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By Peter Roos
The 2026 St. Pete Beach FREE Spring Concert Series in Horan Park continues on alternate Friday nights! Bring your friends, family and chairs and enjoy a night full of live entertainment! Food, beer, and wine will be available for purchase. Concerts are 7-9pm, dates listed below. See you there!
- Friday, April 10 – Smooth D & The Boyz
- Friday, April 24 – Beside Myself (Elton John and Billy Joel Tribute)
- Join Lucky Cat Yoga on the third Sundays of each month starting April 19-August 15, 2027, at The Dalí – a remarkable environment where Dalí’s energy infuses the physical, mental and spiritual inspiration of yoga. The Lucky Cats teach vinyasa yoga, an all-levels approach that incorporates an interplay of basic breath work, postures, meditation and relaxation. Held in the Dalí Museum’s Raymond James Community Room, tickets are $15 for non-members and $10 for museum members. Yoga participants can visit the galleries on the same day for just $14.
The Green Thumb Festival, St. Petersburg’s annual celebration of nature, gardening, and environmental education will return on Sat., April 25, and Sun., April 26, from 9am-4pm each day. It will take place at Walter Fuller Park, 7891 26th Ave. N. The weekend-long event is free and open to the public. Hosted by the city of St. Petersburg’s Parks and Recreation Department, the two-day festival is the city’s official Arbor Day celebration and one of the largest gardening events in the Tampa Bay area. More than 120 garden and plant vendors will participate in the event, offering everything from native plants and tropical flowers to trees, herbs, and landscaping supplies.
The festival also features environmental exhibits, educational workshops, and hands-on activities focused on gardening and sustainability. Parking is available at Azalea Middle School, Azalea Youth Soccer League, and behind Walter Fuller Recreation Center. Handicap parking is located at the Walter Fuller Recreation Center’s main parking lot and the Walter Fuller Pool parking lot. Please note: This event is rain or shine with the exception of severe weather. Cancellations due to weather will be announced on the city of St. Petersburg Rec’s Facebook page at facebook.com/stpeteparksrec.
Country Thunder, a weekend long country music event making history by moving to the Gulf shoreline, offering a unique sandy beachfront setting for 2026 takes place May 8-10, at the TradeWinds Resort in St. Pete Beach. Headliners for this beachfront festival include Randy Houser, Gretchen Wilson, Shaboozey, Dasha, Max McNown, Braxton Keith, Cole Goodwin, Elizabeth Nichols, Solon Holt, and Jay Webb. Tickets and accommodation options are available now for this all-ages, three-day event. Three-day passes went for $345 initially. Daily options are now available. RFID wristbands will be used, and they must be activated before the festival, notes Country Thunder Music Festivals.
If you are parking at the beach, pay attention where you park, and keep your receipts. The cities along the beaches generate a lot of revenue from parking, and rates typically run $4-5 / hour with daily caps in municipal lots, which generally use the ParkMobile App. Street parking in residential neighborhoods is generally reserved for residents whose plates are registered with the city. Fines can be as much as $90 for illegal parking. Private lots are often operated by large corporations, some of whom are known to charge $20 for the first two hours. At least one company has been sued by Attorneys General in several states for issuing citations before time expired. If you get a ticket on your windshield that is not from the city, be aware that it is not a civil fine and it could be fraudulent.
Freefall Theater, a community theater company, conveniently located for Paradise News readers at 6099 W Central Ave., produces some of the best community theater in the area. Their next show Then They Came for Me: Remembering the World of Anne Frank by James Still, is a unique multimedia play that combines videotaped interviews of Holocaust survivors Ed Silverberg and Eva Schloss and live actors recreating scenes from their lives during World War II. Part oral history, part dramatic action, part direct address, part remembrance… Ed was Anne Frank’s first boyfriend, and she wrote about him in the beginning of her now-famous diary. Eva Schloss was the same age as Anne Frank and lived in the same apartment building in Amsterdam. Her family went into hiding the same day as the Frank family. And like the Frank family, they were betrayed. Runs weekends April 10-May 17. Tickets $55 (or included with a $29 per month subscription).
