, making it easy to catch a few spring training games along the route. During the regular season, the Tampa Bay Rays play their opponents at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.
In downtown St. Petersburg, the Tampa Bay Rowdies soccer team begins its pre- season matches in February, and the regular schedule takes them through the summer and late into the fall.
ROAD TRIPS
Greek cuisine, art and culture—it’s all found in the small fishing village of Tarpon Springs. The area was first settled in 1876 by Greek immigrants, and today it is the city with the highest percentage of Greek- Americans in Florida. What was once “the sponge capital of the world” is a popular day- trip destination from Tampa, Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Dunedin and Pasco County.
Park the car and walk, run, cycle or rollerblade along the Fred Marquis Pinellas Trail, a 50-mile protected, multi-use green space created along an abandoned railroad corridor that extends from St. Petersburg to Tarpon Springs.
For a truly unique experience you won’t soon forget, head over to Crystal River where various tour operators provide the equipment and let you swim among West Indian manatees in super clear waters. Visitors who prefer to stay at arm’s length from the gentle giants can rent a kayak (with or without a guide) to observe them as they swim and play below in the warm waters. If this option is still too close for comfort, you can watch manatees any day of the year from the underwater observatory at the nearby Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park. The park also showcases other native Florida wildlife, including black bears, bobcats, white-tailed deer, American alligators and crocodiles, and river otters. It also offers Wildlife Encounter programs and a children’s education center.
SHOPPING
Pull out your credit cards and get ready to fill your bags at the International Plaza and Bay Street in Tampa, the city's luxe shopping emporium. It features Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom, as well as all-time favorites, Dillard’s, RH Gallery, J. Crew, H&M, and over a dozen sit down restaurants. Just down the road, WestShore Plaza counts Macy’s, Old Navy and Dick’s Sporting Goods among its storefronts, so there are plenty of shopping opportunities here, too.
Tree-lined streets, historical homes and shopping à la European village make Hyde Park Village one of Tampa’s hot retail spots. It’s easy to spend the day here. Shop for a bit in the morning at brand-name stores, such
HELICAL STAIRCASE AT THE SALVADOR DALI MUSEUM - DOWNTOWN ST. PETERSBURG • BRAND USA
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2024-25 TRAVEL GUIDE TO FLORIDA
ANNUAL EVENTS