Tampa Mom

One of our family members would declare it, “EPIC!”

We are hunkering down for a nice long post-season this year! Go Rays!

Celebrate Oktoberfest all month long in Tampa! Each weekend, checkout a different festival, and if you are longing for a mid-week bit of Bavaria, have lunch at the Schnitzelhaus! All of these events have family-friendly components to them, so bring the kids! The highlight of the month will be the big Oktoberfest in Oldsmar at Tampa Bay Downs during the last weekend. Attendance was 25,000+ last year.

If you have other events to add, please leave a comment and link at the end of this post! Enjoy!

• Tampa Bay’s Best O’Fest, Most Authentic Bavarian Festival, in its 60th year!
• Fridays and Saturdays, Sept. 30-Oct. 1, Oct. 7-8, Oct. 14-15, doors open at 4pm
• Lots of dancing, music, great food, and BEER!
• Visit their website for complete information and a coupon for $2 off admission! Admission $6, kids 12 & under are free!

• Schnitzelhaus German Restaurant
• Their website declares this to be their LAST Oktoberfest!
• Live Music with Inga
  Fri and Sat 5pm – 9pm and Sun 4pm – 8pm
• Fri and Sat Special, Four Course Dinner
  $21.95 – $25.50, reservations required
• Open Wednesday-Saturday, 11am-9pm and Sunday, noon-8pm
• Closed Monday and Tuesday

• Dunedin Brewery OktoBEERfest 2011
• October 6-8, starts at 4pm daily
• On Thursday, October 6th, we will only fill Literstein mugs. Bring yours or purchase this year’s edition for $30*. (*Note: There is no cover-charge for this event, however no pints of beer will be sold. You must have a Literstein in order to have a beer for just this one night.)
• First Friday Street Party, street opens at 5pm, music by The Fritz from 7-11pm under the tent, Bird Street Players from 11pm-1am inside
• Saturday Street Gathering, music by Tribal Style from 7-11pm under the tent, Funky Seeds from 11pm-1am inside

• Oktoberfest Tampa
• This year we bring you the extremely limited Konig Ludwig Oktoberfest Spezial. We’ll be celebrating with German cheer, dancing and singing to cooler weather and colder beer along the Hillsborough river downtown at the heights this Oktober 14th, 15th, and 16th. Oktoberfest Tampa 2011 is a time to unwind and make new friends. Learn new customs and sing a few songs. Help us tap the inaugural keg Friday, Oktober 14th, as we open the doors to Tampa’s largest Oktoberfest. Acres of courtesy parking.
• Friday, October 13, 3pm-midnight
• Saturday, October 14, 11am-midnight
• Sunday, October 15, 11am-9pm
• Pre-sale ends Oct. 13th. Admission is $8/day, $15/weekend pass. Das Boot admission is $30/day, or $45/weekend pass.
• Crazy games
• VIP Access – it’s worth it! Starts at $75/person. Best feature? VIP parking, tables, servers, and bathrooms!!!

• Oktoberfest on the Beach - 10th Annual Celebration Activity Schedule
• October 15, 11am-7pm, Kinderfest 11am-2:30pm
• Held at Kolb Park, Indian Rocks Beach
• Live music, German Band “Lorelei” performs at 1pm until 7pm
• Adult activities include: Food Court, Beer Wagon, Vendors, Art Exhibit, Antique Show, Boat Show, Silent Auction
• Championship Competitions include: Stein-carrying, Wife-carrying, Keg-throwing, and Polka-dancing!
• “Kinderfest” (11am-2:30pm) activities include: Dodgeball, Children’s Dunk Tank, Shuttle Race, Capture the Flag, Spider Web, Red Light—Green Light, Hula Hoop Contest, Water Balloon Contest, Jelly Bean Relay, Inflatable Experiences, Tattoo Booth, Balloon Artist & Magician, Kiddie Olympics, Children’s Arts & Crafts Booth

• Top O’ the Bay Oktoberfest, Tampa Bay Downs in Oldsmar
  • October 28-30
  • Traditionally held the last weekend of October, Oktoberfest brings the best of Old Bavaria and New Florida together for three full days of authentic German food, drink, music and dancing… along with a spectacular carnival & Midway, a great arts & crafts show, and the wildest array of audience participation contests that the Tampa Bay area has ever seen!
  • Oldsmar’s version of the 200+ year-old German tradition is both the largest and longest-running  Oktoberfest in West Central Florida, attracting over 25,000 attendees.

  
  

This Saturday, November 15th at 2pm, Warrick Dunn will be signing his new book Running for My Life at the Carrollwood Barnes & Noble. This book is sure to be a riveting read! Warrick Dunn has an amazing life story that will have you turning page after page. This would also be a great Christmas gift for the football fan in your life!

Book signings can be a long affair, so my advice to you is to bring a partner to wait in line with you, a bottle of water, a camera, and maybe even a snack. Wear comfortable shoes and get there early.

Have fun!

Tomorrow, we will be out at the Top O’ the Bay Oktoberfest at Tampa Bay Downs. Friends of ours are in a traditional shoe-slapping dance group and we are looking forward to celebrating with them. If you haven’t gotten out to an Oktoberfest this year, check out Oldsmar this weekend. If you’re still not feeling like you’ve done enough, check out the Schnitzelhaus for lunch this week. Have a brat, some strudel, and a Spaten.

Friday is Halloween. This is one of the biggest times of the year for food allergy problems. Please distribute candy without nuts of any kind. There’s plenty of straight sugary things out there! Many food allergy families completely avoid Halloween activities simply due to the amount of dangerous candies floating around. We are looking forward to Halloween, though trick-or-treating will not be a part of it.

