As plans for the restorations and seat improvements continue at Tampa Theatre, Saturday, June 24th, the organization is making donating funds a little more exciting with their returning Beerfest event. This year’s theme will be Barley’s Angels, and guests are invited to attend dressed in their favorite Charlie’s Angels themed clothing. All money raised at the event will go towards the improvements, as well as various community projects and operating costs.
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Walking through the front door of Tampa Theatre, the history of the building is immediately evident. From the intricately carved ceilings above to the statues linings the walls, an evening out at this cinema is no typical night at the movies. The theatre has been open just over 90 years, celebrating the milestone in 2015. Showing everything from small independent films from holiday classics like It’s a Wonderful Life, the movie house is an institution in the Tampa Bay Area.
This afternoon walking up to the theatre’s entrance, an odd sight is in front of the box office: one of the original seats being loaded into the back of a truck. “A donor is actually throwing a little ‘Cush Your Tush’ party this weekend,” explains Teresa Gallar, who is a stage and event manager for the theatre, as well as the Straz center and other venues around Tampa Bay, “so she wanted to display the original chair and how close we’ve come to recreating it- except comfortable.”
The aforementioned “Cush Your Tush” campaign is an ongoing fundraiser at the theatre, where patrons can donate funds and, in exchange, have a seat bearing their name or personalized message on the back. While the original seats were crafted with delicate details, the cushioning and tight spaces in between left something to be desired.
Describing the new seats, CEO John Bell lights up with excitement: “The number one complaint we get- we get a lot of compliments, but- the number one complaint that we get is the seats are ‘oh my god, uncomfortable,” Bell says with a laugh, “I think everyone’s excited about it. There are going to be new seats, they’re going to be spaced farther apart, there’s going to be more leg room. They’re going to be beautiful, they’re going to be comfortable, and there are going to be cupholders.”
The improvement of the seats is going to be the latest in a long line happening at the Tampa Theatre.
In the fall of last year, one huge transformation made was to the electrical system. While now completely updated, the old system has been left intact as a fond reminder.
Director of Marketing and Community Relations Jill Witecki walks through Tampa Theatre restorations. Audio and Photos by Chelsea Matthews
While the theatre may be modernizing, Patt Vida, assistant house manager and employee for eleven years, holds their classic reputation close to her heart. While most other movie theatres show whatever box office hit happens to be popular at the time, Tampa Theatre does things a little differently. “You’ll never see a Star Wars here,” said Vida, “I like to say that they show movies- we show films.” Sit with her for a moment under the blasting fan of the box office and Vida will weave tales of ghosts that haunt the theatre, and, if you’re lucky, share her favorite place to sit.
Vida is not alone in her affections. The building is beloved by many, including former Tampa City Council Chairman Lee Duncan. In 1977, Duncan convinced then Mayor William Poe to save the theatre, which he visited nearly every Friday evening with his wife in the 1950’s. In 1991, after a lifetime of public service, the auditorium was named after him, and the theatre itself dedicated to him. Since then, the journey of improvements has been a long one for the historic theatre. In 1988, the theatre made a significant change to the projection and sound systems “from 16mm monoaural to 35mm with Dolby stereo sound." At that time, the theatre also modified the acoustics of the building and installed a new screen. In 2011, the Tampa Tribune wrote an article on the Tampa Theatre, noting that “a ‘Dream Project’ of replacing the existing seating with replicas of the theater's originals will remain a dream until the appropriate funding is secured.” This fall, that dream and many more are destined to become reality, thanks to donations from generous patrons around Tampa Bay. The very next year, the theatre was once again looking to keep up with the times, this time by making the switch to digital films. Just as they are now, Tampa Theatre reached out to the community for support in the improvement. In a Tampa Tribune article. John Poltilove explains the project and subsequent raising of $150,000: “The high cost for the technology partly is because the theater at 711 N. Franklin St. would need custom installation. The projector at the 1,400-seat venue is farther from the screen and at a greater angle than projectors at modern theaters.” The need for donations is an easy one to grasp. “Since we’re nonprofit, sixty percent of our operating budget comes from concessions, ticket sales, and rentals,” says Maggie Webber, the Director of Development, “the other forty we have to raise…so, that’s through grants, that’s writing grants- as many as we can. That’s state, county, and individual foundations, - as well as sponsorships.” Webber goes on to list events such as Oscar Night, Beer Fest and other fundraisers that occur throughout the year, as well as the available memberships, which range from $50 a year to $2500 a year, depending on the benefits. As for the funds necessary for the restorations, Webber said “We’re at about eighty six percent done. So, close, but not fully there yet. So, that’s what we’re working on this year- to really get there.”
