Can't-Miss Events Taking Place In Tampa Bay Oct. 4-6

TAMPA BAY, FL — Wondering what to do this weekend? We have plenty of ideas for you. Check out these events:

Pumpkin Palooza Family Fall Festival

The GFWC St. Petersburg Junior Woman's Club will host its 16th Annual Pumpkin Palooza Family Fall Festival Saturday, Oct. 5 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Northside Baptist Church, 6000 38th Ave. N., St. Petersburg.

This event includes a pumpkin patch, kids' games, face and hair painting, a petting zoo, inflatables, food, arts and crafts vendors, drawing for baskets and a community awareness zone.

Admission to the event is free. Tickets and wristbands for games and activities will be available for purchase. In observance of World Food Day, the club will collect canned and boxed food at the event for Northside Benevolence Ministries.

Beer For Barres

Help the Brandon Ballet kick off its 26th season with Beer for Barres, an evening of craft beers, food and ballet Friday, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. at the Barn at Winthrop, 11349 E. Bloomingdale Ave., Riverview.

Sample more than 40 craft beers while enjoying live performances of excerpts from Cinderella’s Ball, Sleeping Beauty and Yuletide Ballet Celebration, food, live music and a silent auction. Online pricing of $30 per person (21 and over) includes a beer tasting. Tickets for children and non-drinkers are $20. full tasting from our fabulous local brewers. $20 per person for children and non-drinkers.

Music will be provided by Big Beats Entertainment. Food will be provided by event sponsor The Stein & Vine. Beer will be provided by Bootleggers Brewing Co., Beer Can Island, Leaven Brewing, Bay Area Barley’s Angels and Brandon Bootleggers Homebrew Club.

Shimmering Lights Halloween

Sun-Kissed Acres has joined with Nights of Shimmering Lights to host Shimmering Lights Halloween, a self-guided, quarter-mile walking trail through dancing lights to music, outdoor movie and an expanded game room.

The event will take place Thursday through Sunday at 7 p.m. through Oct. 27 and Oct. 28 to 31 at the Sun-Kissed Acres, 2302 N. Dover Road.

Box Car Rally

Get ready to roll for a good cause at the Achieva Credit Union’s 10th annual Box Car Rally in downtown Clearwater Saturday, Oct. 5.

Join 2,500 spectators for nearly 300 races with box cars made out of everything from surfboards to filing cabinets, as well as sleek All-American Soap Box Derby-style cars. Beyond the race track, the event will offer food trucks, vendors and a kids' zone with balloon artists and face painting.

The event has raised $200,000 for local classroom grants over the past nine years, and all proceeds will continue to benefit Pinellas County Schools this year.

Creatures Of The Night

ZooTampa, 1101 W. Sligh Ave., Tampa, will transform into an eerie, immersive Halloween adventure every Friday and Saturday in October from 4 to 10 p.m.

Creatures emerge at dusk with startling surprises around every corner. No horror, no gore, just fun frights for all during this family event.

Explore:

The Twisted Tale Trail: The tale is familiar and known to all; three little pigs, a wolf and a girl in a hood frolicking in the woods. What happens when two tales intertwine and something strange begins to unfold? Guests will be immersed in a fight between good and evil as the tale takes an unexpected twist and guests will wonder just who is Little Red?

The Rising Waters: A forgotten Florida coastal town was swallowed whole by a mysterious, relentless storm. Guests will experience an array of eerie encounters as the rising and falling waters reveal more about the long-lost inhabitants, good and bad, that are exposed as the flooding recedes.

Medusa’s Stone Cold Cave - Guests can meet Medusa, the serpent-headed Gorgon queen, as she steps out of the pages of mythology and into the darkest shadows of the zoo. Legend warns that those who look her in the eyes are so overwhelmed with fear, they turn to stone.

The Enchanted Fairy Meadow– Guests can enjoy this enchanted area filled with overgrown flowers, huge mushrooms and whimsical fairies.

The Pigpimples School of Mystery and Mayhem- with multiple shows nightly where families and friends can enjoy a Halloween-themed animal show featuring the zoo's famous animal ambassadors.

Pumpkin Palooza- a special sanctuary at Wallaroo Station set aside for the littlest of ghouls. Younger guests can enjoy a festive fall harvest complete with a pumpkin patch, scarecrows and friendly farm animals.

Click here for tickets.

