Inkwatu » attractions

Tampa’s Phap Vien Minh Dang Quang and the Jade Buddha

Hilton Kean Jones — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:17:09 +0000

Every week/weekend in Tampa Bay has a lot of activities, but this weekend has more than most that fit my tastes. One you don’t want to miss is the enormous Jade Buddha for Universal Peace at the Vietnamese Buddhist temple in Town and Country (that area of Tampa on the west end of Hillsborough Avenue).

All of the pictures in this post, and the video at the end, are of my visit there yesterday. I went with a friend and we both enjoyed ourselves. It’s like stepping out of the stream of obligations and stresses, just for a little. I recommend going early in the week because the Buddha will only be there through March 14th.

I’d been told about the event by another friend who had read Jessica Balanza’s article in the Tampa Tribune. The address of this article has changed twice, so I want to quote some important information in case it disappears completely; she says:

Valued at $5 million, the precious stone has been making its way around the world to allow people to take in the size and rarity of the statue. The tour began in 2009 and is expected to last several years before the statue makes its way back to its permanent home at the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion in Bendigo, Australia.

The Buddha, which arrived Tuesday after a stop in Orlando, will be unveiled at an 11 a.m. Saturday ceremony. Other days during the stop the public can arrive as early as 5 a.m. to check out the statue. The Buddha will then head to Sugar Land, Texas, before making its way back to the Sunshine State for an April 9-18 stop in Miami.

There is detailed information about the Jade Buddha for Universal Peace, its tour, and its permanent home in Australia at jadebuddha.org.au/en/.

The people at Phap Vien Minh Dang Quang, the Town and Country Buddhist monastery that is hosting the Tampa exhibition of the Jade Buddha, are very kind, very welcoming. If you’ve never been to something like this, please don’t hesitate to go. You’ll feel comfortable–everyone there speaks English as well as Vietnamese. The Phap Vien Minh Dang Quang website, www.phapvienminhdangquang.com is only in Vietnamese, but if you use a browser such as Google’s Chrome or a translation page such as Yahoo’s Babelfish (babelfish.yahoo.com/), you can get enough English words and sentences to guess at what’s intended. (Accurate computer translation of any language has a long, long, long way to go!!!)

There is plenty of parking at Phap Vien Minh Dang Quang which is at 5607 Town N. Country Blvd., Tampa, FL 33615; 813-317-4160; map. The people of Phap Vien Minh Dang Quang are serving food, both free and for a small donation, in case you get hungry. It was the best soup I’ve ever had–no exaggeration!

Also this week (Friday, the 12th through Sunday the 14th) is the 29th Annual Florida Antiquarian Book Fair at the St. Pete Coliseum. See floridabooksellers.com/bookfair.html for all the details.

Friday, March 26th, through Sunday, March 28, there’s another “annual”: the 15th annual Philfest (www.pcfitampa.org/philfest/philfest.html and www.pcfitampa.org/philfest/philfest2010/philfest2010.html) by the Philippine Cultural Foundation (www.pcfitampa.org/. Philfest will be at the Bayanihan Arts & Events Center (www.bayanihanartscenter.org) at 14301 Nine Eagles Drive, Tampa, FL 33626; 813-925-1232; map. I’ll be there, reporting for Asia Trend Magazine (www.asiatrendmagazine.com) and Inkwatu.

Please take a second to watch the video below which is just a slow pan around the grounds of Tampa’s Phap Vien Minh Dang Quang Buddhist monastery and the Jade Buddha exhibition. Also, please check out this blog post, Illuminating the World in Peace, by friends, Say and Bee Lee, on their visit to the Jade Buddha exhibit. Their post has even more photos of more statues, some that I missed completely.

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Mount Dora, Florida

Hilton Kean Jones — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 11:13:43 +0000

OVERLOOKING LAKE DORA FROM LAKESIDE INN
Mount Dora is a small town in central Florida on the edge of Lake Dora. As you can see in the map below, Lake Dora is just one of dozens of lakes, large and small, scattered throughout this area adjoining the Ocala National Forest.

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This past weekend was my first visit to Mount Dora and it definitely won’t be my last. To the question, “What is there to do here?” the answer, quite simply, is “LOTS!” There is so much to do, I’m not going to even try and list the attractions. Just check out the links below. I’ve listed them in the order I found the most useful.

Mount Dora is a small historical Florida village on the shore of Lake Dora that has successfully made itself into an arts and convention center with plenty of opportunities for outdoor recreation.

LAKESIDE INN PIER
The central theme in Mount Dora is Antiques: specialty antiques, such as the clock store pictured below, or little malls of high-end shops, or lower end, multi-storied antique shops filled chock-a-block with collectibles, as well as contemporary crafts that fit with the antique mystique.

