Seize the Day

By Compiled by KATHLEEN LANG

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 7, 2000

THINGS TO DO

• The real magic will be in beating the crowd to get your hands on a copy of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the much-anticipated next installment in the series on Harry Potter, boy wizard. Instead of casting a spell, check out your local Barnes & Noble, Borders, Books-A-Million, Inkwood Books (Tampa), Haslam's (St. Petersburg) or other participating bookstores tonight that will reopen at midnight for sales and special events. Area booksellers also are planning special Harry Potter events Saturday afternoon.

• For a change of pace from tried-and-true artwork, attend tonight's opening reception at Hyde Park Fine Arts, where a non-traditional mixed-edia exhibit opens from 7 to 10 p.m. at the gallery, 937 S Howard Ave., Tampa. The exhibit includes assemblage, found objects, and new, revitalized and/or experimental methods of art making. Free. Call (813) 258-8883.

• Watch the singular sensations of theater, the supporting performers, who get their due when A Chorus Line opens today in Crystal River at Playhouse 19, 865 U.S. 19 S. Show times today through July 16 are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays and July 13. Admission is $12. Call (352) 563-1333.

• Clearwater's free Concert in the Park series continues when The Buddy Verdi Band swings from 7 to 9:30 tonight at Coachman Park, downtown Clearwater. Bring your own cooler or buy food and drinks at the park. Call (727) 562-4800.

• Head up Central Avenue today as the Get Down Town Music Series continues with Democracy. The free block party is 5 to 10 p.m. on Central Avenue between Second and Third streets, downtown St. Petersburg. Also, DJ Trotman Soundship and pan player.

THINGS TO VIEW

• See the man who started it all when The Learning Channel profiles The Greatest Martial Artist: Bruce Lee, at 8 tonight. The program is followed at 9 p.m. by a two-hour special, Martial Arts: The Real Story, which looks at villages in China and India where martial arts are still practiced.

• Remember the stone-faced Dr. Lillith Sternin-Crane from Cheers? Well the actor who played the stilted doctor, Bebe Neuwirth, dons a more glamorous persona when she makes a guest appearance tonight on NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Neuwirth plays a "trendy modeling-agency executive" as Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Stabler (Christopher Meloni) investigate a brutal assault on a popular teenage model. 10 p.m.

Compiled by Times staff writer Kathleen Lang.