The greatest challenge facing this project has been striking a balance between what needs to be done and, to some degree, what the customers are going to appreciate. “In terms of lining up the projects,” said Bell, “we realized we could spend five or six million dollars on the building and people could walk in and, if it was all infrastructure, then people would walk in and say ‘what did you do with my money?’ Because it wouldn’t look any different.”
The next big steps for the theatre will come this fall, when the seat restoration will finally come to fruition.
As improvements and preservations continue to be planned for this historic landmark, Tampa Theatre just might go on to see another ninety years.
Tampa Theatre is turning back the clock to the time of Lisa Frank school supplies and Tamagotchi’s with their showings of classic movies from the eighties and nineties. Much like the interior design and fashion trends of decades past, movies from recent times gone by are a nostalgic pleasure for Millenials who wish to relive the golden years of their childhoods. With the advent of such things as Pokémon GO, the Power Rangers reboot, and film remakes like Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, what was once the past for “90’s kids” is now, once again, apart of their present. Coming up first today is E.T. the Extra Terrestrial. The classic early eighties Spielberg film features a very young Drew Barrymore and tells the story of an alien who finds himself lost on Earth and taken into the care of two young children who want to help him. The film retains its charm over thirty years later, and will undoubtedly be a delight for both adults watching the movie they loved from childhood, and children who will be seeing it for the first time. Next Sunday, April 2, the theatre will be airing Space Jam. This movie follows the story of then NBA star Michael Jordan as he helps the Looney Tunes in a basketball game against aliens who wish to kidnap them. While both Space Jam and E.T. feature creatures from another planet, the similarities stop there. While many consider the latter to be a timeless classic, the same cannot be said for the former. More likely, this film is beloved by Millenials due to the fact of it being iconic of the nineties, when Air Jordans and Looney Tunes clothing were all the rage. Combining those factors with the Crying Jordan meme of today, and viewers are likely to watch this film, if only to laugh at it.
The series of nostalgic films continues through the end of April featuring films like Rumble in the Bronx, Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, and The Princess Bride.
As a follow-up to writing about the fundraising efforts of the Tampa Theatre, earlier this week I sat down with Director of Marketing and Community Relations Jill Witecki to discuss the ongoing project.
Witecki oversees any and all marketing that surrounds the events hosted by the Tampa Theatre, as well as any for the building itself. During the private stage of the restoration project, Witecki’s focus was mostly behind the scenes. “As we started into this campaign, a couple of years ago at this point, it was my job to come up with the plan, about how we were going to roll out the campaign in the public eye,” said Witecki, stating that in the beginning she was “the one making the plan and working with our development team to make sure that I was gathering all the stories that were happening along the way.” The “Cush Your Tush” fundraising campaign was announced to the public in December of last year. “Now, we’re starting the work,” said Witecki. After the fundraising details were released to the public, the theatre was met with a great deal of support. “Tampa Theatre is such a beloved building,” said Witecki, “that it’s pretty much universal that people understand how important it is to protect it, to restore it.” As far concerns from the community, Witecki said “If anything, the pushback we’ve gotten is the public just being concerned of ‘what do you mean, you’re taking the old seats?’ But, typically, when they do that, they don’t realize that the seats that are there now aren’t the original seats. These were seats that were installed in the seventies.” With the fundraising underway, Witecki is focusing on the next big thing the public is waiting to see. “The next, really exciting beat, I think, is going to be when we finally decide exactly what the seats are going to look like, exactly what the fabric is going to look like, exactly what the carpet’s going to look like,” said Witecki, “and we will be able to release those details to the public. I’m hoping that will happen within the next couple of months.” The Historic Tampa Theatre in downtown Tampa is continuing its efforts to raise funds for restorations. The plan is to raise enough funds to overhaul the seating completely, in addition to updating the electrical systems and other problems that have stemmed from the natural aging of the building.