JUST A FEW OF MANY MOUNT DORA SHOPS

This makes sense, of course, since Mount Dora is, itself, an antique, a little slice of preserved history as exemplified by its railroad station and historic homes.

HISTORIC MOUNT DORA TRAIN STATION

Newer buildings are designed to fit in with the old village look. Even the night spots preserve the theme of weathered quaintness.

ONE OF MANY LOUNGE/RESTAURANTS
Nature cooperates in this effort when birds such as those pictured below make their home in a chimney in downtown Mount Dora. Subliminally, one is reminded of storks roosting on chimneys in old European cities.

NESTING BIRDS DOWNTOWN MOUNT DORA
There’s a fond spot in my heart for any busker because I know, as a musician, that someday I may be playing for tips on a street corner or subway landing myself. New Orleans has jazz saxophonists as street musicians; Mount Dora has harpists. On the sidewalk in Mount Dora was a busker playing electric harp. His name is Rupert Parker and he has a lovely act and style. After hoofing it around the hills, to which I’m unaccustomed, it was such a pleasure to sit and listen to his music.

STREETSIDE HARPIST
This link to Sometimes When We Touch on Youtube gives you a feel for his performances. I plan on buying one of his several CDs from his website at www.rupertparker.com/; I hope you consider doing so, too.

TAKING IT EASY
My mom would have loved Mount Dora, after all, she herself lived for a while in Solvang, California, another quaint, historic town that fashioned itself into a successful tourist destination.

I was a bit disquieted by how thoroughly Mount Dora markets its quaintness. I wondered if perhaps I’d stumbled onto the set of the late 60s British television series The Prisoner, starring and co-created by Patrick McGoohan. But…no giant inflatable balls chased me down the street. It was just my overactive imagination sparked by my discomfort with a theme, too consistently packaged for my taste. Mount Dora’s charm makes it an effective tourist destination but, even in my retirement, I prefer living in a funkier, urban environment such as St. Petersburg…

WORLD’S SECOND LARGEST LAWN BOWLING COURT
…or the raw, authenticity of old Florida as embodied in this, now abandoned, roadside orange juice stand on Highway 441 on the outskirts of Mount Dora.

VINTAGE FLORIDIANA
I think, ultimately, even for all the planned activities and shops and man-made attractions in Mount Dora the real draw, the thing that sustains over the long haul is the lake itself. As you play the video below, you can’t help but instantly relax with the bird sounds and, even, the distant sound of the motor boat. This is really what Florida is about.

For browsers that display HTML5 videos:

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For browsers that display Flash videos:

LAKE DORA PANORAMA

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Vietnamese New Years at St. Petersburg’s Phat Phap Buddhist Temple

Hilton Kean Jones — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 14:29:05 +0000

Two of the most popular posts at Inkwatu over the few years of its existence are Wat Mongkolratanaram — Palm River Thai Temple and Songkran at Tampa’s Wat Mongkolratanaram and memories of Thailand. Wat Mongkolratanaram is a Thai Buddhist temple, but there are many other Buddhist traditions represented in the Tampa Bay area, many distinguished by the national origin of the group represented. The Inkwatu Vesak post examines some of them.

The Buddhist temple nearest my home, however, is St. Petersburg’s Vietnamese Phat Phap Temple (chuaphatphap.org). Yesterday, was the lunar new year (called Tet in Vietnam) which, for Asian and other cultures that follow the lunar calendar, is a major cultural and religious event. I went to Phat Phap to join in the celebration.

The grounds of Phat Phap have been undergoing a tremendous improvement with a meditation garden with statues in an expanded parking area. Much remains to do with this space, including adding sod, but the five new, beautiful, very large statues of the Buddha already form a circle and were honored and admired by the people attending the celebration.

I love all the new Phat Phap statues, but my favorite is the Reclining Buddha (top of post) because it was at the golden Reclining Buddha in Bangkok (pictured left) that I had a profound transcendental experience that led me, eventually, to take lay vows (the Three Refuges) as a Buddhist. The Phat Phap Reclining Buddha is joined by two seated Buddhas (the following two pictures) and a walking Buddha (pictured at end).

The most famous Vietnamese Buddhist monk in America is Thich Nhat Hanh who became famous for his attempts to promote peace during the Vietnam war. He has lived in exile until just recently when he was finally allowed by the Vietnamese government to return for two visits. He founded the Plum Village Meditation Center in France.

However, Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist, which is a different tradition than Phat Phap Temple.