Last October, Paradise News introduced Scott Tate as a candidate for Mayor of St. Pete Beach. It was a nasty campaign, especially repeated malicious mailings from the incumbent who, instead of running on his record in office, spent his campaign funds on creative giant postcards with false claims and insinuations about his opponent. We are thrilled to say Scott became the new Mayor of St. Pete Beach on March 10 with 66% of the votes cast, twice the number of votes the incumbent received.In the same October tidbits column, we introduced Micheal Warner, a Democrat, running for the Florida House of Representatives, District 61. We met Michael several times at Tampa International Airport, when he was helping people in wheelchairs get from the planes to ground transportation. He told us then he wanted to make a difference in the world and planned to run for office. We believed him.
Last year, Michael published a book about his life and pursuit of his dreams. VOICE FOR CHANGE: The Unbreakable Journey of Michael Warner, is available from Amazon, ($6.99 – $18.99) In Voice for Change, Warner opens up about the defining moments that shaped his life, the setbacks that tested him, the mentors who inspired him, and the community that continues to fuel his mission for a better tomorrow. With honesty, heart, and a deep love for his hometown, Warner takes readers behind the scenes of his rise in public service and his bold campaign for the 2026 election. More than a political memoir, this is a story of hope, of one man’s determination to be the voice for those who have long been unheard. Whether you’re from Florida, follow American politics, or simply love stories of resilience and leadership, this book will move you, motivate you, and remind you why every voice matters. We just got invited to attend a Meet & Greet for Michael Warner at Chill Restaurant and Bar on Corey Ave., on Thursday, April 16 from 5-7pm. If you see this early enough and you are interested, get a copy of his book and bring it to Chill for an autograph.
Parc Center For Disabilities opened their brand new Tom & Mary James Children’s Center for Early Intervention with a ribbon cutting on March 25.
Want to learn to play Mah Jong? The St. Pete Beach Public Library is planning a class on Saturday afternoons at 3pm in the library, for three weeks starting on April 25. Other library services end at 2pm on Saturdays and you need a reservation to participate. Ask a librarian or call 727-363-9238.
The James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art has something new for visitors to explore: a video game. Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna) is an award-winning puzzle platformer that follows the epic journey of a native Eskimo girl named Nuna and her companion Fox as they try to save their home from an eternal blizzard. Developed by E-Line Media in collaboration with the Cook Inlet Tribal Council (CITC), an Alaska Native social service organization, Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna) aims to share, celebrate and extend Alaska Native culture. This pop-up exhibition will be on view through June 25. (Photo courtesy of E-Line Media and The James Museum.)
The Herrig Art Center, 888 Third Ave. W, Bradenton, presents the second Annual Member Showcase by the member artists of the National Association of Women Artists. The association started in 1889 to promote awareness of, and interest in visual art created by women in the United States. This show exhibits the best artwork by its members. The exhibit is open through April 17. Call 941-746-2862 or visit https://herrigcenter.org/.
Creative Clay’s Boundless Expressions Online Art Auction is in full swing. Be a part! This auction has 35 pieces of art. Seven pieces have already sold for the full “Buy it Now” price! The artists will collect half of that as a paycheck and the other half will be reinvested into programming and supplies! One beautiful thing about “Buy it Now” sales is that an additional $100 will be donated to Creative Clay, maximizing your impact. As of now $800 additional dollars have been raised just from this bonus. This awesome match is made possible by longtime Creative Clay supporters Willi Rudowsky & Hal Freedman.
The developers of the Villas of St. Pete Beach subsequently did an amazing job turning an aging 2-star motel just south of Oyster Shucker into The Saint Hotel, the nicest boutique hotel in the district, with Eighty Two Degrees, a fine dining and craft cocktail restaurant on the second floor, overlooking the sunset at Blind Pass. Their room rates were exceptional and reviews, once they got established, were generally quite amazing. They were a cover story in the June/July 2021 edition of Paradise News, and the owner/operators ran full-page ads for a year to keep the hotel and restaurant busy until established. The property was sold in May 2024 to local real estate investment firm, Luminary Development Company, just months before visits by Hurricanes Helene and Milton flooded and battered the area in the fall of that year. The new owners had financed the $9.98 million purchase with a $5 million loan from a California lender, who is proceeding to bankrupt the property due to a default in the loan. Many other properties were similarly affected by the first major flooding event in over 100 years. If the owner cannot bring the debt current, and the lender is successful, the property will eventually be sold by the bankruptcy court to repay the lender.
