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  • Broadway’s Annie at the Straz; Stars advocate for shelter animals

    Broadway’s Annie at the Straz; Stars advocate for shelter animals

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    TAMPA, Fla. — “You’ve got food on your nose,” Ellie Pulsifer said to a tiny meowing kitten.

    What You Need To Know

    • Annie on stage at Straz Center all weekend

    • 12-year-old Tampan Ellie Pulsifer plays the lead role of Annie

    • All actor animals playing the part of Annie’s dog Sandy are rescues

    • Pulsifer wraps up her role as Annie in Tampa this weekend

    The Tampa actor is in a meet and greet room of kittens at the Humane Society of Tampa Bay.

    Pulsifer plays the lead role in the musical Annie with a co-star canine Sandy in a traveling Broadway show.

    She’s been visiting rescue centers during her tour, that wraps up this weekend, in her hometown.

    “When people come in and spend time with the animals and bring any sort of attention to it, we’re so happy,” said the Humane Society of Tampa Bay’s Regan Blessinger. “Also, because it shows the really awesome animals that we do have here just waiting for their homes.”

    Pulsifer herself has always wanted a pet.

    And now she knows where she’s coming when it’s time to find her lifelong fur friend.

    On the edge of 13, Pulsifer is wrapping up her run on tour as Annie as human star of the traveling Broadway Musical currently at the Straz Center.

    Pulsifer and her fellow Annie stars have been visiting animal rescues in cities on the tour.

    Why?

    Because Pulsifer’s co-star Sandy – that role is filled be trained rescue dogs. And somebody’s got to speak for them.

    “It’s given me a closer connection to rescue dogs and shelters,” said Pulsifer. “And it taught me that anybody — dogs — can be stars. Like if they are just trained properly and they’re just given the respect and kindness that they deserve.”

    This advocacy work opened Pulsifer’s eyes to animals.

    “Really made me realize how important it is to rescue if you are going to get a pet,” said Pulsifer.

    After living out of one suitcase and a carry on since last August, fighting motion sickness to do homework on the tour bus, she’s ready to stretch her legs into the next chapter.

    “I hope one day I can adopt a dog when life settles down,” said Pulsifer, “but after this, I’m going to get lots of sleep and enjoy the summer and chill.”
    Pulsifer’s final performances as Annie will be in front of family and friends.

    Her work on the stage and with animals will continue.

    “It’s just such a magical experience,” said Pulsifer of her animal volunteering. “And I’m so glad that this tour let me have all the experiences—it’s just been amazing”

    Annie plays at the Straz Center all weekend.

    And the Humane Society of Tampa Bay welcomes the public to come play with their future pets.

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    Virginia Johnson

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  • Expert: Turpentine industry wealth built on natural resources, slave labor

    Expert: Turpentine industry wealth built on natural resources, slave labor

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    BRADENTON, Fla. — Before citrus was king in Florida, one local expert says longleaf pine soared — not just in height, but in worth.

    “Maybe this is where humans discovered this resource inside the tree,” said Matt Woodside, pointing out a protruding ball of slow-dripping sap on a longleaf pine tree.

    What You Need To Know

    •  Manatee Village Historical Park is offering a “Living off the Land” exhibit

    •  Its focus on turpentine camps where enslaved people and prisoners — some of whom were wrongfully convicted — did free, labor intensive work

    •  The park focuses on pioneering days in Florida, from 1840 to 1918

    • A turpentine camp is located on site from the Manatee/Sarasota Country area

    Woodside is the Curator at the Manatee Village Historical Park, and he’s standing in the middle of the area’s pioneer-era buildings on their Bradenton site.

    He says sap byproducts like pine tar was a major component in the booming naval industry.

    Woodside created an exhibition “Living off the Land,” devoted to early Florida industries — like turpentine camps — built on the backs of enslaved people and prisoners, some of whom were wrongfully convicted.

