Performing Arts Highlights
— Feb. 11-23
The middle of February brings is exactly what you might expect, performance-wise. A couple of love stories — oddball, lusty, and political — as (...)
BY VIVIAN TAYLOR | COMMUNITY BUILDING, LITERATURE, PERFORMING ARTS, THINGS TO DO
Living in the Zone: Jeff Vandermeer on Weird Fiction, the Environment, and Human Stupidity.
Florida has always had its handful of heavy-hitters in the book world, from Zora Neale Hurston to Carl Hiaasen. In the last few years, a new (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE, THIS MONTH'S MAGAZINE
Lounge Underground with Lucky Roosters
One of downtown St. Pete’s most popping underground lounges goes back to the Prohibition Era — when the spot was known as the Fado (...)
BY DANIEL VEINTIMILLA | LITERATURE, MUSIC, PERFORMING ARTS, VISUAL ARTS
A Spectacle of Words and Sounds — Poetry Show this Saturday at SHAMc
Local Poets Join Musicians and a Dancer for a Night of Improvisation at Safety Harbor Art and Music Center Local poet and professor Cole Bellamy (...)
BY STEPHANIE POWERS | LITERATURE, PERFORMING ARTS
Great Expectations for 2018
We asked artists and stakeholders in the Pinellas arts community about their big new projects, returning events and that new western museum (...)
BY JULIE GARISTO | LITERATURE, PERFORMING ARTS, VISUAL ARTS
2017 Best in Shows — A Year of Collaboration
A look back at memorable moments in visual arts, theater, dance and music, observed by the Creative Pinellas Journal contributors. 2017 was (...)
BY JULIE GARISTO | LITERATURE, MUSIC, PERFORMING ARTS, VISUAL ARTS
Weekend Recommendations — Christmas Edition
It’s that time of the year, when winter solstice festivities from all of the Abrahamic and gnostic religions collide in a wonderful way. Here’s (...)
BY DANIEL VEINTIMILLA | LITERATURE, MUSIC, VISUAL ARTS
Writers unite for Keep St. Pete Lit tribute to The Handmaid’s Tale
The fundraiser for the League of Women Voters celebrated the power of womanhood with a variety of stories, poems and essays — and red (...)
BY JULIE GARISTO | LITERATURE, VISUAL ARTS
A Night of Conversations
On a Thursday evening, as art-lovers filed out of a busy gallery reception of the Professional Association of Visual Artists at the Creative (...)
BY DANNY OLDA | LITERATURE, MUSIC, PERFORMING ARTS, VISUAL ARTS
Bees in the Hive | 2017 Emerging Artists Edition
We had a great feeling returning to the Creative Pinellas a the massive space Gulf Coast Museum space at the Florida Botanical Gardens for the (...)
BY DANIEL VEINTIMILLA | LITERATURE, MUSIC, PERFORMING ARTS, VISUAL ARTS
Emerging Artist Exhibition Premieres Exciting New Work, Performances
On the evening of October 26, Creative Pinellas premieres an exciting new exhibition. Featuring new artwork across five disciplines, the (...)
BY DANNY OLDA | FILM, LITERATURE, MUSIC, PERFORMING ARTS, VISUAL ARTS
Putting Aside Placelessness
An Architect Speaks on Creating Place Through Physical Design and Our Geographical Blessings Architecture – the physical design of a place (...)
BY GREGORY GLENN, AIA | FILM, LITERATURE, MUSIC, PERFORMING ARTS, VISUAL ARTS
A Poet’s Sense of Place
A poet laureate muses on how he and his wife came to call South St. Pete home. “Why this is hell, nor am I out of it.” Thus speaks Mephistophilis (...)
BY PETER MEINKE | LITERATURE
5 Things to Do in Pinellas |
Oct. 13-19 – Too Many Books Edition
Do you have too many books? I have too many books. I’d implore people to stop making so many books, but I also can’t stop buying (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE, THINGS TO DO
Florida Lit News Roundup: Accolades and Passages Edition
Recent Florida literary news includes honors dispersed, lives well-lived, and a notable possibility for a bright future. Here’s your chance (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE
Banned Books Burlesque promotes literacy with Va-va-va-voom!
Because promoting literacy is a tough sell in an ADD-addled society preoccupied with Netflix bingeing and cat memes, it doesn’t hurt to add (...)
BY JULIE GARISTO | COMEDY, LITERATURE, PERFORMING ARTS
Interfaith Week celebrates religions’ influence on culture and the arts
Joran Oppelt founded Tampa Bay Interfaith Week to celebrate all the religions in the Tampa Bay, encourage fellowship, and to heal and solve (...)