Phat Phap Temple is in the Theravada tradition. Without going into too much detail, the Theravada tradition considers only the earliest Buddhist writing as being in its canon (book of scriptures), whereas other branches of Buddhism–Mahayana (which includes Zen) and Vajrayana (which includes Tibetan Buddhism)–also accept scriptures written later than the Theravada canon.

Despite these technical divisions (akin to denominations in Christianity) all Buddhists believe the same basics. The best, least sectarian, easiest to understand, short source of information on Buddhism, I believe, is by Barbara O’Brien (buddhism.about.com) who also has a good, free newsletter.

Notice in the picture below, the position of the Buddha’s hands. That’s a tradition of hand gestures, called mudras, that are found in both Hindu and Buddhist icons. Here (www.thaiwebsites.com/buddha.asp) are some photos and explanations of Thai Buddhas illustrating some of the Buddhist mudras with links to further explanations.

Not all Buddhas–and there have been countless Buddhas (“Buddha” is simply a Sanskrit word meaning “awakened one”)–are men. There are also women Buddhas. The most important and beloved is Quan Yin (called Quan’Am in Vietnam). Quan Yin also exists in a male form, Avalokiteśvara. I like the fact that the gender of Buddhas is mutable and can take different forms.

I didn’t take any pictures of the interior of Phat Phap temple simply because it didn’t feel right to me to do so since I was only a visitor. I realize that the Vietnamese community, themselves, were happily snapping family pictures inside while the monks chanted in front of the great golden Buddha. But I didn’t want to intrude, so instead, I sat, silently reciting as mantra the final line of the Heart Sutra which you’ve probably heard before: “Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate, Bodhi Svaha.” A great explanation of this line is given by Thich Nhat Hanh in this (www.purifymind.com/Heart17.htm) extract from The Heart of Understanding: Commentaries on the Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra.

HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR!!!

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The New St. Pete Dali Museum and politics

Hilton Kean Jones — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:56:16 +0000

New Dali museum under construction

The new Dali Museum

The new Dali Museum being constructed right next to Mahaffey Theater looks exciting. I hadn’t driven down that way until just recently and what I saw took me by surprise. I’m not sure if this is the front or the back of the new museum–that fits with the nature of the art that’ll be inside, I guess–but I love the huge caterpillar of windows climbing up and over the wall.

For more on the new museum, which was begun in 2008, see FAQ. For more photos and a webcam, see Dream. You can stay informed of events at the museum by subscribing to the Zodiac Group newsletter.

Dali and Franco

Dali is not everyone’s cup of tea, some for artistic reasons, others for political reasons (he was a supporter of Franco; see articons). I more-or-less like the art, but I don’t like his politics at all.

That’s always a thorny problem. What do you do about, for instance, composers like Richard Wagner, who was easily both the most influential composer of the 19th Century and it’s most notorious bigot and anti-Semite (see Richard Wagner and Anti-Semitism); or Carl Orff and Richard Strauss, both officials in Adolf Hitler’s Nazi government?

An ethical dilemma

Do you boycott their works? That was the case in Israel until Zubin Mehta performed Wagner there as an encore! Here’s a quote from an article by Lili Eylon in the Jewish Virtual Library describing that event:

In 1981, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of Zubin Mehta, offered an encore at the close of a subscription concert. Commotion broke out, with shouts from the audience aiming to silence the music. In introducing the piece from Tristan und Isolde, Mehta had made a short speech in which he spoke of Israel as a democracy in which all music should be played. But, he added, if this particular music offended the feelings of some of the listeners present, they were free to leave. (Two orchestra members had, at their request, been excused from playing the encore). Some older members of the audience quietly got up and went home. A few continued for a while to protest noisily, even running threateningly onto the stage, but the piece was played to the end.

A few years later a survey was conducted on the question – should the Philharmonic play Wagner’s music? Of those questioned, 50 percent were against playing Wagner, 25 percent for, and 25 percent had no firm convictions on the subject. In 1992, the Philharmonic conducted its own poll among its subscribers. The majority was in favour, 30 percent were against. In view of the large minority, it was decided to continue to refrain from playing Wagner, at least for the time being.

In July 2001, the prestigious Berlin Staatskapelle performed the “Tristan und Isolde” overture at the Israel Festival. While the orchestra’s conductor, Daniel Barenboim (himself a Jew), had promised to respect the ban on Wagner’s music, he surprised his audience by asking them if they wanted to hear Wagner as an encore following the scheduled performance. Most of the audience was in favor of the encore, which received a standing ovation from all but a few of the listeners. However, during a half-hour debate that preceded the performance of the overture, numerous Israelis protested and walked out of the theater, some shouting insults as they went.