The fundraising efforts by the theatre have been in the works since September 2013. One way that Tampa Theatre is attempting to raise the necessary money is with their “Cush Your Tush” campaign. For this campaign, patrons who wish to support the theatre can donate a seat the theatre with a minimum donation of five hundred dollars, and in return the seat will display their name or a message of the donators choosing. For those who really want to make a large impact, an entire row of theatre seats can be named for $10,000 by contacting the Director of Development JL Wagner. In addition to the larger donations, anyone want to contribute towards the efforts can choose any amount they like and gift it to the theatre. In addition to Cush Your Tush, Tampa Theatre has hosted many events since fundraising began, including the “O’ Brewer, Where Art Thou?” beer festival held in April of 2015, and “Caskablanca,” a wine festival that was held in September of 2016 just before the theatre’s 90th birthday. For the theatre, acquiring funds has been quite the journey. In January, News Channel 8 reported that theatre received a $325,000 grant from the Hillsborough County Commission, and in April of 2016 the family of Tampa Theatre Board Member Anne Arthur Pittman donated half a million dollars. While those donations will surely be a great help to the renovation project, Director of Marketing and Community Relations Jill Witecki claims that budget to make all necessary funds are totaling over 12 million dollars. In addition to the crucial renovations, the theatre plans to repaint and restore the plaster so that at the end of the project, the building reflects original beauty of its opening in 1926. Sunday February 26th, Historic Tampa Theatre in Downtown Tampa hosted their “Hollywood Awards Night”, a celebration and live viewing of 89th Annual Academy Awards. The event hosted guests from around Tampa Bay to walk the red carpet, enjoy popcorn and soda, and view the Oscar’s in real time. Stylists from Paul Mitchell the School were also on hand for make-up touch-ups to keep up with the Hollywood glamour, and limo rides around the block set the mood for the event. Inside, a “Predict the Winners” game was held for five dollars a ticket, where attendees could predict the winner of any given nomination. The attendees who correctly guessed the most winners were given many local prizes, such as a dinner at Bern’s steakhouse and a night at the Epicurean hotel. At the beginning of the night, impersonators of celebrities like Marilyn Monroe and Robert Redford walked the red carpet, all being cheered on and fawned over by volunteers from the community to create an authentic awards show atmosphere. The volunteers for the theatre, affectionately referred to as “gargoyles”, were invited to enjoy in the festivities after the red-carpet reception.
One special guest during the evening was Madison Harrison, a ten year old photographer who was photographing the event and interview the attendees as they arrived at the event. One such interviewee was with Clifton Smith, former NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneer player, who was in attendance. Throughout the evening, reactions to the awards were posted in real time on the Facebook page for the theatre. After the now infamous moment of the incorrect announcement of the Best Picture winner, which named “La La Land” when the correct winner was “Moonlight,” the theatre stated “What the heck just happened? #SteveHarvey,” in reference to the television’s hosts gaff at the Miss Universe competition in 2015. At the very end of the evening, guests who made it through the entire broadcast at the theatre were treated to complimentary coffee and doughnuts from the Tampa confectionery Datz Dough. The night following the event, Tampa Theatre followed up their engagement by showing the animated shorts nominated for academy awards, and the live actions shorts were shown on Tuesday, February 28th. The “Hollywood Awards Night” was the 18th annual for the Tampa Theatre.
On January 21st, Lyndsey Silva and Suzanne Benton joined tens of thousands of women in
St. Petersburg at the Women's March for Social Justice.