    “The economic impact was second only to the cattle industry for a time in Florida,” said Woodside. “So before citrus and other vegetables, the railroads that could get those products out to northern market, cattle and turpentine were really the economic engines in Florida.”

    Woodside has an example of a turpentine still at the village as well — it’s the bottom part of a metal container where pine tar gathers.

    “We believe that this still was used locally at one of our local turpentine mills here,” he said. “We had dotted four, five or six in the Manatee and Sarasota regions.”

    Woodside says the artifact, and the entire historical village, is here to show how hard people toiled to live in Florida during the days of the pioneers.

    “Just to appreciate what it took for to get to the point where all the things we have today were based on people coming and taking advantage of the natural resources here to build their lives,” said Woodside.

    The exhibition “Living off the Land” is open through November of 2024.

    Woodside said the turpentine industry eventually changed and modernized, which caused the turpentine camps to shut down.

    Longleaf pine populations are estimated at about 10% of their original footprint in the southeastern region of the United States.

    The Manatee Village Historical Park focuses on the pioneering time in Florida, from about 1840 to 1918.

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    Virginia Johnson

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  • Sunflower maze brings farm fans to Masaryktown

    Sunflower maze brings farm fans to Masaryktown

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    Farmer Lisa Kessel is standing in a sea of sunflowers.

    There is a huge oak tree behind the field with swaying Spanish moss and a treehouse.

    “We get a lot of people that want to just do this—get out in these flowers,” said Kessel, calling it amazing.

    And anybody can do it.

    It’s Sweetfields Farm in Hernando County.

    They are at the height of their sunflower growing season and approaching their final weekend festival.

    There is a five-acre maze, and every year farmer Ted Kessel picks a new design for their family’s sunflower maze.

    This year, it’s a record player with a bird and a music note—to spin you around and get you lost.

    And with stalks soaring well above the average human person, Kessel’s achieving his goal.

    “It’s just a happy time right now,” said Kessel, walking through the maze. “Lot of work to get here, and everything’s blooming just right.”

    That counts for the all the things the Kessel family grows at Sweetfields Farm, including the zucchinis.

    “We want to get some off that are getting too big,” said Kessel, snipping the biggest veggies off the plants, “but yet, leave some like these little guys here- they’ll be ready for the weekend.”

    The zucchinis are part of the “U-Pick” vegetable and flower patches (hey zinnias you are so pretty!).

    It’s the 15th year the Kessels have opened their farm to the public.

    They want to help connect people to farm life- and nature.

    So they give little ones a chance to take some of the farm home—a little potential plant.

    Kessel makes recycled plant pots by rolling newspaper on a short pvc pipe.
    She adds peat moss and plants a sunflower seed for little future famers.

    “Now you are going to be planting the same sunflowers that grow out in our field,” said Kessel.

    A stalk of Sweetfields’ sunshine—and hopefully– the good vibes that come from farm life.

    “It’s pretty magical out here away from all the electronics and you just start to ground yourself,” said Lisa Kessel.

    Sweetfields Farm is located in Masyaryktown off Benes Rouch Road. The weekend hours are 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

    In addition to the maze, there are hayrides, farm animals, food and drink.

    They’ll harvest the sunflowers after Memorial Day weekend.

    Next comes the fall corn maze!

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    Spectrum News Staff

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  • Pipeline: The Surf Coaster rolls into SeaWorld Orlando

    Pipeline: The Surf Coaster rolls into SeaWorld Orlando

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    ORLANDO, Fla. — Ready to hang 10! Pipeline: The Surf Coaster, a first-of-its-kind roller coaster is opening May 27th at SeaWorld Orlando.

    What You Need To Know

    • Pipeline: The Surf Coaster, a first-of-its-kind roller coaster is opening May 27th at SeaWorld Orlando

    • The coaster gives you the thrilling sensation of surfing — as riders are put in an upright stance — similar to that of a pro surfer

    • The ride includes gnarly twists and turns and an adrenaline-pumping “wave curl” inversion

    Excited screams are music to the ears of Rob McNicholas, who is one of the minds behind the attraction that pays tribute to surf culture.