The controversy over the foreign orchestra’s performance rekindled the debate over what course the Israeli orchestras should pursue. Yaakov Mishori, a leading Philharmonic musician, feels the orchestra should play Wagner. “After all,” he says, “Wagner died 50 years before Hitler came to power. Moreover, he was a kind of private anti-Semite, refusing to sign any public declarations against the Jews. He actually worked with many Jews. Wagner’s public relations man was a Jew named Neumann, Hermann Levi conducted Wagner’s works at the time, and a musician named Rubenstein finished the orchestration of some of his operas.”

“I am opposed to any ban on culture,” says Avi Chanani, director of the classical music division of Israel’s state radio. “Zubin Mehta risked playing Wagner in one fell swoop, but I believe in introducing him gradually, and that is what I have been doing. Wagner was a revolutionary in music. His work is central to the development of European music. Without Wagner it is difficult to understand the history of music. That is one important consideration for playing his music. But what I feel is cardinal in my decision to present Wagner on the radio is my belief that in a democracy, the public has a right to know; it must be exposed to all information.”

I highly recommend reading this entire article. It is extremely well written and very thoughtful.

One possible point of view

Each person must decide what’s best for themselves, of course. For me, with just a couple, rare exceptions, I don’t enjoy listening to Wagner anyway because I don’t enjoy extreme chromaticism in music. Same for Richard Strauss although I do enjoy more Strauss than I enjoy Wagner (Strauss can write better tunes). Orff’s music education theories and instruments are still in use in USA schools today. One of Orff’s pieces I do enjoy, but I am definitely offended by what his politics and political activities were, and it’s increasingly difficult for me to listen to Carmina Burana (my favorite piece of his and a good piece to vacuum to) without actually hearing his political views in the music itself (the neo-primitivism; Blut und Boden; Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer; and other rubbish), especially with the sad ascendency–again–of such political views in today’s world.

Unless the association with an art and an artist’s politics is too painful for an individual (and it will be for some), then I think it’s best to judge the art on its own terms but never forgetting the personal failings of the artist. Just because a person has their act together in one area of their life is no guarantee they will have it together in any other area of their life. The art can be good, but the person not. The history of the arts (and many other fields) proves this. So: accept the art, but not the artist.

I sort of like Dali’s art (although I think it relies too much on gimmicks). Myself, I am 100% a Picasso fan (both politically and artistically). But, Dali’s art is fun and he is historically important. So, I am glad that St. Pete is home to the Dali Museum. The new building looks fascinating!

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Gulfport Trolley Day

Hilton Kean Jones — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 18:29:05 +0000

Gulfport Hideaway Apartments

A good friend recently bought a home in Gulfport, Florida. Attached to this home, in which she will be resident, are four apartments. She calls her complex the Gulfport Hideaway Apartments.

Her target clientele are seasonal visitors from abroad. She wanted to confirm that her visitors would not need a rental car, even to do their sightseeing in the Tampa Bay area, since (1) she provides transportation to and from the airport and (2) there is a good public transit system.

We set out to prove that to ourselves one day during the recent holidays.

If you’re a regular reader of Inkwatu, you’ll know I’ve written frequently about Gulfport:

Even though I live in downtown St. Petersburg, I love coming down to Gulfport. I think the reason I enjoy it so much is that it reminds me of the Ocean Beach, Mission Beach, and Point Loma of my early college days. It’s a quintessential beach town. But…back to our quest: getting places from Gulfport, only on foot or by public transit.

Gulfport is within Pinellas County. The entire county is serviced by the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA). They have an excellent website utilizing Google Transit Trip Planner as well as PDFs of the various bus schedules. The regular PSTA bus system, in cooperation with a number of Trolley services, provides easy access to anywhere in the area.

Here’s a list of those services:

The Gulfport Red Trolley services downtown Gulfport.
The Gulfport/St. Pete Beach Connector Trolley connects Gulfport to the beaches.
The PSTA Beach Trolley serves all the beaches on the barrier islands.
The St. Petersburg Looper Trolley serves downtown St. Petersburg.
The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) serves all of Pinellas county and interconnects all the trolley services.
This might seem more complicated than it really is. Just hop on any bus or trolley and tell them where you want to go; the drivers are very friendly and helpful.

Gulfport to the Beaches

We began our trek by walking two blocks east from the Gulfport Hideaway Apartments (5620 29th Ave. S., Gulfport, FL 33707) and one block south to the corner of Beach Blvd S & 30th Ave S where we waited at the bus stop in front of the Peninsula Inn (2937 Beach Boulevard South Gulfport, FL 33707-5547).

interior of Gulfport Connector Trolley

We hopped on the Gulfport/St. Pete Beach Connector Trolley, which is the blue bus with pink flamingos on it. (Hey…we’re in Florida, right?!) This trolley takes you through downtown Gulfport, up past the Pasadena Shopping Center, then the Palms of Pasadena Hospital, on to Corey Ave & Blind Pass, to the bus stop where you catch the PSTA Suncoast Beach Trolley (75th Ave & Coquina Way) that takes you up and down the string of barrier islands and beaches.