Lyndsey Silva is someone like many others across the country: a young woman disheartened by the results of the 2016 presidential election.
"It was just really devastating news," said Silva, "because I just thought that we were better, than that." Suzanne Benton, at 81 and a long time protestor and feminist, is no stranger to this sort of demonstration. “I knew it had to happen. You know, I’m called the founder, but I actually think I was the instigator," said Benton, "Well, of course, I did the women’s march in New York that Betty Friedan had called, and there was already an organization. The D.C. march is something that just grew, it just came of itself as a result of the election.” Several weeks after the protest, I spoke with Silva about her experience and plans for the future.
I spoke to Benton the following day, and she had some inspiring thoughts to share.
Benton's response to why she wanted to plan the march was simply "Why would you want to organize march? Wouldn’t you have an expectation that were other people that were already raring to go? That you weren’t alone?" she asked before adding, "There wasn’t any energy for it at all and I definitely woke it up." When asked about the surprisingly large turnout, she said: "We had, I do believe, the best organized, the most enthusiastic march in all of Florida- that’s my belief," said Benton, "We are unique, we can be very, very proud, and I just feel so connected now to this wonderful town.” Benton also cautioned young women and anyone else to learn from the past before its too late. “Those of us that have been active in civil rights and in the women’s movement, we’re getting pretty old now, but we were out there. And you better take advantage of us while we’re here, because we know a lot," said Benton, "We’ve lived through a lot of changes and seen things happen; we’ve seen things go in the right direction and in the wrong direction, but I think we were caught on this one. I don’t think we understood the depth of archaic thinking in America- so we have to change it.”
Adding to the celebration of hope and unity the Women's March represented, Benton received some very exciting news.
“The mayor declared January 21st, which happened to be my 81st birthday, Women’s Rights Day. So from now on, my birthday will be Women’s Rights day. I think that’s pretty neat.” Benton also had a word of advice for the current president. “If the disgruntled people are out there en masse, he better pay attention. And we are- and we’re unrelenting.” Finally, Benton shared a message to anyone wanting to get involved. "What you have ahead of you is something that doesn’t come to everybody: it’s a lifelong cause," said Benton, "They have the capacity for leadership and this is the time. They may not know that they can be leaders, but once you start moving forward you learn, and you do, and it’s intrinsic, to a person who cares. If they care, they’re going to learn what to do and how to do it. The resources are out there, they’re growing every day."
On a day full of clouds and gusts of wind, Angela Parkhurst visited a park to look back on the journey of writing her series of young adult books.
The series is entitled "The Forgotten Fairytales," and features classic fairy tale characters like Cinderella and her prince who have been given a brand new set of twists and turns. So far, Parkhurst has published two books in the series, the first also bearing the title "The Forgotten Fairytales," and the second entitled "Forget Me Not." She is currently working on the third novel, "Fire and Fury."
As she thought over her initial inspiration, Parkhurst described an eery photo of a castle on Pinterest.
"It was very dark, and it had clouds all around the base of it," she said, "and you could really only see the tops of it coming out of the mountains. And I thought to myself 'what would be like if you were riding up to that castle? And what's inside that castle? And who's that person, in that carriage, riding up to the castle? What's their story?' And the first scene that I wrote was them, riding up to the castle in the carriage, and that is the opening scene for my book." Like most writers, Parkhurst doesn't work completely alone. Her best friend Stephanie Bounds Bedwell has also become her editor, a job she adores. "I get to see the raw unedited mess that it is before she works her magic on it and makes it become something incredible," said Bedwell, "I get to go through and help her decide what should stay or go. I get to read parts and cry over things that are so touching and then tell her she made me cry." While she gets to experience the writing process of these novels, Bedwell is still an avid reader. "I have read them many times, during the editing process then again when it was all said and done and each time it seems like I find something new that I might have missed the last time I read them. There is so much imagination behind what she writes and I’m just amazed how she comes up with some of the things she thinks up. " While "Fire and Fury" is going to be the final installment in her trilogy, Parkhurst has no plans to say goodbye to the mystical world she has crafted. "I have a whole spin off planned," said Parkhurst, "featuring some of characters in this book, but mostly it takes place twenty years later, so you're dealing with their children...Mostly, you see the hybrid children, and Cinderella's children that she had with Prince Charming, and you get to see how they live their life." She is also working on books from the point of view of Wolf and Goldilocks. As far as moving from paper to screen, Parkhurst's stories would have an easy transition. "When I formatted my books, I did a lot of research," said Parkhurst, "Instead of following the natural course of books, which is why books are so hard to turn into movies, I follow more of a line of how a film goes." As far as her favorite passage goes, for Parkhurst it's a nearly impossible decision. "It's so hard to pick one because 90 percent of the stuff that I have between Wolf and Norah are my favorite."
