I enjoy walking a few blocks over to the Riverwalk. It starts right at the Greenwise/Publix right…read moreoff of Water Street and Benchmark International Arena. I usually get on it there, and then walk it all the way over to Armature Works and back. There are always a ton of people either running, walking, roller skating, or hanging out along the riverwalk. I like walking it on both sides and taking in the nature, and getting great pictures. It's probably best to come right at sunset so it isn't so blazing hot. There isn't a ton of shade. My favorite photo spot is walking up one of the bridges and then looking back at the circular Rivergate Tower and the river.

What a pleasant experience!! We are here visiting from out of state and decided to explore the…read moreriverwalk. It just so happened to be the night of the boat parade. There were hundreds of people along the riverwalk watching the spectacular experience. There were boats decked out with Christmas decor, and music playing to ensure the crowd is entertained! Cool experience!

Boom By the Bay is Tampa Bay's Independence Day celebration. This year they celebrated early in…read moreJuly 1, 2023. It was held at Julian Lane Park in Downtown Tampa. In previous years, they held it at different parks through out Tampa. I really liked this better. That way fireworks were all in one place. These fireworks were amazing. The park is huge so it's nice and spacious for everyone. They had some food trucks, they had a stage and when we were there they had country music which I don't like, but I wasn't there too long before fireworks happened. The one bad thing was the fireworks were so close the ashes fell on top of us. But for real amazing fireworks and so happy we left St. Pete Beach early to see them.

Another excellent time at the fair grounds! This time for the Dream Asia Fest. This festival was…read moreabsolutely amazing! Hope they come back annually. Buying tickets was easy. Bought parking through the fairgrounds website. Getting into parking was easy and I was navigated to my gate entrance to enter. They had so many food, drink, and shopping vendors. Live music and entertainment from both the crowd and the people running the stage. Great time and a lot of fun!

I'm definitely bias since I've only gone to the Minnesota State Fair which is the #1state fair…read moreturnout in the country every year for the 12 days that it's open. Parking was $15 on-site & fair entrance was free for me with my FL medical professional license ID card since I went on a promo day for it. The best part of the Fl State Fair was the petting zoo of baby goats, donkeys, llama alpacas which was free to enter & pet at your own risk of poop & pee from the animals. Some of the alpacas were very agreeable to selfies lol so funny they knew the assignment well. 5 stars for the animals & zero stars everything else. All the food was terrible. I definitely wouldn't go back again. Even if the entrance fee or parking was free... not worth it. My friends that were born & raised in the Tampa Bay Area told me not to go that it's not worth it... should a listened to them lol. None of my Florida friends wanted to go that have lived in Tampa their whole life. I went for the experience. I didn't go on any rides, my germ radar was on too high alert lol.

This is a great store and staff. They have a huge selection of fireworks and were busy as the 4th…read moreof July is a few days away. A staff member still had plenty of time to answer my questions and make recomendations. Make sure to sign up on their web site and get great coupons before shopping. The checkout process was fast and easy and they make sure that you get all applicable discounts.

Just left and have to say that SAINTS work here! So helpful, so friendly, and just absolutely…read moreamazing!! Our cashier C. Tosca was so patient and sweet as I worked though all our coupons! please take the drive and go here instead of tents!

This is a two day long festival that was organized by multicultural or society. The events are fun…read moreand interesting. This event was organized along the the Tampa River Walk. There are several city parks were utilized and form several events along the walks. The parks included Curtis Hixon, Waterworks, MacDill, Cotanchobee, Staz, and the Sail Pavilion. The biggest events were hosted at the Curtis Hixon park. It has wiener dog derby, hot dog festival, hot air ballon glow, numerous artists song performance. This year due to dry conditions of the ground, the fireworks was canceled. The concert is still good by the artist. Pepping host the VIP tent that very close to the orchestra concert stage. The crowd show up in number. Thanks to the city for organizing the such a very people event. It has everyone enjoy the free time.

I attended Tampa Riverfest 2017 on Sunday evening, for the free Florida Orchestra Pops in the Park…read moreperformance. I'm not sure what else went on during the day, but Curtis Hixon Park & the Riverwalk area were packed at 7pm. However, the crowds were not so bad that we were not able to find viewing spots or quieter spaces on the Riverwalk, even though we arrived right before the performance was to begin. Lines at the two beer/wine tents were not outrageous, either, at 6:50pm. I also spotted quite a few diverse food trucks, although since we'd eaten elsewhere, I didn't have the appetite to try anything here. We enjoyed very pleasant weather that night, and the music could be heard throughout the park area, even right on the river!

It's so nice having a playground so close to Armature Works…read more I think an idyllic afternoon is grabbing a bite to eat and a drink at Armature Works and then walking with the kids to this playground/splash pad. There are restrooms here that make it easy to change your children into their bathing suits. They also have shaded picnic tables. The splash pad and playground is gated so you can let the kids run around inside while you sit and chat on the outside of the gate at the shaded picnic tables. I would highly recommend bringing swimsuits and all your water stuff if you decide to come here, because the playground part is quite small and in the same area as the splash pad. They aren't separated, so your child will most likely get wet whether you want them to or not if you come here, better to just prepare for them to get wet. The splash pad has one of those buckets that fill up and then dump all over the children, which I find kids absolutely love. There is also a ropes climbing part that they can get to a crows nest, so I would say the ideal age for this play area is between four and 10. I have a five year-old and a seven-year-old and they loved it.

Something for everyone here at this park! A splash park adjacent to the playground. Tables and…read morebenches all around for parents to sit while kids played. The gated park is also in a greater park area, with a boardwalk along the river, a mini bridge over a pond of turtles and fish, and a turf field with chairs for lounging.

