Caribbean Night at the South Florida Museum

After a dry, dance free couple of months, I was itching to get my sexy salsa and skanky ska on somewhere that had great music. A reputable source told me about the great band Big Night Out that was playing during South Florida Museum's Caribbean themed Think & Drink Culture Party.

While I find it difficult to both think and drink at the same time, I was curious, so my significant other and I made our way to the museum.

$5 cover got us in, with additional fees for food. Jerk Chicken and Macadamia Grouper were the entree's of the eve, served up by the Banana Cabana for an additional $5 a plate. Bottled beer went for $3, house and premium (Sterling Cabernet) ran $5 and $7. So, for $13 bucks, you can get dinner, dancing, live music, general museum admission, and a beer...Nuff said.

Visitors from as far as California graced the dance floor, as a group of us insta-friends formed a circle, and took turns shaking things up in the center. There was even an impromptu conga line through the museum, and barefoot dancing was encouraged (Okay, maybe not encouraged, but not exactly frowned upon, either). Big Night Out went through a mix of Latin and Caribbean picks, with a little Ska just to keep it interesting.

Open after hours, we wandered through the varied Water Exhibit, Environmental Wing, the Medical Wing and took a trek through Bradenton's (Originally "Braidentown") Historical Exhibit.

Community friendly, I'd say the age range was everywhere from 15-years-old through the senior years, with no clear cut demographic, so you won't arrive feeling out of place.

I danced until I was dizzy and my feet and legs could move no more.

Fabulous event.

Check out the South Florida Museum's website for more cultural parties, and a variety of community events.

* Special thanks to Jeff Rodgers, Director of Education of the South Florida Museum for these event photos.

Boys Like Girls Rock the State

I'm not sure that you could call Boys Like Girls a boy band, but they definitely have the appeal that the boy bands of the late 90's did. And I don't think these guys would be too angry about that title either? These guys are down to earth and truly love what they do every night!


The State Theatre was packed with girls last night for the show. To be honest, I was surprised how young the crowd was. But they were completely into the show.


They opened with their new single, 'Love Drunk,' which was pretty well received by the girls, and then jammed into 'Hero/Heroine.' They kept their energy high throughout the whole show and the girls jumped along with them. The show closed with their radio hit 'The Great Escape,' and lead singer Martin dove into the crowd. Those girls could have torn him apart. It took three stage techs and another member of the band to get him out of the mess. He came out with all his limbs, but missing clothing pieces, haha.


Overall, the show was great! The State was great, as always, but you have to remember to dress appropriately. Long sleeves and jeans, not good.

What's new on Metromix

Hello Tampa Bay Metromixers! Thanks for sticking with us. We're retooling our blogs and will soon be updating more often, with more stuff for you to check out on Metromix and around Tampa Bay.

Let's do a quick recap of the weekend. Weekends usually start off on Thursdays around here. We got some pics of Rusted Root's latest show at Jannus Landing. They're a great band to do the jangly dance to and just a nice bunch of folks. See the pics we got in our Rusted Root photo gallery. BTW- for those of you who don't know, Jannus Landing's owner John "Jack" Bodziak is in deep with some tax troubles. We'll keep you updated when we hear what's to become of this beloved music venue. We checked with the Landing and most of the shows will go on as planned, others have been moved to the Ritz Ybor in Tampa. All of the concerts have been updated on Metromix. Head there if you're wondering where to go with your Jannus Landing tickets.




We followed that up with two days at the Tampa Bay Caribbean Carnival.
The first day was full of latin sounds with Arturo Sandoval and Gilberto Santa Rosa. Sunday, Vinoy Park was even more packed with Sean Paul fans staking out their piece of grass to hear the Reggaeton super star. See all the pics we got in this roundup of photo galleries of both days. Here's our friend, 10 Connects reporter and ultimate Metromixer Hetal Gandhi giving Sean Paul a kiss back stage.

Finally, the Tampa Bay Derby Darlins were back on the track at the Skatepark in Temple Terrace. We have tons of photos from both bouts and the halftime show. Check them out in our Roller Derby Photo Gallery.

Looking ahead- there's a ton of stuff on Metromix to help you stay updated on things this summer.

• Our Father's Day Guide includes a bunch of "what to do with Dad" ideas, steakhouses, and gifts.
• Metrocon is back this weekend. It was crazy last year because it coincided with Flugtag. But I think this year's will be even more fun- we can concentrate on the fantastic costuming.
• St. Pete's Gay Pride Parade is coming up. For a complete guide of what to do, where to go and a look back at last year's parade, check our St. Pete Pride Guide before coming out.
• Finally.... Our 4th of July guide is up and running. We've done our best to get as many of the big celebrations going on around Tampa Bay. If we missed one... let us know here.