In 2010, a 15-year-old Sydne Mushaben was diagnosed with stage two Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. She had to undergo chemo and radiation, and then was told by doctors she was in the clear.
9 months later, her cancer returned. This time, Mushaben’s treatment was three times the intensity and included a bone marrow transplant. During her treatment, Mushaben and her mother moved to New York into the Ronald McDonald house, leaving her brother behind with her father. After six months and successful treatment, Mushaben returned to her home in Florida. Three years later, Mushaben sought fertility testing to find out if having a child would ever be a possibility. After extensive examinations of her eggs and hormone levels, she was told it was a hopeless cause. “They said it would be easier to get my fifty-year-old mother pregnant than me,” said Mushaben. One year later, almost to the day, Mushaben came down with what she thought was the flu. Her mother brought her to the emergency room and was told by the doctor’s there that she was pregnant. Though she conceived a child against all the odds, Mushaben’s difficult journey toward motherhood wasn’t over. Due to severe morning sickness during her first trimester, Mushaben had to drop her courses at Saint Leo University and move home with her mother. Luckily, her second trimester was much easier than the first. During her third trimester, however, Mushaben was diagnosed with cholestasis of pregnancy. As a precaution for the baby’s health, Mushaben delivered her baby girl a month early. Even though bringing her into the world was extremely difficult, baby Charlotte was totally healthy and born at six pounds and fourteen ounces. Before getting pregnant, Mushaben completed two years of pre-medical studies at Saint Leo University. Earlier this month, she started classes again at St. Petersburg College with plans to transfer to the University of South Florida. She intends to eventually get a doctorate in pediatric oncology. As for Charlotte, Mushaben hopes “she’s happy, courageous, successful, and does what she feels is right in every aspect of her life,” she said. “I dream she will see the world and understand how others live. I hope she becomes an intelligent strong woman. I hope she makes a positive impact on other and society, and I dream that she never stops dreaming.”
Sunday marked the third “Market on Main” farmer’s market of the year in Safety Harbor, Florida.
Market on Main is a weekly farmer’s market that happens every Sunday morning from late September into May along Main Street in Safety Harbor. Once a month, the market grows and has a special theme. Sunday was the larger market for January, which was themed “New Year, New You,” and promoted products and activities designed to help patrons get and stay healthy. Mercedes Ofalt is the director of Market on Main, and was optimistic for this week’s event despite looming weather and lower crowds. “This is very light, and you are not seeing us at our heyday. This is light in vendors because of the weather, people were anticipating that it was going to storm most of the day. And it’s also light in attendance, I think people are staying home.” In keeping with the message of health and wellness, there were free family yoga glasses, chair massages, essential oils to buy and even fitness themed T-shirts. One unique vendor to this farmer’s market was local LuLaRoe consultant Nicole Guthrie. LuLaRoe is boutique clothing featuring tops, dresses, and, most famously, leggings. The clothing is not sold in any physical stores, and can only be purchased through a consultant online or at a “pop up” shop like a party or, in this case, a farmer’s market. Other vendors include artisan dips for chips and pretzels, a local visual artist, handmade jewelry, and food options ranging from wheatgrass shots to hot dogs. Market on Main is happening weekly until May, then it will occur monthly until September. More information can be found at facebook.com/SHMarketonMain |
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