October 5, 2000

Night Life
Centro Ybor in the mix
The showpiece of Ybor City's renaissance opens this weekend with music, parades and hopes of drawing more than rowdy night clubbers.

Centro Ybor's Opening Festival
All events take place in and around the Plaza

Lots to do on the avenue
Ybor City was a hub for nightlife long before Centro Ybor. You'll find plenty to eat, drink and do in the blocks surrounding the new complex. And even if it hasn't been too long since your last visit to Ybor, you may well find something new. Here's the latest of what Ybor has to offer. (Restaurant listings accompanied by a star (STAR) are recommended by St. Petersburg Times food critic Chris Sherman.)

Night Life: Hot Ticket
Go and laugh

Dine
Good eating at Centro Ybor
An early look at Big City Tavern, Dish and GameWorks provides an ample sample of tempting things to come.

Pub party helps sponsor guide dogs
With a steak dinner and an acoustic guitar performance, the Halfway to St. Patty's Day party at the Irish Fox and Hounds pub is more than the corned beef and cabbage and shamrocks usually symbolic of the holiday.

Tampa's SoHo -- It's to dine for
From upscale spots to suit the rich to pizza joints for the average Joe, there's an eclectic flavor about the culture -- and the appetizing cuisine -- in Tampa's Soho to appease all taste buds.

Cheap Thrill
Chris Sherman designates his favorites where you can eat happily for $10 or less as Cheap Thrills.

Side dish
With a month to go before the opening of BayWalk, Pinellas' answer to Centro Ybor, here are some changes elsewhere in downtown St. Petersburg

Film
Bring friends to 'Meet the Parents'
Moviegoers will have a great time watching Ben Stiller on the receiving end of Robert De Niro's hilarious abuse in this well-written comedy.

Persall's Top Five
Recent releases recommended by Times film critic Steve Persall

Family Movie Guide
The Family Movie Guide should be used along with the Motion Picture Association of America rating system for selecting movies suitable for children. Only films rated G, PG or PG-13 are included in this weekly listing, along with occasional R-rated films that may have entertainment or educational value for older children with parental guidance. Films are categorized as "recommended" for family viewing, "recommended with reservations" and "not recommended" for family viewing, with a description of content that led to that categorization. Compiled by St. Petersburg Times film critic Steve Persall.

Also in Theaters
Sly's out for revenge

Where Hollywood rarely goes
These films, featured at the 11th annual Tampa Bay International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, take pride in community and culture.

Video
'U-571' targets submarine fans
Here is what reviewers thought of this week's new video releases back when they were released on the big screen. Second thoughts include hindsight about the movies, what they'll be like on video and suggestions about who might want to rent them.

Pop
Will the real Michael Johnson please stand up?
The singer has found success in folk, pop and country music. He opens the season at Octagon Arts, known as a folk venue.

Team Pop Trivia
This Week's Winner: The winner of this week's random drawing for the totally supercalifrag Times T-shirt is Lorissa J. Hallenbeck of St. Petersburg. Hallenbeck knew that singer Melissa Etheridge auditioned for the television series Fame in 1984 but lost the part to future pop star Janet Jackson.

Pop: Ticket Window
On the horizon

Pop: Hot Ticket
Sugar and venom

Get Away
Get Away: Hot Ticket
For the birds

High-speed showdown
Some of the bay area's top amateurs will compete against some of the nation's best bicyclists in the Dade Battle of Brilliance this weekend.

Get Away: Down the road
Weedon Island Power Paddle (Oct. 21) Canoe and kayak races. Proceeds benefit Tampa BayWatch. Register at http://www.active.com or (727) 896-5320. $20 per person before Oct. 14, $25 after.

Art
Ybor's Renaissance man
Painter, doctor, boxing expert, author and philanthropist Ferdie Pacheco is opening an art gallery of his own.

Blackhawk roosts in Old Hyde Park
Dr. Seuss characters are gaining some exposure these days. There's the coming Jim Carrey movie How the Grinch Stole Christmas. And there's the artwork hanging on the walls of Blackhawk Coffee Cafe, which opened in July.

Art: Best bets
Art critic Mary Ann Marger's recommendations for this weekend. Please refer to the Art Calendar for details.

Art for every budget
The 11th annual Old Hyde Park Village Art Festival unites more than 200 artists working in a variety of mediums, including oil, watercolor, jewelry, stained glass, sculpture, photography and ceramics.

Art: Hot Ticket
Giving witness

Stage
Wit and dance
Performance artist Claire Porter relies on choreography and stand-up comedy in Portables, but no music.

Stage: On the horizon
Hell -- Gorilla Theatre's second production of the season, Theatre Hell by Craig Alpaugh, runs Oct. 19-Nov. 5. $14 and $17. (813) 879-2914.

Stage: Hot Ticket
Broadway blues

If it's Latin, Orquestra Infinidad plays it
Their energetic style gives Centro Ybor just the right score. Expect salsa, merengue, Latin pop, mambo and traditional music set to a new beat.