This year, I’ve noticed a few Halloween alternatives popping up at places like the shopping malls, Publix grocery stores, and churches. I encourage you to give these a try. They are safe environments and more controlled situations rather than the randomness of individual houses in a neighborhood can be.

Get out and enjoy the cooler weather!

Lowry Park’s ZooBoo is open on Thursdays-Sundays through Nov. 1. Admission is $17/Adults (ages 12+), $14/Kids (ages 3-11). ZooPass holders pay $12/$10. Open 7-10pm on Thursdays and Sundays, 7-11pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Important information: For the safety of guests, adults (ages 12 and older) are not permitted to wear masks, wigs, face paint or costumes of any kind. Little boys and “ghouls” (ages 11 and under) are invited to come in their most spooktacular attire. Toy weapons of any sort will not be allowed into the Zoo.

Guavaween Family FunFest will be held Saturday, October 25, 2008 (10am-3pm) in historic Ybor City. This is a totally free event with a daytime crowd estimated at around 20,000. Safe trick-or-treating, costume contest and parade, and pumpkin contests are among the fabulous family activities.

The Florida Aquarium is holding Guppyween 2008, a safe, fun, and supervised children’s trick or treating on Sunday, October 26 from 4 to 9 p.m. Bring your ghosts and goblins in costume for a deliciously fun time! Candy stations will be set up throughout the facility with plenty of kids’ activities in between. Kids in costume are free, while adults (12 and over) pay $12. It’s a safe, fun party with spooky creatures and loads of tasty treats.  * Limit four children per adult. Aquarium members get in free to this event.

MOSI presents their 3rd annual Hall-O-Boo! Family Halloween Event on October 24 & 25, 5-9pm. Admission for members is only $8, and non-members is $10. Activities include hayrides, monster mash ball, mad scientist demonstrations, and much more!

Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom is a fun Disney event especially geared to the under-10 crowd. Tickets vary in price depending on the date. Expect to spend up to $56 for an adult ticket. October 31st is sold out. Event takes place 7pm-midnight, though October 31st.

If you know of another family friendly Halloween event, please post your info in a comment! Thanks! Happy Halloween!

If you are looking for a really excellent musical experience for your child, I recommend checking out Gulf Coast Youth Choirs. GCYC offers a number of graded choirs led by professional choral directors. The founder of the organization, Dr. Lynn Gackle, has wealth of experience and is internationally-recognized as a leader in the choral world. She has assembled a staff of highly qualified professionals who carry her vision through to each choir under their direction.

Singing in a choir is like no other musical experience. It’s like a team sport with aesthetics. You are all working together towards a common goal – communicating to an audience – and the combination of musical language and the poetry of the lyrics speaks like no other. Directors set high expectations and the choristers continually excel. GCYC is a great place to be.

Our Experience – We are in our second year with GCYC, and have great hopes for it being even better than the first. I am thoroughly impressed with the quality of the organization in many areas. As a professional musician myself, I was concerned with the rigor and depth of the program and am sufficiently pleased. The literature selection, coaching, management, care of young voices, attention to detail is all there. Our child enjoys singing and is encouraged week after week to improve and get deeper into the music. Her choir performed at Disney’s Magic Music Days last Spring and they are planning another tour for Spring 2009. As a chaperone for that trip, I was impressed with not only the organization, but the quality kids in this program. They are top notch. It was an absolute pleasure to accompany them on a trip.

If you are not sure if this is something your child would be interested in, I suggest taking them to a concert this year and consider it for next year. You can get more information on their website at http://gulfcoastchoir.com/

It’s Your Life, Make a Difference!
Leadership Kick-Off & Family Fun Weekend
September 27, 2008

If you have a Girl Scout in your family, or someone who wants to join, you do not want to miss this Fall 2008 Kick-Off event at Cypress Gardens. There will be scavenger hunts, badge activities, and lots of scouting fun in addition to all of the great attractions at Cypress Gardens. The price is only $18/per person, and for only $10 more, you can extend your ticket to unlimited admission for the rest of 2008!

Find out more about the Girl Scouts of West Central Florida and register for the event.

Elizabeth finished her first Youth Triathlon on Saturday. It was very exciting! 50 kids ages from 7-12 participated in this first annual event for our local YMCA. The first part of the morning consisted of a triathlon clinic, where 6 kids were assigned to a volunteer coach (ours was Coach Laura) who explained the process and walked them through it. They had a short break time for snacks and relaxation (ha!) before the pep rally and official start. Cristy Bartalo, local triathlete and race coordinator, inspired and encouraged all of the triathletes, families, and volunteers. This was such an outstanding event! We are looking forward to the next one!

Check out these links to local YMCA programs:
Bob Sierra Family YMCA
Bob Sierra YMCA Youth and Family Center and Aquatic Complex
2008 Youth Triathlon Series of Pinellas

This coming Saturday is the first annual YMCA Youth Triathlon. Our daughter is participating in this and we are so excited to cheer her on! What does she have to do? Swim 50 yards, bike 3 miles, and run 1 mile. I think she will really enjoy herself. Stay tuned for pictures and a recap on Saturday. This is the kickoff event for our family’s year of fitness!

It’s cold outside and I’m so happy about it! While out shopping for a pair of jeans yesterday at Catherine’s (one of the few clothes outlets for the full-figured gal,) I spied the rack of leather coats with a 60% off sign on it. How could I walk past that? So, I found a coat I liked, put it on, and bought it. The price tag said $249, but I paid only $90 for it with the sale and my Catherine’s Perks discount on top of it! Cha-ching! I plan on wearing it this winter, then ebaying that baby in April. I’m so happy with my coat! My scarves all look beautiful with it. Well, there’s my one shopping tidbit for the year.

Next year, I’ll be shopping for a new leather coat about 10 sizes smaller! Join me on my journey at www.rediscoveringfood.com.