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The signs on the left below, are the signs where we caught the Gulfcoast Connector Trolley. Notice that these stops are usually shared with regular PSTA bus stops.

left: PSTA and Gulfport Trolley signs; right: Suncoast Beach Trolley sign

The sign on the right, above, is at 75th Ave & Coquina Way where you make the connection between the Gulfport Connector Trolley and the Suncoast Beach Trolley. While there, be sure to check out some of attractions in the historic Corey Avenue shopping area, such as the Beach Theater or K. Kringle’s Christmas & Holiday Shoppe, (see interior shot below).

If it’s near breakfast time, be sure to get breakfast at the Frog Pond (7390 Gulf Blvd., St. Pete Beach 33706; 727-363-7205; there’s another way farther up the beaches at 16909 Gulf Blvd., North Redington Beach 33708; 727-392-4117).

inside K. Kringle’s Christmas & Holiday Shoppe in historic Corey Shopping District

75th Ave & Coquina Way down to Pass-a-grill beach

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From this connection in the Corey Avenue shopping district, we caught the Suncoast Beach Trolley down to Pass-a-grille Beach. While you’re there, whether it’s breakfast, lunch, supper, or late-night snack, be sure to get something to eat at the Hurricane.

the Hurricane and trolley stop beside it

Across the street from the Hurricane is one of my favorite respites before the sun and the rest of the world is awake: a little park with a coffee shop, a few deck chairs, and steps down to the beach. (See Inkwatu: Pass-a-grille Beach.)

across the street from the Hurricane

The day we happened to take our trolley excursion there was an open air art show in that little public area by the coffee shop and beach access. Snapshots of that are below.

Pass-a-Grille open air art show

Pass-a-grille Beach up to Indian Rocks Beach

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Crabby Bill’s in Indian Rocks Beach

We hopped back on the Suncoast Beach Trolley in Pass-a-grille Beach and took it all the way up to Indian Rocks Beach. The trolley goes much, much farther, all the way up the island chain. The day of our trip, however, we decided to only go as far as Indian Rocks.

One stop on the way up to Indian Rocks beach that I highly recommend but which we did not make the day of our outing is the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary. You won’t be sorry if you stop there. It’s a good place for the whole family.

If you should stop in Indian Rocks you might try some very touristy and very good crab at Crabby Bill’s (pictured above), or for really fine seafood, just a couple stops farther north but still in Indian Rocks, either Keegan’s Seafood Grille or Guppy’s on the Beach. (I’d have a hard time deciding between those two!)

Indian Rocks Beach down to John’s Pass

We were starting to tire so we caught the Suncoast Beach Trolley back down south to John’s Pass. For more information on John’s Pass, see Inkwatu: John’s Pass Village & Boardwalk (the Friendly Fisherman & Hubbard’s Marina). On the way there, we passed one of my favorite beach restaurants, Dockside Dave’s.

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The day of our trolley adventure there was an arts and crafts show at John’s Pass. A few snapshots from that are below. By now, we were definitely ready for some refreshment, so we hopped aboard the trolley back on down to the Corey Avenue shopping district where the connection is for the Gulfport Connector Trolley.

open air art show at John’s Pass

Heading home

Before we climbed aboard the Gulfport Connector Trolley to head on back to the Gulfport Hideaway Apartments, we decided to treat ourselves to a fine English meal at Madeleina Cottage Restaurant, which is practically across the street from the bus stop in the Corey Avenue shopping district.

exterior Madeleina Cottage Restaurant

interior Madeleina Cottage Restaurant

Madeleina’s is a very typical English pub/restaurant with an excellent menu and a full bar. Their bloody Mary was the best I’ve had in a long time. My friend had a cheese steak sandwich, pictured below.

cheese steak sandwich

And, I had fish and chips. (How could I not?!) Seriously, it was the best I’ve had outside of London.

fish and chips

I hope this post encourages you to try your hand at using public transit in Pinellas county. Future posts will cover bus trips from other locations to various highlights within the area. For all of these, the best deal is to purchase an all-day pass, called the Daily Unlimited GO Card, which may be bought on the bus. This pass allows the passenger to use any of the buses within Pinellas County for one whole day and to get on and off as often as desired. It’s $4 for an adult and $2 for seniors and disabled. Up to three children who are five years old or younger may ride free with an accompanying adult.