BY JULIE GARISTO | LITERATURE, MUSIC, PERFORMING ARTS, THINGS TO DO, VISUAL ARTS
Florida LitLife — Book News Roundup For August
It’s been an eventful summer, both in the wider world and when it comes to books. We are, as always, your monthly one-stop (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE
Regional Arts Summit Gathers Arts & Cultural Community
Artists, arts leaders and representatives of arts organizations descended on Clearwater’s EpiCenter at St. Petersburg College on July 21 for the (...)
BY DANNY OLDA | FILM, LITERATURE, MUSIC, PERFORMING ARTS, VISUAL ARTS
Florida LitLife – July Edition
Each month, we round up the most important local and Florida-related literary news, and a few highlights from around the country and world. (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE
Florida LitLife June
Here’s our monthly roundup of the most important Florida-related or Florida-adjacent bits of news for the month. It has been, let’s (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE
From the Guest Editor,
Margaret Murray
When there is no threshold, there can be no fear of stepping across it. Art can be a transformative experience, even more so when it unexpectedly (...)
BY GUEST EDITOR | GUEST EDITOR, LITERATURE, MUSIC, PERFORMING ARTS, VISUAL ARTS
Pride in Pinellas Arts — Celebrating our Uncommon Bonds
Pride Month means every June is full of parades and performances that recognize the long struggle for equality for queer people in the U.S. and (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE, MUSIC, PERFORMING ARTS, THINGS TO DO, VISUAL ARTS
Moved by Art — Nomadic, Outdoors and On Tour
Pinellas artists achieve success with creativity in motion. The dynamics of art in our postmodern society are uniquely varied. Our local art (...)
BY DANIEL VEINTIMILLA | LITERATURE, VISUAL ARTS
Laura Kepner Can’t Stop
The doyenne of Safety Harbor’s literary scene proves that one (seemingly tireless) person can change lives – including her own. When she first (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE
The Odet, Safety Harbor’s Own Literary Journal, Wants Your Submissions
When we recently profiled Safety Harbor literary scenemaker Laura Kepner, we could only scratch the surface of her dozens of cool projects. But (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE
Venture to the seedy side of the Sunshine State in Steph Post’s Lightwood
BOOK REVIEW Lightwood by Steph Post Polis (304 pages, $25.95) If you like your like your Florida souvenir shops a little trashy, your bars a (...)
BY JULIE GARISTO | LITERATURE
5 Things To Do
May 26 – June 1 It’s getting hotter, folks. But at least some forecasts say it won’t crack 90 this week, so consider it a last frantic (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE, MUSIC, THINGS TO DO
Keep St. Pete Lit Poetry Open Mic Lures Your Biome
Keep St. Pete Lit’s Poetry Open Mic offers an opportunity for local writers to share their polished or unpolished pieces in a nonjudgmental (...)
BY DANIEL VEINTIMILLA | LITERATURE, THINGS TO DO, VISUAL ARTS
Florida LitLife | May
With St. Pete’s SunLit Festival a fond memory, what’s next on the agenda for writers and readers in Florida? Here’s our roundup (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE, THINGS TO DO
5 Things To Do
May 12 – 18 It’s Mother’s Day on Sunday. Here’s how to handle that: First, check out Creative Loafing’s exhaustive guide to Mother’s (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE, MUSIC, PERFORMING ARTS, THINGS TO DO, VISUAL ARTS
5 Things to Do
May 5 – 11 This week in Pinellas, we have free comic books, a couple of musical icons to choose from, glass blowing in the dark (!!!) and a (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE, MUSIC, PERFORMING ARTS, THINGS TO DO, VISUAL ARTS
Literary Carousel Delights and Amuses at the MFA
Through the show-and-tell art of the ekphrastic — a literary interpretation of a piece of visual art — prominent Bay area writers (...)
BY DANIEL VEINTIMILLA | LITERATURE, VISUAL ARTS
Florida LitLife | April
Writing in Florida is, as the kids say, tearing it up: I don’t think I’ve ever written one of these columns where there was more (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE
Review | Jeff VanderMeer’s Borne: Motherhood is a Beast
Farrar, Strauss and Giroux Release Date: April 25th Buy It Here I have been reading the work of Tallahassee-based Jeff VanderMeer for more than a (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE
5 Things to Do
April 21 – 27 Kenny G is playing in Clearwater tonight . . . but let’s not talk about that. Sure, we gave a (totally sincere!) little shout (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE, MUSIC, THINGS TO DO
Keeping it Noodle with Eva Avenue
Visual art and writing find themselves intersecting in many places and people. A dynamic and local example is Eva Avenue. Avenue is a contributor (...)
