Tampa Bay PR Blog

Hey everyone!  Travis back with more Tampa tourism announcements, great things to do in Tampa Bay and so much more!  We have another announcement from our friends at MOSI that we wanted to share. 

MOSI announced a call to all visual artists for upcoming unseen exhibition in the ARC Gallery at MOSI. unseen will be a national Juried Art Exhibition and is open to a wide range of artistic interpretations.

Artists are invited to explore such concepts as dreams, visions and images that are either taken from our current environment, our personal viewpoint, or an imagined idea. unseen will take the viewer on a visual journey and exploration of existing and new realities, and unique perspectives.

The ARC Gallery at MOSI strives to feature a wide range of artistic media, expressions and styles, from contemporary and abstract to classical and realistic. The mission of the ARC Gallery is to promote the art of local, regional, and national artists, while focusing on artistic quality, originality, and merit. 

The unseen exhibition is curated by Zarth Bertsch, Director, IMAX Dome Theatre and ARC Gallery, Michael Massaro, sculptor and Gallery Director of Gallery 501, and Ofra Friedman, sculptor and co-curator of EarthVisions at MOSI. The exhibition will feature all media art, including painting, sculpture, photography, installation and video art, which will be screened in the IMAX Dome Theatre. 

Exhibition dates: July 23 – August 27, 2010.
Deadline: The deadline for submissions is July 6, 2010.
Entry fee: $30 for 2 images. $5 each additional image.
Prospectus/Application: For complete download visit http://www.mosi.org/arc-gallery.aspx . For more information email arcgallery@mosi.org .

so, if you're interested, get creating!!!!  Have a great time and we'll see you back here for more Tampa Bay area events!
 

Hey everyone.  Travis back with some really cool Tampa Bay entertainment for the entire family.  Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo always have really cool stuff happening, and this is no exception.  Here's what's happening -

Following its tour across the United States, GEICO’s popular gecko exhibit is now back on the East Coast to spend time at Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo through July 18. GEICO will be giving away free passes to the first 100 children who arrive at the zoo on Saturday, June 5 (that's tomorrow!). 

And if that wasn't enough reason to go to the zoo, how about this: in 2009, Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo was rated the number one zoo in the United States by Parents Magazine. It was also recognized by the State of Florida as a center for Florida wildlife conservation and biodiversity. With more than 2,000 animals from Florida and similar habitats, Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo makes the perfect attraction for children and families alike.

The traveling exhibit will feature Giant Day Geckos and is part of a three-year partnership between GEICO and the AZA.  Through the partnership, the geckos have traveled around the country to AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums, helping children understand the importance of preserving the environment.

The exhibit will maintain the same hours or operation as the zoo; a schedule of the zoo’s hours can be found at: http://www.lowryparkzoo.com/.

So, make sure you make your plans to head out there!  And as always, keep checking back here for more great things to do in Tampa Bay and other Tampa Bay area events.
 

We just got this update, and we HAD to share and say congrats to our partners over at the InterContinental Hotel.  Here's the scoop -

Expedia® travelers rated nine Destination Hotels & Resorts properties among the world’s best hotels on this year’s Expedia Insiders’ Select™ list. Destination properties that received the acknowledgement include Royal Palms Resort and Spa in Phoenix, Wild Dunes Resort in South Carolina, Sunriver Resort in Oregon, The Gant in Aspen, Hotel ICON in Houston, The Driskill in Austin, Wailea Beach Villas on Maui, Resort at Squaw Creek in Lake Tahoe and InterContinental Tampa.

The Expedia list formally recognizes individual hotels worldwide that consistently deliver excellent service, a great overall experience and a notable value. The full list represents only a small percentage of the world’s top hotels from the more than 110,000 hotel properties offered on Expedia.

The 2010 Expedia Insiders’ Select™ list is compiled based on the more than one million Traveler Opinions hotel reviews collected by Expedia, combined with a value rating and the local market expertise of more than 400 Expedia employees in local markets worldwide, resulting in an easy-to-browse list that provides travelers with a powerful way to find the perfect hotel using the trusted insight of other travelers like them. The list showcases the diverse selection of travel destinations and hotel properties.

