B Scene weekend picks: Get Lucky with the 13 Ugly Men, Friday (3/17) at Whiskey Park SoHo, 720 S Howard Ave. in Tampa. Doors open at 5 p.m.; the $15 cost benefits Voices for Children. www.13uglymen.com.- Tampa Bay Illustrated's The Perfect 10, 6 p.m. Tuesday (3/21) at Saks Fifth Avenue, 258 Westshore Plaza. $50 benefits The Spring of Tampa Bay. www.tampabayillustrated.com
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Holy Toledo, scenesters. The "season'' has begun, and I am getting whipped into benevolence by the myriad of happenings in the Tampa Bay area for various causes for the greater good.
This weekend played host to a "hip"story tale, a little hip-hop, some mind bending and some wine spending. And, of course, B Scene was there, ready to tackle the action. Readers, I want to know, where do I get all this energy?
Making history hip
Devin Marks and his foundation, Reclaiming Our Heritage, have been busy gearing up for the Florida Heritage Celebration, April 8-15.
With new "hip'' digs in Hyde Park, courtesy of Old Hyde Park Village Management, things are looking new for these history hunters.
Recent "hip"story events in the Hyde Park Village CELEBRAT!ON '06 gallery office included a grand opening celebration and Hip Happy Hour. Marks' goal is to make history cool again by reaching all generations of history buffs.
Seen reveling in the past were Chris Simpson, co-founder of St. Pete Good Cigar Bad Woman events; Tampa Tribune columnist Steve Otto; Kimberly Finn, award-winning rising artist; Joe Pop, ABC Action News producer; Maureen Patrick, president, Tampa Historical Society; Jim Judy, president, Tampa Firefighters Museum; Christopher Noe, events director, Big Brothers Big Sisters; up-and-coming artist Scott Waltz; David Henry, former president of the Florida Genealogy Society; Carine Feyten, associate dean for academic affairs, University of South Florida; Bob Samuels, Florida Prostate Cancer Network founder and philanthropist; Scott Mendenhall, UBS Financial; Lee Paulet, radio personality and music aficionado; and Geneva Forrester, principle, the Forrester Group.
The group will offer a weekly rotation of hip history exhibits and original heritage-themed artwork over wine and cheese, called H2, at 6 p.m. every Thursday.
T.I. P!!!
Radio station 95.7's Behind the Beat with T.I. allowed listeners V.I.P. access to the hip-hop star and soon to be leading man (movie ATL opens nationwide March 31).
The secret location event took place at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on Friday afternoon (3/10). All the station winners (and yes B Scene) were treated to a backstage style party that allowed them to get up close and personal with him. In addition, those in attendance were treated to a special performance by Universal/TUG Entertainment's new artist, Mila J.
Trivia is a 'Battle' field
The Fourth Annual Battle of the Minds benefiting the St. Petersburg Free Clinic was a huge success in its fourth year, raising nearly $90,000 for the clinic's programs. The Friday Night Benefit dinner at the St. Petersburg Hilton was sold out, with more than 375 in attendance. Event chairs Jean Markley and Chris Agee did an outstanding job coordinating this fun event.
Each table is a trivia team and is subjected to 25-plus trivia questions after dinner is served in a sports bar trivia format (think NTN). It is quite competitive, as major sponsors are awarded extra points for their generous donations.
Seen in the field of battle were board member Beth Houghton and her husband, Scott Wagman; committee members and sponsors Joyce and Jesse Otazo ; Jane Ann and Ron Lees; Directed Capital's Gail and Fred Razook (I understand the Directed Capital office is a big fan of B Scene, so this one's for them); Diana and Marshall Craig of the St. Petersburg Racquet Club; and Ann and Dr. Eric Tridas .
The ability to wino and cheese
In its 16th year, the Abilities Wine and Food Festival has become one of the premier wine tastings in all of Florida, and each year, Abilities CEO Frank DeLucia continually exceeds expectations. This year, the committee added a black tie event to add to the glitterati that makes the Abilities event so profitable. Fazal Fazlin's sprawling mansion in St. Petersburg's Park Street area set the tone for the wine weekend overlooking the starlit Boca Ciega skyline.
Some of Tampa Bay's finest chefs were on hand to produce a seven-course meal for a masterpiece of an evening, including Tom Pritchard of Salt Rock and Island Way Grills; Chris Ponte of Café Ponte and Ponte's Tuscan Grill; Jeannie Pierola of Bern's and SideBern's; Fabrizio Schenardi of Pelagia Trattoria; Dan Tederous of the Capital Grille; John Harris of Rusty's at Sheraton Sand Key; Robert Moore, Mazzaro's Italian Market; Marty Blitz of Mise en Place; and (in, my opinion, the two lookers of the evening, I'm sure making heads turn over their food and good looks) Tyson Grant of the forthcoming Parkshore Grill and Rand Packer of Roy's. Sorry, ladies, Rand has a beautiful wife, Tiffani, and two lovely babies, so you can only drool over the food.
The chefs also dedicated their time to the main event on Saturday night, where more than 2,000 people wined and dined, including orthopedic surgeon Dr. Jeff Tedder; marine science goddess Dr. Holly Edwards; Abilities board member Howard Sachs with his gorgeous wife, Dina; budding event planner Lauren DeLucia; firefighter Jeff Francis; Roy's group sales manager Meredith Cervenka; ABC's Al Keck with his wife, Cheryl; and radio and Devil Rays personality Dick Crippen.
Whew, are you exhausted, because I am! But it's St. Patty's day so ... get out there, wear your green and B Scene!
- Brooke Palmer is a member of the tbt* advisory board and owns R.S.B.P. Events, a newly formed event planning company.