Harbor Sounds Fall Fest

The Harbor Sounds Fall Fest will take place Saturday, Oct. 5 from noon to 10 p.m. along nine blocks of Main Street in Safety Harbor. There will be a beer garden, live music, food vendors, a pie-eating contest and more. Shops and restaurants will be open, too.

Entertainment will take place at the Gazebo At 4th And Main streets and will include The Greg Billings Band from 5:30 to 7:30 and The Black Honkeys from 8 to 10 p.m.

UNDead In The Water

UNDead in the Water, Tampa’s only nautical haunted attraction, will take place aboard the American Victory Ship, 705 Channelside Drive, Tampa.

Traverse multiple decks of this historic WWII cargo ship armed only with a black light flashlight while avoiding the infected zombie stowaways.

The American Victory Ship, loaded with members of the elite zombie eradication team known as The Ripper Squad, has pulled back into port to rescue the last few survivors and eliminate as many zombies as possible in the process. Ultra violet lights may slow the infected, but flame-throwers and grenades have a more permanent effect.

UNDead in the Water takes place every Friday and Saturday in October as well as October 31 through Nov. 2 from 8 to 11 p.m. Click here for tickets and information.

Hops For Hospice

The 11th annual Hops for Hospice Beer Festival to benefit the Suncoast Hospice Foundation will take place Saturday, Oct. 5 starting at 4 p.m. at Spectrum Field, 601 Coachman Road in Clearwater.

More than 100 different beers will be available to sample from JJ Taylor, Great Bay Distributors and local breweries.

Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. Only a limited number of tickets will be available for the event. Every attendee will receive a complimentary beer mug to sample the product.
Tickets can be purchased at the Spectrum Field ticket office, online or by phone at 727-467-4457. You must be 21+ years old with a valid photo ID to attend the festival.

Viva Tampa Bay Hispanic Heritage Festival

The Viva Tampa Bay Hispanic Heritage Festival will be held Sunday, Oct. 6 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Perry Harvey Sr. Park, 1000 E. Harrison St., Tampa.

It will feature performances by Oro Solido, Frankie Negron, Timbalive and more, Latin foods, cultural dance exhibitions and recognition of Tampa's most influential Hispanic leaders. Tickets are $5. Children 5 and under are admitted for free.

Carrollwood Oktoberfest

The Carrollwood Cultural Center, 4537 Lowell Road, will host its Oktoberfest Saturday, Oct. 5 from 1 to 4 p.m.

It will include Fitz and His One-Man Circus, the New Horizons Band, themed food trucks, beer stein races, barrel rolling races, alphorn players, yodeling contests and a sing-along. Call 813-922-8167 for information.

Northpointe Village Oktoberfest

Northpointe Village will present its third annual Oktoberfest at the Hilton Garden Inn Tampa, 2155 Northpointe Parkway, Friday, Oct. 4 from 4 to 9 p.m.

The free community event will feature beer, food, games and prizes.

Tampa Bay's Tailgate Taste Fest

Tampa Bay's Tailgate Taste Fest will take place Saturday, Oct. 5 from 3 to 10:30 p.m. at Curtis Hixon Park, 600 N. Ashley Drive, Tampa.

A free, family-friendly event, entertainment consists of a food competition with local restaurants serving up tailgate foods, live music from local and national bands, a competitive corn hole tournament and live action from the day's college football games shown on huge LED video screens.

Sir Henry's Haunted Trail

Come one come all to see the world-famous Sir Henry’s carnival of freaks. This was once the show that rivaled them all. However, nothing endures forever and not even Sir Henry could escape death. Just one week after the death of his bride on their wedding night, Sir Henry’s car crashed into a tree.

Three years later, the freak show remains closed. The trail is overgrown and there have been sightings of a phantom skeleton that closely resembls Sir Henry.

Sir Henry's Haunted Trail is an outdoor haunted trail at 2837 S. Frontage Road in Plant City.
Sir Henry's offers three haunted trails, an escape game, laser tag along with live entertainment, food vendors and merchandise.

The venue runs Oct. 4-5, 11-13, 18-20 and 25-27. Prices vary depending on the night. Click here.

Fox Squirrel Corn Maze

Fox Squirrel Farm, 3002 Charlie Taylor Road, Plant City, will host its annual corn maze on Saturday and Sundays from Oct. 5-27, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. In addition to the maze, there will be a hay ride, games, a corn slide, a butterfly garden, horse and pony rides, dummy steer roping, cornhole games, food and a pumpkin patch.