When purchasing any type of ticket on the bus, exact change is required. GO Cards may also be bought in 7-day and 31-day denominations. In addition to GO Cards, one-way fees may also be paid. For a full listing of fares and qualifications see PSTA Bus Fares. Your GO Card allows you to transfer to and from any trolley and bus within the county.

All of downtown Gulfport is within easy walking distance of Gulfport Hideaway Apartments. Gulfport is a pedestrian and bicycle friendly community. PSTA buses provide bicycle carriers which make combination bike/bus trips very easy.

Using either the Google Maps website or the Google Transit Trip Planner on the PSTA site, it is possible to quickly and easily plan your bus trip. Simply go to Google Maps (that’s my preference) and click on “Get Directions.” In the “From” field enter 5620 29th Ave. S., Gulfport, FL 33707, which is the address of Gulfport Hideaway Apartments. In the “To” field enter the address of where you wish to go. If you don’t know the address, you can also enter place names (like Beach Theater, Muvico Theaters, Sweetbay) or generic names (pharmacy, grocery). Google will show you some choices to narrow down which destination you desire. Then, select the means of transportation (by car, public transit, on foot), the approximate time you want to depart or arrive and click “Show Directions.” And…You’re done!

Below are a number of typical trips. You can click on them and see how the trip planner works. By clicking on “Show Options” you can change the departure times and pick alternate routes from the example trip. Give it a try. It’s fun. Remember, for some reason, Google doesn’t incorporate the Gulfport Connector Trolley so you’ll need to use the PDF of its map and schedule linked to above.

various barrier island beach locations

Gulfport Hideaway Apartments to Beach trolley transfer station (75th Ave & Coquina Way)
Gulfport Hideaway Apartments to Pass-a-Grille Beach
Gulfport Hideaway Apartments to Indian Rocks Beach
Gulfport Hideaway Apartments to John’s Pass
Gulfport Hideaway Apartments to Madeira Beach
Gulfport Hideaway Apartments to Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary

various shopping opportunities

Gulfport Hideaway Apartments to Walgreen Drugstore
Gulfport Hideaway Apartments to Sweetbay grocery store
Gulfport Hideaway Apartments to Publix grocery store
Gulfport Hideaway Apartments to Tyrone Square Mall
Gulfport Hideaway Apartments to Williams Park (downtown St. Petersburg) and St. Pete Pier

various entertainment venues

Gulfport Hideaway Apartments to Beach Theater
Gulfport Hideaway Apartments to Muvico Baywalk Theatres
Gulport Hideaway Apartments to American Stage
Gulfport Hideaway Apartments to St. Petersburg Coliseum
Gulfport Hideaway Apartments to Palladium Theater
Gulfport Hideaway Apartments to Museum of Fine Arts

Note: If you visited the Gulfport Hideaway Apartments website, you’ll notice that some of today’s post is quoted from that website. That was done with permission since I wrote the copy for and designed that website.

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Antiques Show at St. Pete Coliseum

Hilton Kean Jones — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 12:03:04 +0000

Tomorrow, the Sunshine City Antiques and Collectibles Show opens at the St. Pete Coliseum. Here’s the details from the City of St. Petersburg Events page.

January 8-10
Sunshine City Antiques and Collectibles Show, Friday 5pm to 8pm, Saturday and Sunday 10am to 5pm, $6 adults, 12 and under are free. This nationally recognized show features nearly 100 exhibitors of antique furniture, art, pottery, jewelry, silver, toys, and glass. The event also features a two-day Antiques Appraisal Fair. Held Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 2pm, $5 per item.

The photo at the top of this article is a panorama of the 2009 Antiques Show at the Coliseum. It, and of all the still photographs in this post, expand to full size if you click on them. I encourage you to at least take a peek at the panorama at full size.

Immediately above is a short embedded video from that same vantage point. I just wanted you to see the scope of the show and to hear the sounds to get a sense of the show’s ambiance.

The rest of the snapshots from the 2009 show I present without further comment except to say that two of my favorites are the model boat (immediately above), the folk-art jugs (immediately below), and the old lace exhibit (at the very end).

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Thai Orchids at St. Petersburg International Folk Fair 2009

Hilton Kean Jones — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:30:52 +0000

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SPIFFS (www.spiffs.org/), the St. Petersburg International Folk Fair Society, is one of the beloved institutions of St. Pete. I’m honored to be their official photographer this year while their regular photographer is in the hospital.

This year, the fair has been moved from the spring to the fall. It is open to the general public Saturday November 7, 2009, 10am-10pm and Sunday November 8, 2009, 11am-7pm. Admission $8.00 children under 12 free w/paid adult.