An undeveloped stretch of city-owned land along 22nd St. S could soon become a new hub for business and community in south St. Pete. The Pinellas County Urban League has submitted an unsolicited proposal to the city of St. Petersburg outlining a plan for the city to develop the property on the Deuces between Sixth Ave. S. and Fairfield Ave. S, with the organization serving as the anchor tenant and operator. The plan calls for the construction of a two-story, 28,000-square-foot mixed-use building to be called the Sankofa Empowerment Center, which would bring together a mix of office, retail, food service, and co-working space, along with an incubator-style environment aimed at supporting small businesses and entrepreneurs.
A 6,000-square-foot rooftop terrace, designed to host programming and gatherings throughout the year, would serve as an event space. The Urban League would relocate its headquarters from 333 31st St. N in Kenwood to 3,000 square feet on the second floor, bringing its $8 million annual operations and approximately 50 community events per year to the Deuces corridor.
The Friends of the St. Pete Beach Public Library raise money to support and promote the library and are very grateful that so many patrons shop in their shop on the right as one enters the library. For the first time ever, they are running short of items to share. If you are decluttering your house or condo or apartment, (or even your camper!) and if you have some gently used books, CDs or DVDs you’d like to donate, we will gladly accept them! Just bring them to the front desk and give them to the library.
Here are donations they LOVE to receive:
- Recent fiction and nonfiction (published within 5-10 years)
- Relatively recent magazines in good condition (1-2 years)
- Classics
- Kids books
- They accept most types of reading material, but NOT
- Textbooks
- Books with broken spines, water damage, or mildew
- Outdated technical or medical books or encyclopedias
- Damaged CDs and DVDs
So thank you for shopping, and thank you for donating!
In March, 2026, Tampa Bay Watch volunteers completed a living shoreline installation at Fantasy Island! During the two-day event, 73 volunteers collectively installed 10 tons of fossilized shell and 6 tons of recycled shell, completing this years-long project, which marks a significant step forward in enhancing the area’s shoreline resilience and protecting vital fish habitats.
Tampa Bay Watch also strategically places “monotubes,” or monofilament recycling tubes around the Tampa Bay watershed at locations such as boat ramps, fishing piers, and marinas. Monotubes provide a safe, contained system for used fishing gear. Line and tackle, when left in the environment, pose great harm to our local wildlife. Waterbirds such as pelicans, cormorants, and egrets are especially susceptible to hook injuries and line entanglement.
Tampa Bay and the Gulf Coast is home and migration ground for over 40,000 breeding pairs and 25 different bird species that nest annually. In an effort to keep our waterways and bird nesting islands free of mono, staff and community volunteers manage 200+ “monotubes” (fishing line recycling bins) and host mono clean-a-thons a few times a year.
Spring is here and The Wharf Waterfront Restaurant & Bar in Pass-a-Grille is everyone’s favorite clubhouse featuring Happy Hour Mon.-Fri. 3:30-6pm (bar only), rock music on the patio with Rob Tyre Wed.-Sat. 6-9:30pm., daily specials (Fish Fry Tuesday, Taco Wednesday), seafood dinner specials (Grouper Oscar is a favorite), amazing coconut or peel-n-eat shrimp, and the best grouper sandwich on the beach! Come by boat (new docks), dine alfresco on its updated patio or in the breezy dining room or boisterous bar. Enjoy shrimp, wings, burgers, Reubens, seafood baskets and fish spread and be sure to leave room for our specialty desserts. There’s even a kids’ menu! Cool merchandise & gift certificates available online & at restaurant.
www.order.toasttab.com/egiftcard/the-wharf-pass-a-gril
