Lords and ladies, get your fill of fire eaters and jousters starting this weekend at the Bay Area Renaissance Festival on the grounds of the Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa. It starts Saturday and runs through April 1, with themed weekends. First up is the wine and chocolate festival. Don't miss the human combat chess and live armored joust shows. The village is stocked with characters from wizards to peasants and is open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. weekends at MOSI, 11315 N 46th St. Admission is $15.95 for adults, children $7.95, seniors $12.95 and children 4 and under free.
Lifelike mechanized dinosaurs will be rampaging through Great Explorations, The Children's Museum starting this weekend. These giant lizards don't just look like dinosaurs, they have amazingly fluid and lifelike motion and even make noise. The exhibit includes a fossil dig and children can also have their photo taken on the back of a triceratops. The exhibit opens Saturday and will be on display through mid May. It's included in regular museum admission of $9 for children and adults, $8 for seniors and free for children under 1. The museum is at 1925 Fourth St. N in St. Petersburg, next to Sunken Gardens.
An unusual two-day conference at USF has lined up veteran journalists - including NPR's Corey Flintoff - academics and a Pentagon representative to share perspectives and field questions at the Journalists and War Conference Friday and Saturday. The event is free and open to the public. It will take place in the Steidinger Auditorium at the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, 100 Eighth Ave. SE, just south of the USF St. Petersburg campus. For specific times and speakers, visit the Web site home.tampabay.rr.com/lafollette/j&w/index.htm or call (727) 873-4857.
One of the most sought-after tickets last year was Broadway's Wicked, and starting Wednesday, the green girl from Oz will be back at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center through March 11 at 1010 N MacInnes Place, Tampa. $46.75-$82.75.(813) 229-7827 or www.tbpac.org.
The Fly Bar will hold its second "Green Drinks" night on Friday. That's green as in eco-friendly not your dad's recipe for a grasshopper. Like-minded people who live and work in Earth-friendly environments, from architects and engineers to developers who respect the ground they are building on, get together to mix and mingle from 5-7 p.m. Fly Bar is 1202 N Franklin St. in downtown Tampa. (813) 275-5000.
Fat Tuesday is coming up, and once again Dunedin will have Mardi Gras on Main Street to mark the occasion with music by 23 Skeedoo and Zydefunk in Pioneer Park, with craft and food vendors 5-11 p.m. Then the bead throwing begins at 8 p.m. and travels along Douglas Avenue in downtown Dunedin.
It's your last chance this weekend to get deep-fried Snickers at the Florida State Fair. Admission: $10 ages 12 and older, $5 ages 6-11. You can get an unlimited ride armband for $25 on Friday, Sunday and Monday and concerts by Mickey Gilley, Davy Jones and Ronnie Milsap. Visit www.floridastatefair.com for admission specials and concert info. And have we mentioned the Hollywood Racing Pigs?
The name of the game Saturday at Cafe Alma is F.A.M.E., as in Fashion, Art, Music, Energy. It's a celebration of local talent in fashion, hair and makeup design, as well as local artists and performers. The party starts at 10:30 p.m. at Cafe Alma, 260 First Ave. S in downtown St. Petersburg; $8.
Rescue groups and adoptable pets will be out and about at the People for Pets Fair noon-3 p.m. at the Golda Meir/Kent Jewish Center, 2010 Greenbriar Blvd., Clearwater. The free fair will have a display from the Florida International Museum's "Wolf to Woof" exhibit about the history of dogs as well as animal services and organizations.
