Gasparilla Festival of The Arts
March 2-3
9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Saturday) | 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Sunday)
Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park & Kiley Garden
gasparillaarts.com
An annual event during the first weekend of March, the Gasparilla Festival of The Arts is a diverse display of local photography, painting, ceramic, digital works and more — assembling a collection of Tampa’s most talented artists. The event is more than just art, however, as food, drinks and live entertainment will be available all weekend. Andria Quinlan, a member of the festival’s marketing committee, went into further detail regarding the grand scope of the event.
“The Raymond James Gasparilla Festival of the Arts is a fine arts and fine crafts show, attracting the best professional artists from around the United States and beyond,” Quinlan says. “The Festival offers a fun, family friendly event with diverse programs and activities that will engage everyone in the arts. Best of all, it’s all free.”
A community driven festival, the event will showcase the work of 15 upcoming artists as part of their Emerging Artist Program, as well as 236 professional artists who will have their work on display throughout the festival grounds, competing for a total of $75,000 in prize money. Visitors can try their hand at interactive art programs, as well as activities centered around children like the the Art Collectors in Training program and the Tampa Museum of Art’s scavenger hunt. “The Festival reinvents itself every year, with new pro-grams and fun twists on existing programs,” Quinlan adds.
Gasparilla Music Festival
March 9-10
Set times TBA
Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park & Kiley Garden
gasparillamusic.com
The Gasparilla Music Festival returns for the eighth year with a diverse palette of genres across numerous stages, fresh cuisines from Tampa Bay’s top restaurants, and a strong sense of community through the promotion of music and education-based programs. David Cox, executive director of the Gasparilla Music Foundation, says festivalgoers can expect a variety of sounds and tastes.
“There is truly something for everyone at GMF,” Cox says. “In addition to great music, the festival features food from Tampa’s top chefs and the highly coveted GMF Pilsner specially brewed by Cigar City Brewing. Tickets are reasonably priced, starting at just $30, and all of the stages are designed to feel intimate within a larger festival setting. There’s not a bad seat in the house.”
Headlining performers this year include The Avett Brothers and Gary Clark Jr., as well as support from nearly 40 other performers, including Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Lukas Nelson. Food remains a long lasting, important tradition of the festival as well, involving local eateries such as Malio’s Steakhouse, The Refinery, Dochos, Cafe Hey and more. Exclusive beer and cocktail offerings will also be available throughout the festival grounds.
Gasparilla International Food Festival
March 17
Centennial Park
1800 E. 8th Ave.
cityfestivals.org
Held in the heart of Ybor City, the first-ever Gasparilla International Food Festival will allow the people of Tampa Bay indulge in a wide array of the city’s cuisine, from Hispanic and Asian to Caribbean and Mediterranean. In the International Top Chef Competition, aspiring foodies can put their skills to the test in front of a panel of professional judges;. if you’re not too handy with a knife, you can also sign up for a food-eating competition. Festival tickets are free in advance, with prices going up to $10 closer to the event.
Gasparilla International Film Festival
March 19-24
Film times and locations vary
gasparillafilmfestival.com
Founded in the summer of 2006, the Gasparilla International Film Festival celebrates independent film, helping elevate the prominence of the filmmaking scene in the Tampa Bay area and across the state of Flor-ida. Thousands of aspiring and established filmmakers have showcased their shorts, narratives, documentaries and feature-length films at GIFF. Joe Alexander, president of the Gasparilla International Film Festival, hopes that attendees will go out of their comfort zone. “We’re trying to expand the horizons of the viewing audience as well as put on a great festival,” he says. “In the grand scheme of things, we want to put on the best show we can and have people walking away saying ‘I’m glad I went to this because I wouldn’t have thought of seeing that film otherwise.’” GIFF has announced an initial list of films that will be screening at the festival.
U.S. FEATURE COMPETITION
Teen Spirit (directed by Max Minghella | starring Elle Fanning, Millie Brady, Rebecca Hall)
Violet is a shy teenager living in the Isle of Wight who dreams of pop stardom as an escape from her small town and shattered family life. With the help of an unlikely mentor, Violet enters an international singing competition that will test her integrity, talent and ambition.
