Photo courtesy of Florida Strawberry Festival
By Suzanne Townsend
This year’s Groundhog Day predicted an early spring and Tampa Bay is ready as ever to enjoy the March sunshine. There are plenty of festivals and outdoor events to check out with friends and family this month. Here is a list of a few of them.
Florida Strawberry Festival
Feb. 29 – March 10
303 Berryfest Pl, Plant City
If you’re up for the drive to Plant City, the Florida Strawberry Festival is stacked with activities, events, contests and food. Vendors will be serving up any strawberry-related dish you could imagine like strawberry pizza, strawberry milkshakes, cobbler and even strawberry brisket tacos.
The festival midway hosts rides, a ferris wheel and other fair activities and live music for guests of all ages. Admission tickets for adults are $11 but you’ll have to purchase a wristband or additional tickets for rides. For more information visit flstrawberryfestival.com.
Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
March 8 – March 10
400 1st St SE, St. Petersburg
Start your engines for a full weekend of racing.
In the heart of downtown St. Petersburg just north of the USF St. Petersburg campus you can catch one of St. Pete’s biggest annual events. As a part of the weekend-long festivities there will be activities like Thursday’s 5K Run on the Racetrack and party at North Straub Park, Friday celebration A Grand Prix Evening and Saturday’s Brett Michaels concert. There’s even an opportunity to meet the drivers and see the racecars up close. Tickets start at $25 for single-day tickets and $70 for three-day tickets. Additional tickets and add-ons are also available. For more information visit gpstpete.com.
Reggae Rise Up
March 14 – March 17
701 Bayshore Dr NE, St. Petersburg
Reggae fans are having a good couple of months with the release of Bob Marley’s biopic One Love in February and now one of the largest reggae festivals in the country, right in downtown St. Petersburg at Vinoy Park. The 2024 lineup includes names like Dirty Heads, Iration, Rebelution and Damian and Stephen Marley.
Gates open at 4 p.m. on Thursday and noon Friday through Sunday. Break out your sandals and tie-dye T-Shirts as general admission single day tickets start at $80 and multi-day passes start at $165. Check out more information at reggaeriseup.com.
Paddy Fest
March 16 & 17
350 2nd Ave N, St. Petersburg
Feelin’ lucky? St. Petersburg’s St. Patrick’s Day weekend-long celebration will be held in Williams Park from noon to 9 p.m. both days. The deep roster of food vendors includes Slammer Shop and LaStrada Mobile Kitchen, and of course, there will be Guinness and whiskey for those 21 and older. In addition to Irish music and dancing, the highlight this year is a new Celtic Games exhibition where attendees can try traditional Highland games like stone put and caber toss themselves as well as watch demonstrations from the foundation of Scottish Athletes. See paddyfeststpete.com for more.
Gasparilla International Film Festival
March 21 – March 24
701 S. Howard Ave. 106-432 Tampa
This year marks the 17th anniversary of Tampa Bay’s largest celebration of independent film. Cinephiles and indie arts supporters can pop over to Tampa to check out new films of all genres including documentaries, shorts, music videos and international films. More information about the 2024 submissions and ticket prices will be available at gasparillafilmfestival.com.
Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field
March 28 – March 31
1 Tropicana Dr., St. Petersburg
Tropicana Field will host regular season games towards the end of March with select tickets starting as low as $10. The Rays play the Toronto Blue Jays in a four-game series beginning March 28 followed by the Texas Rangers and Colorado Rockies. In case you didn’t know, Tropicana offers visitors a real stingray touch tank and of course photo ops with Raymond Ray and DJ Kitty. Student discounts for regular season games are TBA, and you can check out the full schedule here.