I’m posting this article a day earlier than usual in hopes that those who read it will decide to go to the St. Petersburg International Folk Fair tomorrow (Saturday) and Sunday.

The fair is usually in Vinoy park, but this year it’s in a slightly different location. It’s on Alfred Whitted Park, along the northern edge of Alfred Whitted Airport. I’ve discovered that all the online search map programs incorrectly identify the location and address of this park! But, the directions are simple: take 5th Avenue South until it deadends at Bayshore Drive. There will be police directing you where to park.

Thursday and Friday of this past week were school days, during which Tampa Bay area students attend the fair. The photos in this post were taken during that time.

If you enjoy these photos, please go to http://inkwatu.com/spiffs-2009-photo-page/ for the final edits for each of the days as well as some collections by subject. This file will be updated until all photos from the event are posted.

A full-sized slideshow of all the pictures in this post is at this Flickr set. A webpage with link to slideshows and albums of ALL the stages and booths throughout the four-day fair is available at SPIFFS 2009 Photo Page.

I’ll now simply present the rest of the photos in this SPIFFS Thai Orchid collection without comment…hope you enjoy them. Be sure to click on pictures for larger images. Hope to see you at the fair!

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Geckofest and other festivals

Hilton Kean Jones — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 14:50:35 +0000

It’s that time of the year in Florida. The hot, humid days of late summer are just beginning to pass away. There’s the occasional cool front that comes through (we never seem to have real cold fronts). And the festivals begin. A couple weeks ago I went to the Geckofest (geckofest.com) in one of my favorite parts of the St. Petersburg area, Gulfport, Florida. There are several other Inkwatu posts on Gulfport you might want to visit: Gulfport fresh market, Gulfport Florida, and Before TV.

The Geckofest is very much a family and kid friendly event with lots of body painting and fake tattoos as well as inflatables. For the adults, many tents where local craftsmen display their work. And, everywhere: music! Bands, solo artists, and even a belly dancing troupe are scattered through the venue. Of course, many food and drink vendors. A worthwhile experience, especially for families as the pictures in this post show.

The Geckofest is hardly the only fall festival in the area, though. For examples, there are the local Okterberfests I reported on last week (see Oktoberfest). This weekend is the Sunshine City Antiques and Collectibles Show at the Coliseum. November 27-29 the Coliseum hosts a Gem, Jewelry and Bead Show, on January 8-10 another Sunshine City Antiques and Collectibles Show, and on January 16-17 a Buckler’s Craft Show. One not to be missed is the The Florida Antiquarian Booksellers Association’s 29th Annual Florida Antiquarian Book Fair Friday, March 12 through Sunday, March 14, 2010 at the Coliseum. For a complete list of shows at the Coliseum see the Coliseum Events page.

Another St. Pete festival not to be missed is the St. Petersburg International Folk Fair Society (SPIFFS.org) 35th International Folk Festival which has a new date this year: General Public–Saturday November 7, 2009, 10am-10pm and Sunday November 8, 2009, 11am-7pm; School Days–November 5th & 6th, 9am-3pm. Admission is $8.00 children under 12 free w/paid adult.

In progress right now, is the renowned Tampa International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival which runs October 8-18, 2009. One of the most venerable of St. Pete’s festivals is the Festival of the States which dates back to 1896; it features many marching bands and floats. Two of the biggest festivals are the Gasparilla Pirate Festival over in Tampa (its art show is a must see) and the Strawberry Festival over in Plant City, just east of Tampa. The list goes on and on, including the St. Petersburg Cajun Zydeko Crawfish Festival, McDill AirFest, the Bay Area Renaissance Festival, and Creative Clay’s Folkfest which just concluded a couple weeks ago. (See Creative Clay Folkfest for a report on last year’s event.)

Here’s some links you’ll want to bookmark to keep track of the latest information on all area festivals:

If you think all we do down here is party at festivals and eat…you might be right!

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Cassadaga, Florida

Hilton Kean Jones — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 10:45:37 +0000

The best non-fiction book I have read this year is The Power of Coincidence: How Life Shows Us What We Need to Know, by David Richo. I don’t say that lightly, because I read a lot of books. It’s so good, in fact, that I’ve already begun rereading it.

THE CASSADAGA HOTEL
(note the spirit orb that mysteriously appeared in the photo of the bedroom)

The Power of Coincidence is a book about synchronicity. Synchronicity was first recognized as part of the human experience by Carl Jung, a student of Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis. Jung broke with his teacher to form his own approach to psychology which became the foundation of modern depth psychology. Richo, the author of the book I mentioned above, refers to synchronicity as “meaningful coincidences…that may guide us, warn us, or confirm us on our path…always unexpected and somehow uncanny in [their] accuracy of connection or revelation.”

