With lots to do, there's still time to say 'I love you'

February is my favorite month because Valentine's Day is in it. Over-commercialization ruins Christmas for me, but somehow the bigger the box of candy on Feb. 14, the more loved I feel. It's such a -- dare I say it? -- sweet, uncomplicated holiday. As a child, I never even minded getting comic valentines; they always seemed innocent and funny. Have they disappeared in the current passion for political correctness?

Tampa has a lot to celebrate this month, what with the Gasparilla Pirate Festival and the Florida State Fair. Gasparilla takes over downtown Tampa Feb. 2 and 3, with the flotilla invasion at 11:30 a.m. and the street parade at 1:30 p.m. Saturday. The festival continues from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday. For more information, call (813) 353-8073.

For the 98th time, Tampa will host the the Florida State Fair Feb. 7-18. Like all other good state fairs, this one will have arts and crafts, livestock and entertainment, with music headliners such as Travis Tritt and Stars of the Grand Ole Opry. The fairgrounds are at 4800 U.S. 301; for additional information, call (813)-621-7821.

If serious music is your taste, plenty is offered by the excellent symphony orchestras in this area. The Florida West Coast Symphony, based in Sarasota, has an excellent Masterwork Series, as always. It also seems to excel in using novel ways to attract audiences who may not be regular symphony members. At 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 6, in Holley Hall, part of the Beatrice Friedman Symphony Center at 709 N Tamiami Trail, the Feb Fest will highlight four resident ensembles of the West Coast Symphony musicians. The Florida String Quartet, the Florida Brass Quintet, the New Artists Piano Quartet and the Florida Wind Quintet will take turns in the spotlight. Afterward, the audience is invited to mingle with the artists at an ice cream social, courtesy of Ben and Jerry's of St. Armands Circle. Tickets are $10 for general admission seating. Call (941)-953-3434.

For some more small-ensemble music listening, don't forget the Sunday afternoon concerts in the Marly Room of the Museum of Fine Arts on Beach Drive in downtown St. Petersburg. Continuing the fine tradition of superb music in an intimate setting, there will be an unusual offering Feb. 10. The Trio Con Voce -- violinist Kyung Sun Lee, pianist Brian Suits and soprano Jennifer Aylmer -- will perform selections ranging from Bach and Bartok to Gershwin and Cole Porter. This young, talented group is making a firm place for itself in the world of chamber music and recitals. Information: (727) 896-2667.

Doubtless, plenty of videos at your local rental place offer car chases, explosions, murder and mayhem. But three lightweight, charming videos are wonderful Valentine fare.

A Garry Marshall comedy, The Princess Diaries, starring Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews, is about the classic makeover of a dumpy girl into a knockout. What makes it fun is watching young Hathaway and veteran Andrews playing the Cinderella story with new charm and wit.

Legally Blonde with Reese Witherspoon, the movies' finest young comedian, also tells a familiar story in a fresh way: A dumb blond goes to Harvard Law School and beats the experts at their own game.

Shrek is perfect for intelligent grownups and fairy-tale-loving kids. Either group will find much to laugh at, smile with and feel good about in this delightful, beautifully animated story, with a full complement of interesting characters.

Three nonfiction books of very different style and content are perfect examples of what keeps people coming back to the printed page. Haynes Johnson has written a wonderful social history of the '90s, The Best of Times: America in the Clinton Years. The title is loaded with irony, and Johnson's clear prose style and sense of organization make this a fascinating patchwork of events from O.J. Simpson to impeachment, the dot.com meltdown and the wild and crazy 2000 election.

The Life and Crimes of Agatha Christie: a Biographical Companion to the Works of Agatha Christie by Charles Osborne does what its title promises in examining Christie and her accomplishments through the prism of her 115 (give or take a few) novels, many short stories and plays. It is pure pleasure for her devoted readers.

How long has it been since you have chosen a volume of poetry to read? Our new poet laureate, Billy Collins, may change all that. In Sailing Around the Room, a collection of his work, Collins writes poems that any reader can enjoy, with wry humor, wonderful insights and a surprising and enriching use of language.

Here's how The History Teacher begins: "Trying to protect his students' innocence/he told them the Ice Age was really just/the Chilly Age, a period of a million years/when everyone had to wear sweaters."

I promise you will like it. What better Valentine gift than a book of poetry?

Web Sites:

www.culturefinder.com -- Arts events listed by cities (from Tampa to Tucson, Albany to Atlanta), by genres from theater to opera to dance to visual arts, with a search ability to look up an individual artist or specific events.

promo.yahoo.com/statefarm -- If you enjoy 10-best and 10-worst lists so popular this time of year, visit this site. It lists the most dangerous intersections in the nation (No. 1 is in Florida) and breaks down hot spots into separate states and areas.

www.FoodSiteoftheDay.com -- This does a lot more than furnish delicious, tempting recipes, though there are plenty of those. Interested cooks can trace histories and cultural developments of their favorite foods.

Happy Valentine's Day. And take note.

-- Write to Mim Anne Houk c/o Seniority, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731. Or send e-mail to MHouk@tampabay.rr.com.

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