Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

For years, we here at Sticks have asked what direction Ybor City is going or should be going. No matter what steps local government take to move the district one way or another, it seems that those in favor of a quieter, family-friendly Ybor are getting some unsolicited help.

Yesterday, the Weekly Planet’s new blog announced that the Masquerade was in such a dire financial state, they could be forced to close by the time the post was published.

The Masquerade is now closed.

I’m not sure how anyone feels about Masquerade, but I’ll say I saw quite a few shows there. Some were fantastic; some were pretty dreadful, but that was rarely the fault of the venue.

What the loss of Masquerade does is provide one less venue for music acts on the plus side of alternative. I’ve been a tad out of the scene for a while, but the only other venue I know of in Tampa that consistently books similar acts is The Orpheum. But the Orpheum is pretty small, which means bigger alt acts will probably have to go to the ‘Burg at State Theatre or Jannus Landing.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the ‘Burg or those venues (I actually rather love Jannus), and we’re lucky to still have those places in our area. But this means that those rooting for the Disneyfication of Ybor City have one less place to worry about.

100 years ago…

February 28, 1906 – An auction is held for lots in Hendry & Knight’s West Hyde Park subdivision, located south of Inman between Albany and Orleans. Lots started at $500 each, with corner lots going for $600 and up ($10,000 and $12,500, respectively, in today’s dollars).

Courtesy of the Tampa Bay History Center.

Visit Florida says a record 85 million visitors showed up last year.  85 million is akin to welcoming the entire population of Germany.

So much for the dire predictions.  Of course, officials will point to the ratcheted-up marketing as a reason for the increase.  I’m here to tell you it’s because Florida rocks.

You can shake your booty or make a booty call, but no matter what, the city gives you an easy way to get a hand on some of that booty this weekend.
Tampa’s first invitational contemporary art show, Booty runs concurrent with the Gasparilla Festival of the Arts this weekend.  The City of Tampa is a sponsor of Booty, and Paul Wilborn tells us he was hesitant about the name.

In response, Hillsborough County is rumored to be sponsoring their own art festival - Badonkadonk.  Find out more about Booty at http://www.bootyartexpo.com/

I had originally stated that only Jim Davis and Charlie Crist’s campaigns have included blogs on their sites.

Shame on me.

Tom Gallagher has (and apparently has had for quite some time) a blog as well.

Business Profile: Mc Divot’s Wings and Raw Bar

Location: 10706 Countryway Blvd, Tampa, FL 33626

Phone: 813-814-9394

This place is great. It’s family friendly (like Hooters without the, err well… Hooters!) and has great food. We live close by and frequent this spot regularly. The wait staff is usually friendly, and they always have great sports on.

With 25 televisions and 13 satalite receivers they can get pretty much any game you want, so you’ll never miss your teams game. A large wood bar occupies the entry area, often occupied with NW Tampans cooling off after work. Typical nights find the Golden Tee game stacked with 20-something’s behaving like 10-year-olds.

What makes this spot one of our favorites though is the garlic wings. If you’re brave, the hot garlic are popular, but we aren’t as adventurous and stick with medium garlic flavor. The wife nearly always gets extra sauce - she loves it so much. The other food items are good quality and worth a try once and a while as well.

Stop by this NW Tampa neighborhood bar for good food, good sports, and good times.

110 years ago…

February 27, 1896 – An accident involving a bicyclist, a three year old and her nurse, and a group of tourists, who all converged on the Lafayette (now Kennedy) Street Bridge, ended without serious injury. The rider, who was at fault, ran over the girl, prompting the Tampa Morning Tribune to call for a ban on bicycles on the bridge.

Courtesy of the Tampa Bay History Center.

Mike added a few new photos he found from Gasparilla 1966.  There are waterside shots of Curtis Hixon Hall and Davis’ Islands.

***cross-posted at Out in Left Field***

The Tampa Tribune published my op-ed piece about FCAT issues. Is anyone listening?