Why am I starting a piece on the Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp with information about Carl Jung and synchronicity? I want to provide you with one possible avenue to gain intellectual entry into an exploration of Cassadaga that, assuming you’re not a spiritualist, will allow you to appreciate what goes on there. Please note, I say “one possible avenue.” There could be many others including taking the beliefs of spiritualism at face value. But, looking at mediums from the perspective of depth psychology works for me and it might for you. In fact, Jung’s writings, especially his Memories, Dreams, Reflections, explore alchemy, divination, astrology, and UFOs, from just such a perspective: mirrors that reveal glimpses of motives and feelings and desires of which we may not be consciously aware.

Of course, you could explore Cassadaga, Florida, purely for its historical charm as a town founded in 1894 that is now an historical district. But, I think it’s much more meaningful to actually take a taste of its very reason for existing: spiritualism.

Cassadaga is an entire town comprised only of mediums, psychics, clairvoyants, and diviners of different traditions, all of which are covered under the term spiritualism, which the Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp Association describes as a “Science, philosophy, and religion based upon the principle of continuous life.” For a fuller statement of what their church believes, be sure to read this page from their website: Spiritualism Defined.

Recently, a friend and I traveled to Cassadaga. We stayed at the Cassadaga Hotel & Psychic Center, an early 20th century hotel that is reputed to be haunted. We each had separate, private readings done by a medium associated with the hotel. We were both extremely impressed by the things our intuitive said to us during the course of our respective 45 minute sessions.

One of the contemporary terms used instead of “medium” is “intuitive.” I like that term because it fits with my own way of approaching this whole thing. As humans, we have intuitive powers that make us far more perceptive than we realize. Too often, to our detriment, we dismiss our intuition. It is totally conceivable to me that a medium can accurately intuit issues and attitudes with which a client is grappling. That insight, sincerely and empathically discussed, can then, as I said earlier, act as a mirror that reveals a glimpse into our subconscious. That glimpse, as Richo says, “…that may guide us, warn us, or confirm us on our path…always unexpected and somehow uncanny in its accuracy of connection or revelation” has the power of a synchronicity, a meaningful correspondence between the inner and the outer (a paraphrase of one of Jung’s own definitions).

I hope you travel to this historical town near us and I hope you permit yourself to suspend your hardcore rationality long enough to enjoy a session with one of the psychics. There are a list of them associated with the hotel available through the hotel website (www.cassadagahotel.net) and another list of psychics in town available through the town’s website (www.cassadaga.org). We picked ours more or less at random and were very pleased.

We also went to the Spiritualist healing and reading service that night at the Colby Memorial Temple there in town. The healing portion was particularly interesting to me. My friend has not had trouble with her knee since then. That’s the kind of tale that, of course, gives skeptics conniptions, but…a fact is a fact. It may be only the placebo effect, but placebos have a very long and very useful history.

Of course, Halloween is coming up. Halloween night, there is a Witches Ball in Cassadaga! That might be just the excuse to rent a room at the hotel, try out a medium, and get some snapshots of some ghosts. If there’s anywhere in Florida that’s guaranteed to have ghosts, it’s got to be Cassadaga.

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Here is a link to a full-sized SLIDESHOW of all the pictures in this post.

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The Sea Hagg

Hilton Kean Jones — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 10:27:46 +0000

The Sea Hagg is a place my mother would have adored. I guess the love of kitsch, tchotchkes, schlock, “bad” art, curiosities, and the odd flotsam and jetsam of life is an inherited trait, because I know I’ve got the same affliction: the total inability to pass a seashell store without stopping!

That’s why, when driving around Cortez, Florida, with a friend, when I saw The Sea Hagg out of the corner of my eye, I asked my friend to stop. He did so gladly because he’d found a place he’d never seen before and he’s lived down there for 20 years (his wife and kids knew about the place but he didn’t; as he says, “they go shopping, I goes swimming”). We both enjoyed this place. My friend said to the owner, “this is a labor of love.” It is indeed.

You’re only allowed to take photographs in the Salvage Garden, the area outside the actual shop. All the pictures in this post are of that outside area. Each of the tiny thumbnails below opens to a much larger image. If you find that too tedious, you might want to just watch a slideshow of the same thing. The images in the slideshow are large, so it may take each image a few seconds to load.

The Sea Hagg (12304 Cortez Rd. W., Bradenton, FL 34209; 941-795-5756; map) is open Monday-Friday 9:30-5:30, Saturday 10-5, and Sunday By Appointment. If you’re interested in souvenirs and collectables of a nautical sort, this place is for you.

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