Fall Wildflower Festival

Brooker Creek Preserve Environmental Education Center, 3940 Keystone Road, Tarpon Springs, will host a Fall Wildflower Festival Saturday, Oct. 5 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. It will feature a wildflower quest, a butterfly experience and a native wildflower sale.

Celebrate Oldsmar

Join the City of Oldsmar for its annual Celebrate Oldsmar event Saturday, Oct. 5 at R.E. Olds Park, 107 Shore Drive W. in Oldsmar.

The event begins at 12:30 p.m. and runs through 9 p.m. with a fireworks finale. It will feature live music, food trucks, drinks and inflatables.

Paws For A Cause

Paws for a Cause will take place Saturday, Oct. 5 from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Lutheran Church of the Resurrection, 1555 Windmill Pointe Road, Palm Harbor. Along with pet adoptions, there will be a pet blessing at 1:30 p.m. in observance of St. Francis of Assisi Feast Day, a pet costume parade at 2:30 p.m., pet-related vendors, food, contests and prizes. Donations of pet food and pet blankets will be accepted.

Scream-A-Geddon

Back for its fifth year of horror, Scream-A-Geddon, set deep within the haunted woods at 27839 Saint Joe Road in Dade City, offers thrills seekers the chance to explore Rage 3D, Demons Revenge, Blackpool Prison, Deadwoods and Infected: Ground Zero — if they dare.

For an additional charge, intrepid guests can also try their hand at defeating an army of zombies in the Zombie Paintball Assault.

New this year is Bozo's Beer Garden. A horrific version of Bozo the clown will serve guests craft beers from breweries throughout Tampa Bay. Those age 21 and up can share a brew with Bozo's bar buddies: Bobo, Icky and Chuckles.

The Monster Midway features midway games, hot and cold drinks, grilled, fried and baked foods and fire pits to set the mood, a Scream-A-Geddon gift shop, caricature artists and more.
Scream-A-Geddon is open every day from Oct. 1 to Nov. 1.
Tickets are $21.95 to $35.95, depending on the date. Click here for tickets and information.

Howl-O-Scream

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay will host the 20th anniversary of its seasonal haunted house thriller, Howl-O-Scream. Thrill seekers can check it out new nightmares as Busch Gardens Tampa Bay celebrates "20 Years of Fear" with horrifying haunted houses, terrifying scare zones and thrilling roller coaster rides through the dark.

Howl-O-Scream is a separately ticketed event, available during 22 select nights at Busch Gardens through Nov. 2 from 7:30 p.m. to 1 p.m. Single-night tickets start at $39.99 and unlimited admission for all 22 nights of Howl-O-Scream is available starting at $79.99.

Park guests can upgrade their night of fright by selecting a Front Line Fear Pass with options including front-of-the-line access to haunted houses and attractions, including the all-new Tigris, Florida's tallest launch coaster. Click here for tickets.

2nd Annual Pasco Pride Festival

The second annual Pasco Pride Festival will take place Sunday, Oct. 6 at Sims Park in New Port Richey.

The event will include vendors, food trucks and live entertainment from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Florida Reps. Carlos Guillermo Smith, the state's first openly gay Hispanic representative, and Anna Eskamani, both of Orlando, will be on hand for the opening ceremonies led by the mistress of ceremonies, Mama Ashley Rose, at 10 a.m. The annual Pride march around Orange Lake will begin at 11:45 a.m., followed by the Spheres Bubble Show at noon and Mr. Vyn Suazion on stage at 12:45 p.m.

The much-anticipated Pasco Pride Drag Show begins at 2 p.m. followed by a performance by Larmani at 3 p.m. and closing ceremonies.

Also on tap for the weekend, a Pride Kickoff Party will take place Friday, Oct. 4 at 9 p.m. at The Asylum, 6153 Massachusetts Ave., New Port Richey, featuring entertainment by Juno Vibranz, Matcha Tee and Bobbie Lake at 11 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. There will be prizes, raffles, giveaways and drink specials. The cover is $5 after 9 a.m.

A Pasco Pride block party is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 5 from 4 to 8 p.m. at Railroad Square in downtown New Port Richey. DJ Tc Czaritsa Cheremeteff will spin tunes throughout the night as street entertainers perform and local restaurants and bars open their doors.

A Pride Festival After-Party with hostess Monica Malone, Miss Asylum Kamden T. Rage and a performance by Mr. and Miss Pasco Pride, Ken Dartanyan and Imani Valentino will take place Sunday, Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. at The Asylum.