TAMPA - Organizers of the Gala Corina art show have a new location for the event, and a new name too.
This year, the show will be called Milagros, the Spanish word for "miracles."
It was a wonder that organizers could find a new location for the show, just a week before opening.
The fire marshal's office ruled this week that organizers could not use the old Arlington Hotel, a historic, unoccupied building on N Franklin Street, for the show. They said the building would not be safe.
When organizers could not change the Fire Department's mind, they scrambled to find a new spot before Friday's opening.
They found Ybor Square, a renovated cigar factory formerly owned by cigarmaker Hav-A-Tampa, at 1901 N 13th St.
Except for the location and name, the show will stay the same.
The grand opening will run from 5 to 11 p.m. Nov. 7. Five bands will perform live music, and there will be free beer, wine and hors d'oeuvres. The show is free, but donations are welcome.
Art will remain on display for two weeks, closing on Saturday, Nov. 22.
Gala Corina, which began in 1999 at the historic Corina Cigar Factory in Palmetto Beach, takes a different unfinished historic building every year and transforms it into a gallery.
Organizers expect more than 3,000 people to attend.