BY DANNY OLDA | LITERATURE, VISUAL ARTS
Interview | Sarah Gerard
Known for the questionable mental state of its citizens in a land of concrete slabbed over mangroves and sand, I remember living out West for (...)
BY EVA AVENUE | LITERATURE
5 Things to Do
April 14 – 20 This week’s events are dominated by SunLit, the newly revamped literary festival linking together book-themed happenings (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE, MUSIC, PERFORMING ARTS, THINGS TO DO
Review: Sarah Gerard – Sunshine State
Sarah Gerard’s essay collection Sunshine State is the most serious literary treatment of Pinellas and Tampa Bay since Sterling Watson’s Suitcase (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE
5 Things to Do
March 31-April 6 It’s a great week for weirdness in Tampa Bay, from surrealist painters to edgy theatre to even-more-surrealist rock icons. (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE, MUSIC, PERFORMING ARTS, THINGS TO DO, VISUAL ARTS
Blood Sisters Arts Salon Host a Well-Versed Diversion at DFAC
The duo also known as Jenni Nance and Lacie Meier are hosting recurring events around the written word at the Dunedin Fine Art Center. In a (...)
BY JULIE GARISTO | LITERATURE, THINGS TO DO, VISUAL ARTS
Florida LitLife: March
It’s been a rollicking few weeks in the literary world, both around Pinellas and further afield. We have some local contests and awards, (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE
5 Things to Do
March 24 – 30 It’s a bit of a rare quiet week in Pinellas County – by which I mean there are only two music festivals. Get outside and make (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE, MUSIC, PERFORMING ARTS, THINGS TO DO, VISUAL ARTS
Five Things to Do
March 17 – 23 Another week, another top-notch, diverse selection of mind- and soul-expanding opportunities in the land of sunshine. This (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE, MUSIC, PERFORMING ARTS, THINGS TO DO, VISUAL ARTS
Five Things to Do
March 10 – 16 Hey folks! Some quick housekeeping: We’re experimenting with a new occasional feature highlighting some fringier cultural (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE, MUSIC, PERFORMING ARTS, THINGS TO DO, VISUAL ARTS
The Impresssive Artistic Trifecta of Fantastic Ekphrastic
Keep St. Pete Lit’s showcase spotlights collaborative works of visual art, literature and performance. Derived from Greek, ekphrasis (...)
BY JULIE GARISTO | LITERATURE, PERFORMING ARTS, VISUAL ARTS
Florida LitLife | February
In the last few weeks, we’ve had important Florida book awards announced, and some big controversies unfolding on the national literary stage, (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE
5 Things To Do
February 24 – March 2 We have a problem, folks. Everything this week is happening Saturday. Or, at least, too much great stuff for one (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE, MUSIC, PERFORMING ARTS, THINGS TO DO, VISUAL ARTS
5 Things To Do
February 17– 23 It’s spriiiiiiing! At least, spiritually. At least, in Florida. Actually, in Florida, it’s already summer. So no wonder this week (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE, MUSIC, PERFORMING ARTS, THINGS TO DO, VISUAL ARTS
Gentrification Cycles: The Artists
This article is part one of a three-part series in which we explore the perspectives of three groups of people affected by gentrification. (...)
BY EVA AVENUE | LITERATURE, MUSIC, PERFORMING ARTS, VISUAL ARTS
February Arts News Roundup
It has been an eventful few weeks, and not only because the arts are entwined with the complex, challenging landscape they comment on. (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE, MUSIC, PERFORMING ARTS, VISUAL ARTS
Local Creatives Gain Inspiration and More from Women’s March
Local Artists and Writers Who Participated in the Marches Discuss the Role of Creative Expression and Collaboration in Shaping the Historic Event (...)
BY JULIE GARISTO | LITERATURE, MUSIC, VISUAL ARTS
Journey with Infinite Third | An Interview with Billy Mays III
On first blush, composer Infinite Third may evoke the likes of Mogwai or Caspian, but he’s incorporated his own grab bag of unique elements to (...)
BY DANIEL VEINTIMILLA | LITERATURE, MUSIC
5 Things To Do
January 27– February 2 Sometimes you get a perfect week – a perfect balance of art, music, and words, all of excellent quality, perfectly strung (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE, MUSIC, PERFORMING ARTS, THINGS TO DO
Florida LitLife | January Edition
In national literary news, we, of course, have the announcement of nominees for the National Book Critics Circle Awards, which tapped the likes (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE
Local Writers Resist Takes Part in a National Cause
All images by Daniel Veintimilla for Creative Pinellas On Sunday, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday and the beginning of President-Elect (...)
