Thanksgiving is quickly approaching and there a number of places offering Thanksgiving specials. One of those places is Wine Bar George at Disney Springs in Orlando.
On November 28th, Wine Bar George will be serving a traditional turkey plate ($34 for adults, $16 for kids 9 and under) as well as new Santa Carota Short Ribs ($39) alongside select items from their regular menu. Choose from 140 wines all available by the glass, bottle and ounce for the perfect holiday celebration.
Black Friday and Thanksgiving are a busy time for tourism in Orlando. Wine Bar George is one of many places offering options for the season.
St. Pete will host the World’s Largest Christmas Light Maze and Market presented by Enchant Christmas starting on Friday, November 22nd at Tropicana Field and run through Sunday, December 29th. St. Petersburg is joining 2 other cities as destination this year including Washington D.C. and Seattle.
The event will run Monday through Thursday from 4PM to 10PM and Fridays and Saturdays from 4PM to 11PM from November 22nd to December 12th. From December 13th to December 29th the event will run from 4PM to 11PM.
Guests will enjoy:
World’s Largest Light Maze: Enter a living storybook of larger-than-life light sculptures, a light-adorned ice skating trail, and decadent delights as snow gently falls all around you
Christmas Market: Filled with over 40 local artisan vendors
Dining: Savory and sweet scents will pull you into the Christmas Market where you can feast on specially selected seasonal food and drinks as well as holiday treats
Carolers sing your favorite holiday tunes
Santa’s Landing: Santa Clause is re-invented for Enchant, guests will need to pass through trees, tree tops, and pillow-like clouds to get to Santa.
Kid’s Zone: Plenty of activities will be available for kids including toys to play with, coloring, group activities, and more
Nook and Cranny: Pinellas County’s Nook and Cranny pops up nightly for engaging craft workshops where guests can get creative and make ornaments, home decor, and more.
Adult General Admission starts at $19.99 with children’s tickets starting at $14.99 for ages 4 and older. Military, emergency services, and students receive 10% off with ID shown at the door. Family packages are also available.
Carnival Cruise Lines' new Carnival Legend departs Harwich, England, on its inaugural cruise Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2002. Photo by Andy Newman/CCL
Carnival Cruise Line celebrated 25 years of sailing from Tampa on November 10th, 2019. The milestone was commemorated with a plaque from Carnival President Christine Duffy to Port Tampa Bay President and CEO Paul Anderson.
Carnival President Christine Duffy and Port Tampa Bay President and CEO Paul Anderson Left to right – Port Tampa Bay President and CEO Paul Anderson, Captain Allen Thompson – president of Tampa harbor pilots association, Carnival President Christine Duffy, Carnival’s Director of Port Operations Carlos Estrada, and Port Tampa Bay’s Senior Director of Business Development Greg Lovelace
The service first launched in 1994 and currently services 294,000 passengers a year from Tampa, nearly 9 times the original load. Tampa is an important part of Carnival’s “close-to-home ship deployment strategy in which the line positions ships near large U.S. population centers along the East and West Coasts and the Gulf of Mexico.”
“Tampa is a convenient, centrally located homeport – not to mention a popular vacation destination – and the growth that we’ve experienced at this port is a testament to the wonderful partnership with the Port we’ve enjoyed for the past 25 years,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.
Carnival Legend
The 25th anniversary celebration was held aboard Carnival Legend, which arrived in Tampa last month, providing a new choice from this market. The ship features a variety of onboard innovations, including Green Thunder, a drop-down slide that’s one of the fastest and steepest at sea, along with food and beverage choices, such as the Caribbean-inspired RedFrog Pub, Bonsai Sushi serving Asian delicacies, Guy’s Burger Joint developed in tandem with Food Network star Guy Fieri, and a classic American steakhouse. The ship features hundreds of balcony staterooms as well a luxurious health and wellness facility.
Carnival Legend will operate a seasonal schedule of six-, seven-and eight-day cruises featuring top destinations in the western Caribbean, including Cozumel, Costa Maya, Belize, Mahogany Bay, Costa Rica, the Panama Canal and Grand Cayman.
The ship will also offer a 13-day Carnival Journeys cruise from Tampa to New York May 3-16, 2020, featuring a partial transit of the Panama Canal, along with visits to Aruba, Cozumel, Limon (Costa Rica), Cartagena (Colombia) and Grand Turk.
To learn more about Carnival Cruise Line, visit them online at Carnival.com
Universal Orlando Resort will open their 8th resort, Universal Endless Summer Resort – Dockside Inn and Suites, on Tuesday, March 17, 2020.
The new hotel adds 2,050 guests rooms to the Universal Orlando hotel portfolio with standard rooms and 2-bedroom suites that can accommodate up to 6 people. It will join sister property, Universal’s Endless Summer Resort, Surfside Inn and Suites, which opened in June 2019.
Rates start at $85 per night and aims to be an affordable options for visitors to the Orlando area and theme parks. Hotel guests will receive early admission to Universal theme parks, complimentary transportation to and from theme parks, and other amenities.
Dockside Inn and Suites is the 8th Universal Orlando partnership with Loews Hotels & Co.
Some attractions guests can enjoy at Universal include The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Despicable Me Minion Mayhem, Jurassic Park River Adventure, TRANSFORMERS: The Ride-3D, and The Bourne Stuntacular – which makes its debut at Universal Studios Florida in spring 2020.
