Top Events Taking Place In Tampa Bay March 8-10

TAMPA BAY, FL -- Wondering what to do this weekend? Here are some ideas:

Firestone Grand Prix

Florida's only Grand Prix race takes place this weekend in St. Petersburg. The 15th Annual Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg kicks off Friday and continues through Sunday. To get the Grand Prix weekend off to a speedy start, everyone is invited to embrace the race with music, arts and crafts and family activities at the Fast Friday festivities in North Straub Park on Friday, March 8. The party kicks off at 6 p.m. with the seventh annual Modern Business Associates 5K Run on the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Track in North Straub Park. Athletes of all ages and abilities can run or walk along a waterfront course that takes place completely on the iconic 1.8-mile, 14-turn racetrack and in the same direction as the race cars for the first time. Advance registration is $40 online. Proceeds will benefit the Police Athletic League of St. Petersburg.

In addition to the Friday 5K race, a free Movies on the Lawn event will be held in North Straub Park, screening "Herbie Fully Loaded." Kids can enjoy a free arts activity - a build your own race car crafts station, coordinated by the Junior League of St. Petersburg. Music and the arts activity begin at 5:30 p.m., with the movie starting at dark. Subscribe

As the season-opening event for the ninth consecutive year on the 2019 17-race NTT IndyCar Series schedule, downtown St. Pete transforms into a race course and offers track-side waterfront views for fans of all ages. The IndyCar 110-lap feature will be broadcast on NBC Sports Network with television coverage beginning at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 10. All on-track IndyCar sessions will be streamed live throughout the weekend on the NBC Sports Gold App with the IndyCar Pass. In total, 11 races will take the green flag during the weekend schedule.

For additional activities happening at Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, click here.

Florida Strawberry Festival

The Florida Strawberry Festival at the Strawberry Festival Fairgrounds in Plant City enters its final weekend with headline entertainment, livestock shows, food, midway rides and other attractions.

Admission at the gate is $10 for age 13 up, $5 for ages 6 to 12 and free for age 5 and younger.
Discount gate admission is available at these participating Publix Super Market stores throughout Central Florida

Gates open at 10 a.m. daily and close at 10 p.m.

For all the details, see Your Guide To The 2019 Florida Strawberry Festival.

Gasparilla Music Festival

Music of all genres will fill downtown Tampa this weekend during the 2019 Gasparilla Music Festival March 9-19 in Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park and Kiley Gardens Park. The festival features musical acts from a variety of genres as well as cuisine from some of Tampa Bay's top restaurant.

New this year is a music festival just for kids.

Get more details in Guide To The 2019 Gasparilla Music Festival.

Bay Area Renaissance Festival

If you haven't had time to check out the Bay Area Renaissance Festival, there's still time.

Step back 400 years in the past and explore the world of knights, minstrels and damsels in distress at the annual Bay Area Renaissance Festival at the Museum of Science & Industry, 11315 N. 46th St., Tampa.

Running each weekend from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. through March 29, the event features themed weekends, a recreated 16th-century marketplace with more than 100 artisans, 12 stages of minstrel, marionette, magic, court jester and dance shows as well as full armor jousting competitions, a live mermaid cove, roaming musicians and traditional and modern-day treats and savory eats.

Tickets at the gate are $21.95 and $13.95. Students and seniors pay $17.95 at the gate.

For more details, see Bay Area Renaissance Festival 2019: What You Need To Know

Tampa Taco Festival

Tampa is hosting a free taco festival on Saturday, March 9 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Al Lopez Park, 4810 N. Himes Ave., Tampa. The event will celebrate taco culture and its origins. There will be more than 30 Tampa restaurants, food trucks and carts along with a bar station serving margaritas, tequila flights, ice cold beer and sodas. Additionally, there will be live bands, DJs and traditional mariachi music. Dogs are welcome.

(For more local news from Florida, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here.)