Hotel Mumbai (directed by Anthony Maras | starring Dev Patel, Armie Hammer, Jason Isaacs, Nazanin Bonadi)
The true story of the Taj Hotel terrorist attack in Mumbai. Hotel staff risk their lives to keep everyone safe as people make unthinkable sacrifices to protect themselves and their families.
Cold Brook (directed by William Fichtner | starring William Fichtner, Kim Coates, Harold Perrineau, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Brad William Henke, Robin Weigert)
Ted Markham and George Hildebrandt are two ordinary, small town maintenance workers at a college in Upstate New York. Best friends, they love their families and enjoy a simple life. After pursuing an intruder after hours at a Museum Exhibition on the college campus, the men become local heroes. But Ted and Hilde learn that the intruder is lost, finding themselves torn between helping him find his home, and taking care of their own. At the risk of losing their jobs and being called crazy, these men choose to help a stranger. By making this profound choice they better appreciate all that they have, all that they love.
INTERNATIONAL FEATURE COMPETITION
Storm Boy (Australia, directed by Shawn Seet | starring Geoffrey Rush, Jai Courtney, David Gulpilil)
A beautiful and contemporary retelling of Colin Thiele’s classic Australian tale. ‘Storm Boy’ has grown up to be Michael Kingley, a successful retired businessman and grandfather. When Kingley starts to see images from his past that he can’t explain, he is forced to remember his long-forgotten childhood, growing up on an isolated coastline with his father.
Tell It to the Bees (UK, directed by Annabel Jankel | starring Anna Paquin, Holliday Grainger, Gregor Selkirk)
In 1950s small town Britain, a doctor develops a relationship with her young patient’s mother.
Firecrackers (Canada, directed by Jasmin Mozaffari | Michaela Kurimsky, Karena Evans, Callum Thompson)
Lou and her best friend Chantal plan to get out of their isolated, run-down town and move to a city far, far away. When Chantal’s unstable and possessive ex violates her during a night of partying, the girls decide to exact their revenge on him through a night of vandalism and debauchery. The consequences of their actions are devastating, threatening the girls’ chances of ever leaving. The more Lou fights tooth-and-nail to save her friendship and hold onto her dreams, the more she spins out of control as she begins to realize that freedom will come at a high cost.
One Cut of the Dead (Japan, directed by Shin’ichiro Ueda | starring Harumi Shuhama, Kazuaki Nagaya, Mao, Takayuki Hamatsu)
Things go badly for a hack director and film crew shooting a low budget zombie movie in an abandoned WWII Japanese facility, when they are attacked by real zombies.
The Hole in the Ground (Ireland, directed by Lee Cronin | starring Seána Kerslake, James Quinn Markey, Simone Kirby)
Trying to escape her broken past, Sarah O’Neill is building a new life on the fringes of a backwood rural town with her young son Chris. A terrifying encounter with a mysterious neighbour shatters her fragile security, throwing Sarah into a spiralling nightmare of paranoia and mistrust, as she tries to uncover if the disturbing changes in her little boy are connected to an ominous sinkhole buried deep in the forest that borders their home.
DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
Hail Satan? (directed by Peggy Lane)
The Satanic Temple is only six years old and already one of the most controversial religious movements in American history. The Temple is calling for a Satanic revolution to save the nation’s soul. But are they for real?
What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael (directed by William Fichtner | starring Woody Allen, Alec Baldwin, Peter Bogdonivich)
The portrait of the work of controversial film critic Pauline Kael and her influence on the male-dominated worlds of cinema and film criticism.
MADE IN FLORIDA
We Are Mermaids (directed by David Lee Morea)
“We Are Mermaids” offers an intimate look at what it takes to become a world-famous Weeki Wachee Springs Mermaid and the lasting effects on those who are able to enter a world where time and physical limitations are suspended.