Destination Hotels & Resorts is the fourth largest independent hospitality management companies in the United States with more than 30 luxury and upscale hotels, resorts and conference centers. The company has developed a variety of initiatives to better serve its communities, stakeholders and customers including Destination Earth, an environmental sustainability program, and the Destination Delivers guest loyalty program, which provides the best available offers to members.
Destination operates properties in key metropolitan areas and resort markets including Washington, D.C., Denver, San Diego, Santa Fe, Aspen, Palm Springs, Houston and Lake Tahoe. Destination is a subsidiary of Los Angeles-based investment, development and management firm Lowe Enterprises. For more information on the properties in the Destination Hotels & Resorts collection, please visit www.DestinationHotels.com or to join Destination Delivers, visit www.DestinationDelivers.com.

So, once again, congrats to the InterContinental Tampa Hotel!  Keep checking back here for more Tampa tourism udpates, including info about great things to do in Tampa Bay and other Tampa Bay area events. 
 

Hi everyone.  Travis back with your fishing update (I know, I haven't had one in a while for you, but here it is, straight from Capt. Ames) -

Although spring was late, summer has arrived right on schedule and the fish are behaving accordingly.  The majority of our large seatrout have exited the shallow grass flats.  Some still reside along our beaches but many of these fish will soon depart.  With that said, that does not mean that lunker trout aren't around.  Large fish are still present in reduced numbers.  White bait is preferred but several out-sized trout were caught last month on cut bait laid out on a flat for redfish.  Smaller trout will remain a common catch through the summer. Larger fish will tend to congregate in the deeper potholes and near channel edges.
 
More snook have been seem over the last 30 days but it is now clear that this last winter's cold spell had a major impact.  These snook are simply nowhere to be seen in some of their normal haunts and when groups of fish are sighted, the numbers of fish per group is much less than in the past.  Catching one is not out of the questions but it is best to pursue these fish only when your chances are best...the low light periods of dawn and dusk and on strong outgoing tides.  White bait, small ladyfish and grass grunts remain the baits of choice.  Fly line these offerings (un-weighted) unless the tide is really ripping through the area being fished.  In this case, a light split shot may increase your odds of hooking up.
 
Redfish have been a dependable catch on any day with a decent tide.  Like any animal during the summer months, these fish want to be out of the sun and will seek the shade of an overhanging mangrove or residential dock, if available.  Both usually are on the higher phases of the tide. During summer, redfish seem to be much less discriminating in regards to what they will eat....shrimp, crabs, pinfish, grunts, whitebait, and cut bait of all flavors will suffice...so use whatever is readily available.  Although a few fish in the twenty two to twenty three inch range were caught over the last month, the majority of fish are still on the larger end of the slot or over. Good redfishing is being reported from Anclote all the way south to Clearwater Bay so there are plenty of fish around.. 
 
On near shore reefs, action has started to wind down a little bit on species such as kingfish and bonita, although some will likely stay in residence through this month.  Both of these can still be found as summer's heat settles in, but they'll push to deeper water. Spanish mackerel should remain and, as we get another month or two deeper into the summer, mangrove snapper should start to show as well. 
 
  
Good numbers of tarpon can now be found off of local beaches.  East winds and calm seas greatly enhance opportunities to spot these fish.  Although finicky on some days and not available in the numbers found in such places as the Skyway or Boca Grande, there are enough fish locally to have a shot at hooking a fish on any given day.  Although tarpon can be seen crossing the near shore sand bars that lie just west of our barrier islands, these fish are extremely spooky.  For this reason, an easier approach for the inexperienced tarpon angler would be to either fish the channel edges of these flats or set up 100 yards off of the beach in an area where tarpon have been seen rolling.  Baits such as large threadfin herring or pilchards work well.  Pass crabs are also an excellent choice if you can get your hands on them. 

Fish all of these baits with no weight to approaching fish . The pilchards or threadfins can be fished on the bottom in these areas as  well.  Plan on setting up for a few hours and being patient.  If it was easy to hook a hundred pound plus fish, everyone would be doing it. Also, understand the power of these fish and tackle up accordingly.  A heavy 7.5 foot spinning rods with a minimum of 40 lbs test and eighty pound flourocarbon leader would be a good starting point.  Do make sure your reel has plenty of line capacity as well (300 - 400 yards) as the first run of a tarpon will easily take several hundred yards of line.  Lastly, tie an anchor ball to your anchor line so you can simply "thow it and go" when you hook a fish.

In summary, June provides a great deal of fishing opportunities so pick your target, get out on the water and get after it.  Good luck and good fishing.