BY JULIE GARISTO | LITERATURE
Dennis Lehane, the St. Pete Stalwart Behind Ben Affleck’s New Movie
Live By Night, Ben Affleck’s new film about Prohibition-era gangsters in Ybor City, goes into wide release this weekend. But you might not know (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE
Reading in Paradise
Your Guide to The 2017 Writers in Paradise Reading Series Every year, Eckerd College attracts high-profile writers from around the country to its (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE
5 Things To Do
January 12–19 Does it still feel like the holidays to anyone else? Like you’re just not ready to return to the real world, with all its joy and (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE, MUSIC, PERFORMING ARTS, THINGS TO DO, VISUAL ARTS
5 Things To Do
January 6-January 13 And now, from famine to feast. As the holiday season closes and the New Year kicks off, the Pinellas arts and culture scene (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE, MUSIC, PERFORMING ARTS, THINGS TO DO, VISUAL ARTS
Florida LitLife | December Edition
This month, I thought we’d expand our coverage of writing and reading in Florida a bit, because, well, there are things other than local books (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE
Art News Need-to-Know
December saw Golden Globes, Rock and Roll, and some local moves of note. New Class at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame New inductees to the (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE, MUSIC, PERFORMING ARTS, VISUAL ARTS
5 Things To Do
December 23-29 The holiday season forces even the hardest-charging of us to put the brakes on, which can be either liberating or uncomfortable. (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE, MUSIC, PERFORMING ARTS, THINGS TO DO, VISUAL ARTS
A Venture For the Arts
Investor Frank Wells has ventured south of St. Pete’s craft brew hubs and trendy restaurants to start work on a cultural hub — and home (...)
BY JULIE GARISTO | LITERATURE, MUSIC, PERFORMING ARTS, VISUAL ARTS
5 Things To Do
December 9-16 Wow. It’s another absolutely jam-packed week of big names, local and national, doing the big work here in Pinellas County. We’ve (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE, MUSIC, PERFORMING ARTS, THINGS TO DO, VISUAL ARTS
Pinellas Book Roundup | December Edition
With the gift-giving season upon us, there’s no better time to explore local writers – and get your friends in on the act. Here are a few recent (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE
Book News Roundup
Hunter S. Thompson’s Weed, Booker Prize Turmoil, and Other Literary News In an interview with Hunter S. Thompson’s widow, Anita Thompson, The (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE
5 Things To Do
November 18–24 I hope you’ve got good shoes and some protein bars, because this weekend is PACKED, folks. From Russian folk songs to graphic (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE, MUSIC, PERFORMING ARTS, THINGS TO DO, VISUAL ARTS
5 Things to Do
November 11– 17 Whether you’re celebrating victory or nursing your political wounds, at least we’ve all got a little bit of a breather – so why (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE, MUSIC, PERFORMING ARTS, THINGS TO DO, VISUAL ARTS
Pinellas Book Roundup | November Edition
Brrrrrrr! It’s getting chilly out there, at least for Florida – the perfect time to cuddle up next to a (mostly decorative) fire and get some (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE
5 Things To Do
October 28-November 3 It’s Halloweeeeeeeen! And while Fall may rarely show her true face down here in the tropics, it’s still a time for change, (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE, MUSIC, PERFORMING ARTS, THINGS TO DO, VISUAL ARTS
Arts and Culture With a Dash of Spookiness
Hauntingly Cool Events for Your Pre-Halloween Weekend (and Afterward) Sometimes traditional haunted houses and pumpkin patches don’t hit that (...)
BY JULIE GARISTO | LITERATURE, PERFORMING ARTS, VISUAL ARTS
5 Things To Do
October 21-28 It’s not quite Halloween, but local artists are already gifting us with delirious takes on the spooky, unnerving, weird and (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE, MUSIC, PERFORMING ARTS, THINGS TO DO
Arts News Need-to-Know
Here at Creative Pinellas, we’ve got our focus trained on arts and culture in our namesake county, but the larger world doesn’t (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE, MUSIC
Pinellas Book Roundup | October Edition
Pinellas County is teeming with writers –some aspiring amateurs, some seasoned professionals – but sometimes they don’t get the attention they (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE
5 Things To Do
October 1 – 7 Welcome to the first installment of our weekly 5 Things to Do event guide. There are already some great comprehensive (...)
BY DAVID MORRIS | LITERATURE, MUSIC, PERFORMING ARTS, THINGS TO DO, VISUAL ARTS
*Creative Pinellas welcomes submissions from practicing artists for publication in our artists directory. To submit, please fill out the form here. Such publication does not constitute on endorsement by Creative Pinellas and does not imply a judgement about the quality of the work or the participating artist.