Universal is also hard at work on a new theme park, Epic Universe, which will be the 4th theme park that Universal opens joining Universal Studios, Universal Studios Islands of Adventure, and Universal’s Volcano Bay. The theme park is slated to open in 2023.
LPCX announced today on Instagram that they will close their doors starting end of the day Saturday, November 9th until further notice as they work out what is next for their business.
The cafe has been known to serve great coffee drinks and beautiful latte art so it is certainly a loss for Tampa’s coffee community.
They were recently featured on That’s So Tampa’s 3 hidden coffee shops you need to visit. Unfortunately – it may have been too late to change the trajectory for the LCPX Cafe. Make sure you stop by for a last cup of joe if you have a chance.
La Pequeña Colombia will remain open across the street.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Busch Gardens Christmas Town will return to Tampa on Saturday, November 16th, 2019 and run through Monday, January 6th, 2020.
The annual award-winning event that celebrates the holiday season has some new additions this year:
The Most Wonderful Time: Enjoy a classy Christmas soirée with jazzy piano solos, a live band and heart-melting vocal performances.
The Holiday Sing-Along Train: This season, the park’s classic steam engine has a merry makeover, including more lights than ever. One of the most popular things to do has been updated for 2019.
Merry Mint Lane: Park guests can enjoy a close look at penguins and other animal ambassadors at the Animal Care Center. The area’s festive makeover includes photo opportunities with new Peppermint Pals, tasty treats and more.
Sugar Plum Princess: Joining the Ice Princess and Poinsettia Princess, a new Sugar Plum Princess will greet guests near Sultan’s Sweets candy shop.
Pumpkin Thrill Shakes: It’s not really fall or winter without pumpkin and Busch Gardens has added it to the line-up for their Christmas Town samplers.
Breakfast with Elmo & Friends: Families can enjoy hugs and high fives from their favorite Sesame Street friends as they celebrate the holidays with family-friendly eats at Dragon Fire Grill. Available select dates in November and December, space is limited and reservations are encouraged.
Taste of the Holidays Buffet: Guests can enjoy the views of Serengeti Plain and Cobra’s Curse, while feasting on holiday favorites at the park’s historic Serengeti Overlook Restaurant. This new buffet menu features returning classic favorites, like house-signature fried chicken and pumpkin cheesecake.
Sweet Buns Bakery is now open by USF in Tampa’s Uptown. The Asian bakery is originally from Gainesville and has the same ownership as Yummy House. It is yet another new business to come to the area in recent months.
The concept is similar to a popular chain called 85°C Bakery Café, a Taiwanese bakery chain that serves a variety of baked breads and pastries as well as drinks to customers. 85°C Bakery Café is currently experiencing rapid expansion across the United States.
This concept is notably going to compete with a number of bubble tea shops already in the area which usually sell snacks and sweet beverages. There is a quite a few other Asian concepts currently in the works for the neighborhood.
According to the Sweet Buns website the stores “feature free wifi, made-to-order baked goods, cakes, and a relaxing environment to study or just hang and enjoy some sweets.”
More than 225 local businesses are taking over Vinoy Park in Downtown St. Petersburg for LocalShops1’s 10th Annual Shopapalooza Festival on Saturday, November 30th and Sunday, December 1st. The family-friendly event features local art, local music, and the local vibe that makes St. Pete what it is.
Admission is free and open to the public. Guests who register before will be entered in a chance to win a $500 shopping spree. The event will benefit Chart 411 and Earth Day St. Pete.
“Shopapalooza Festival celebrates and spotlights the great independent businesses that make Tampa Bay such an amazing place. It gives consumers the opportunity to kick off the holiday shopping season by shopping locally!” says Ester Venouziou, LocalShops1 founder.
Venouziou has made it a mission to support local businesses for over a decade.
Vendor options include gourmet food products, home decor, handcrafted jewelry, clothing and accessories, health and beauty products, fair trade goods, vintage finds, pet treats and toys, books, candles and much more.
The events will have “food hall” that features the following options in one spot:
Amy’s Spot
Buddy Brew Coffee
Callaloo
Churrolicious
Hot Pursuit Catering BBQ
Main Street Boys Empanadas
Mookie’s Kettle Korn
Pipo’s Cuban Cafe
Pop Goes the Waffle
Softee the King
Tasty Dogz
The Best Thai Food
The Fishin Chicken
The Tea Jug
Food options around the event include:
Emmy & J Roasted Nuts
Gateau OChocolat
iPop Gourmet Popcorn
JB’s Sweet Addiction
Lynn’s Ice Cream & Belgian Waffles
Melonhead Melonade
Skoops Italian Ice
Sunny Culture
Sweet Life Cupcakes
The Tea Jug (2nd location)
You Are the Hamster
The event is sponsored by the City of St. Petersburg. It’s sure to be a great time so make sure to go out and shop local.
Celebrate Veteran’s Day weekend at WestShore Plaza this Saturday, November 9th, 2019 from 3PM-8PM. Food trucks will be present including Vanchetta Food Truck, Jazzybgrille, and Mr. C’s Grilled Cheese. The event is free to attend and family-friendly.
Parents can enjoy a free kids area presented by Mathnasium.
Proceeds will benefit The Stano Foundation. The mission of The Stano Foundation is “to support our Armed Forces and Veterans through project based initiatives focused on enhancing their comfort and quality of life with a piece of home.”
Event Name: Red, White, & Brew
Venue: WestShore Plaza
Address: 250 Westshore Plaza, Tampa, FL 33609
Date & Time: Saturday, November 9th, 2019, 3PM-8PM