And there you have it.  If you go out, good luck!  YOu can bet you'll find me out there.  See you back here for more updates, including great things to do in Tampa Bay, and other Tampa Bay area events.
 

Hey everyone!  Travis here with some great things to do in Tampa Bay.  In case you hadn't heard, there's a new, really cool exhibit that just hit the scene (crime scene that is) at Tampa's MOSI!  Here's the lowdown:

This summer, visitors to Tampa’s Museum of Science & Industry (MOSI) will star in the newest edition of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation by playing the role of forensic scientists in CSI: The Experience. Inspired by the hit CBS television series, the traveling exhibit highlights the process of scientific inquiry and real investigation techniques used to solve crimes. It opens to the public on June 19 and runs through September 6.

From DNA and firearms analysis to forensic anthropology and toxicology – sciences vital to unraveling the mysteries of crime scene investigation -- visitors are immersed in hands-on science in an exciting multimedia environment with dazzling special effects direct from the CSI TV series. Characters from the show welcome visitors to CSI: The Experience from a large video monitor then lead them throughout the experience.

The new recruits start their investigation in one of three crime scenes: a suburban living room, a hotel alley and a remote desert. Each scene creates a very different crime mystery, but the task at hand is the same as visitors are challenged to identify and gather evidence; analyze materials with the help of the latest scientific and technological advances; formulate hypotheses about the crime; and confirm and communicate their findings.

CSI: The Experience features two separate crime labs where visitors can explore the state-of-the-art technology used in evidence analysis. In order to trace vehicle tracks, clothing fibers and paint chips in the first lab, museum-goers will collect data from mass spectrometry and microscope analysis to determine where matches occur and how they contribute to the larger hypothesis. Here, visitors can also evaluate digital evidence provided by cell phones and other electronics, in addition to hard evidence such as fingerprints, blood patterns and ammunition casings.

In a second laboratory space, visitors examine forensic art as they study age progression and attempt to match an image with a victim. At the end of CSI: The Experience, visitors use the scientific information they gathered to answer a series of multiple-choice questions on touch screens. After completing the survey, a case summary is generated and exhibit-goers can compare their scientific findings to those of expert crime scene investigators.

Developed by the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, with support from CBS Consumer Products and the National Science Foundation, CSI: The Experience maintains the spirit of the popular television series and is geared toward adults and youth ages 12 and above. For more information about the exhibit, go to www.CSItheexperience.org.

In addition to CSI: The Experience, MOSI will be transforming the grand lobby into a Forensic Academy, allowing guests to participate in activities that will help them on their way to becoming a forensic investigator!

MOSI will also be offering CSI After Dark on Friday and Saturday nights from close until 9 p.m. (last ticket sold at 8 p.m.). CSI After Dark provides visitors access to the CSI: The Experience exhibit (the museum’s permanent exhibit galleries are closed). Admission for CSI After Dark is $12 for adults, $11 for seniors and $10 for children.

MOSI will be offering a variety of value-added events including fingerprint art and guest speakers to address topics such as Cyber Crime Prevention and Forensics. Admission to CSI: The Experience, MOSI exhibit Galleries, and one IMAX® Dome Standard Film, is $25.95 for adults, $23.95 for seniors, and $21.95 for children.

So, if you're like me and watch CSI, then you'll love this!  so make sure you make plans to attend while it's here.  And as always, keep checking back for more great Tampa Bay area events and other Tampa Bay entertainment options.
 

Hey Tampa Bay.. Alex here.. Who all watches CSI?  With this season of CSI wrapping up last night you might begin to feel you are missing your weekly fix of watching crimes being solved. Don’t worry Tampa Bay’s MOSI museum is here to offer you the chance to take a dive into “crimes” first hand. 

Coming up on Saturday, June 19, CSI: The Experience is having its Grand Opening at MOSI. This exhibit will allow you to play the role of crime scene investigator in the visiting exhibition.

In this immersive exhibit, guests play the role of crime scene investigator and learn scientific principles and real investigative techniques as they try to solve one of three crime scene mysteries.  From DNA to latent prints to forensic anthropology and toxicology, guests will be captivated by hands-on science in a multi-media environment with special effects direct from the TV series.

Make sure you make it over to MOSI June 19- September 6 to check out the CSI exhibit and get the chance to investigate and solve crimes first hand.  

That is it for now, but check back often to view the latest news about what is happening at local Tampa Florida Attractions.