Dine
I'll have some more ...
Carrots on the side.
Get Away
Get Away: Down the road
A look at what's coming
Get your kicks ringing in 2006
Whatever your celebrating style, there's a lot to do this New Year's Eve. Here are some highlights of the local offerings.
Inside information
Weekend trivia
LAST WEEK: Kelley Bailey of Lakeland knew that The Nutcracker was first performed in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Start the new year with a boom
Fireworks are a traditional way to greet the new year, and you don't even have to wait until midnight to see them. Fireworks go off at the St. Petersburg waterfront at 8:30 p.m. Saturday as part of the First Night celebration. They will be repeated at midnight.
Music
Hot Tickets: And Phish bassist makes three
Phish may have split (or are just on hiatus again, according to their most optimistic fans), but the popular jam band's members continue to pop up with solo albums and one-off projects. Phish bassist Mike Gordon, whose recent CD Sixty Six Steps is his second collaboration with guitarist Leo Kottke, closes out the year with a string of shows with the Benevento/Russo Duo, including a concert Friday night at Jannus Landing.
Top jazz picks
The year's best new jazz albums:
Nite Out
Dancing, dining, toasting
If staying home in your jammies with Dick Clark isn't your idea of fun, there are plenty of party opportunities to help you kick off 2006.
Stage
Celtic lords a-leaping
Just in time for the new year, Lord of the Dance returns for four shows at Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. Either Irish hokum or a deeply spiritual experience or a camp classic, depending on your tolerance for Celtic step-dance and music, the production tells the story of a confrontation between Don Dorcha, the Dark Lord, and the Lord of the Dance, a role first performed by Michael Flatley, who is artistic director but doesn't appear in the show anymore. Even though it's little more than a blatant ripoff of Riverdance, which at least deserves credit for originality, The Lord of the Dance has been the highest-grossing dance show in the world since it began in 1996. Trivia from the press release: The dancers "complete an estimated 151,200 taps per performance." Who's counting? 7:30 p.m today, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday. $40-$60. 813 229-7827 or toll-free 1-800-955-1045; www.tbpac.org
Video / DVD
New releases
A look at what's hitting the shelves
Upcoming releases
TUESDAY: Dark Water, 2046; Diary of a Mad Black Woman; Grizzly Man; Undiscovered
Year in review: 2005
A party for your ears
Listening to music is supposed to be fun. And in 2005, it was. From Neil to Kanye, the Lovemakers to the Gorillaz, there was plenty to groove to.
Art blends with business design
Many fine exhibitions opened here in 2005 but the big art news was a tale of two cities. Tampa, the larger, wealthier, more corporately endowed municipality, finds itself a distant second to St. Petersburg, which continues to rack up cultural coups. Right now, it's all about growth potential. Here are the top art stories of 2005:
The best remains to be seen
Woody Allen's Match Point doesn't open in the bay area until Jan. 20, but the romantic thriller is worth waiting for.
Tumbles and triumphs
The performing arts provided many memorable moments in 2005 in exquisite, gutsy performances as well as a few missteps and farewells.