"I love how all the women are out tonight in long beautiful gowns. I'm all for bringing classy…read moreback." "Oh yeah? What are you gonna do when you have it back?" "Hmm I don't know! I guess I haven thought that far ahead!" This was a lovely classy event atop the 10th floor rooftop of a parking structure. The good: --classy environment with beautiful people --mixed aged group, mostly under 35 but some older --men with ties (bringing classy back!) --women in gowns and classy dresses --photo op with backdrop and photog --included free flowing drinks and not bad lines --shuttle from area hotels but we ended up taking a $6 cab cuz it got really slow after 10pm for pick ups --live band with real talent especially the male and female lead singer. The male could rap really well! Music was all the Mainstream stuff you would get at weddings --REAL champagne imported from France! Served by a handful of shirtless dudes in Roman robes --DJ later in night that played house music --9pm until 2am, pretty good hours --chandeliers and garden decor were nice! The bad: --overpriced. Paid $150 plus $8 in fees. I felt it was more of a $100 experience. Prices went up to $175/200 and I bought mine months in advance. --views of the bay were distant. We saw better fireworks driving into Tampa then at this party --not a lot of New Years giveaways (216 tiaras and blowers) as there were only a few tables --we were promised a dessert buffet and there was none. Really really bummed about this one

This time of year supposedly very nice out. However, this year weather is cook up in the high…read moretemperatures side. This is a special event to welcome the new year ahead of us. The name is midnight in the garden, it is funny we are actually at the top of parking garage. Nice name to attract. We can said finally see the beautiful people of Tampa who dress up. I would said it is the top 80% beautiful people who attend this party. You know who is included :) It does have the stunning skyline for the Tampa. A good view to fireworks. You can see two fireworks in the horizon. I would said the fireworks is at least half mile from the city river walk fireworks and 1.5 mile from channelside. The night include all you can drink bar and party live music. The music selection is upbeat and current. This is the positive. My friend warn me about the bathroom and drink line. This year they improve it. However, the party is a bit over price for the face value. The reasons follow. 1. The drink is not the your typical mix drink place with great mixologist. 2. The drink do not have a good choice. Even for beer and wine. 3. The fire work is actually still far away. 4. No food!!!! 5. Security is lack off. No check on the purse. I do have the good times with some of the yelper.

I walk by Curtis Hixon Park a lot and I love how they always have events going on. I really liked…read morehow they decorated for Christmas, it was beautiful. The park is usually very clean and it attracts a lot of people. It's great to have a space like this in Tampa. I do want to mention that the ice skating rink they had in Florida was pretty comical, people were literally skating in puddles of water! Still, it was a good idea and a fun thought. Overall, Curtis Hixon Park is a wonderful spot to visit anytime

Curtis Hixon park is perfectly centered in downtown Tampa. They have a cute little water feature…read morefor kids and has a beautiful view of the bay and University of Tampa.

Totally worth it! I mean seriously it is free! Can't beat free fun! We did not have tickets. We…read morecame right before 7. They let us know to sit on the side while the 7pm people came. Once they did, she accumulated extra tickets for us to go in. Once inside the wait seemed forever. They would let a certain number of people in a group each time. We finally got in around 7:20pm! For sure jumping in is hard when you are bare footed. You can easily get stuck under. It's like drowning, but a bunch of balls instead of water! The most fun or most difficult is trying to get out! Phew! I felt so happy and free after playing around for a bit! What a great fun concept. Those were the days of Chuckie cheese ball pits! Here it is again!

What an awesome event! And it was completely free! Huge thanks to the Vinik Foundation for bringing…read morethis amazing experience to Tampa! I didn't expect to have so much fun in a ball pit... nor did I expect it to be so physically challenging! The first time I fell, I needed help to get back up, and just walking through the balls was hard! The *shore* with lounge chairs & umbrellas was a nice way to catch my breath. Due to my kids' work & college schedules, Sunday was really the best day for us to go together. I ordered our free tickets online several weeks before the multi-week event began, and 5pm 8/21 was the only slot still available for a group of 6... That's how popular this event was, sight unseen! Once I realized The Beach Tampa would be closing at 6pm on Sundays, I was concerned our time would be limited. However, worrying was not necessary. At the entrance outside, we queued up to enter precisely at our ticketed time. Then inside, we waited again as staff monitored the number of people inside the actual *beach* area for safety and enjoyment, allowing people to enter as others left. The line moved quickly at this point, but we still weren't able to go in until after 5:30. Luckily, staff had already announced to everyone that even the very last person to enter would get a minimum of 45 minutes to enjoy The Beach. I really hope The Beach returns to Tampa!

***Bolt Run Venue Review Only…read more I have done this race a few times. Seeing this space is made for throwing together large gatherings, it is no surprise how efficient it all is. Morning packet pick up is painless, they have a great hype team to keep you pumped for the race, and Thunderbug running around is a lot of fun. My only qualm in the bathroom situation. As I am one that needs to get there early for packet pick up, I am there a while. That usually involves at least one bathroom trip. As there is only one bathroom open for each the women and men, the women's bathroom line is long. Maybe, if this is a possibility, could both the men and women's bathrooms be open for women to keep the lines short. Then a few (5-10) portable bathrooms be set up for the men. Or anyone else that would rather use them than wait in the women's line. 03.05.2025

Amalie is always a great venue for sporting events, concerts and other live performances. I've…read moreattended multiple different types of events from Lightning games to Sabrina Carpenter in concert, and I've never been disappointed with the ease of entry! The queue is always fast moving while still maintaining proper security measures. My only complaint is the ease of access for parking, which is generally expensive and more limited than other nearby venues. However this is not a complete surprise for a downtown, waterfront venue and typically solved with planning ahead. Traffic leaving downtown after events can be a nightmare, there are times I've been stranded up to an hour despite living 2 miles from city center