    “It’s a proud dad moment I will say today… you know hearing the screams after years of working on this and better yet hearing their reactions afterward, people are blown away by it,” said McNicholas, Vice President of Operations at SeaWorld Orlando.

    The coaster gives you the thrilling sensation of surfing — as riders are put in an upright stance — similar to that of a pro surfer as you rush along nearly 3,000 feet of track at speeds reaching 60 miles an hour.

    The ride includes gnarly twists and turns and an adrenaline-pumping “wave curl” inversion.

    McNicholas explained this ride is unlike any experience before it.

    “It will still exceed your expectations because you don’t know what to expect in regards to the unique seat restraints and how it actually moves up and down,” he said. “It can go two inches up and two inches down so when you launch you are going up and down your legs come off the ground and the best advice I can say is just let it go.”

    While riders are upright for the whole ride, McNicholas says this isn’t a stand-up roller coaster. Instead, its unique seats make for a much more comfortable ride that makes you feel like you’re shredding, with five airtime movements.

    “Our operators come by and they check your restraint, and then they have an RFID watch that they will tap on the side and that is where — based on your height — it will lock the column two inches up two inches down based on your height,” said McNicholas.

    McNicholas explained they did everything they could to make this as realistic as riding a surfboard as possible, even going so far as flying to Switzerland to check out the coaster in the factory.

    “I wanted to see what it would feel like on my feet so in the factory, I took my shoes and my socks off and I stood there and I am rubbing my feet to make sure it is comfortable because we are in Florida people are going to have flip flops and toss them to the side,” said McNicholas.

    He is stoked for more daring riders to take on this adrenaline-pumping experience again and again.

    “I think they will because it is so good,” said McNicholas.

    The ride officially opens to everyone on May 27th, but Platinum and Gold Pass Members can ride now — with future preview dates opening to other Pass Members.

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    Nicole Griffin

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  • Bonsai and Brews: Trees and hops all the way

    Bonsai and Brews: Trees and hops all the way

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    TAMPA, Fla. — Today’s On The Town story is all about one succulent species, one neighborhood’s yard trash and one man’s mission to spread the Bonsai in the Tampa Bay area.

    What You Need To Know

    • Larry Naeder has been taking his bonsai tree workshop to Tampa Bay area breweries and distilleries for about a year — called Bonsai and Brews.

    • He told us how bonsai became his career

    • $75 gives you tree and all it needs to thrive

    The succulent species is called Portulacaria Afra — commonly called Dwarf Jade or Elephant Bush.

    “We use these species at the workshop because it’s extremely beginner friendly,” said Larry Naeder of Thunderstruck Bonsai in Pinellas Park.

    Naeder’s been taking his bonsai tree workshop to Tampa Bay area breweries and distilleries for about a year — called Bonsai and Brews.

    It’s the Japanese horticultural art form centuries old.

    It’s derived from a Chinese practice from a millennia ago.

    And it’s all put together over a local brew made pretty recently.

    Naeder leads the workshop, trimming the little succulent from the top of its leggy growth to the bottom of its lacy, beard-like root system.
    He repots it in fast draining, rocky soil and secures the bonsai root ball with wire.

    There’s a little more soil and food — and bonsai life begins.

    Naeder explain how bonsai became his career.

    “I fell down a rabbit hole on the internet years ago,” he explained, “fell upon bonsai and kind of became infatuated with it. Found it very calming, relaxing.”

    He also found himself growing more patient.

    “There’s not much instant gratification at all ‘cause you’re watching a tree grow.”

    Truth be told, naeder can and will make a bonsai out of whatever is in front of him, including his neighbor’s unwanted landscaping.

    Naeder has rescued, revived and made living art.

    Ever the propagator, Naeder OF COURSE recycles his leggy bonsai cuttings.

    He waits for the cut to heal on the stem and has a steady stream of re-potted plants.

    “And we are going to go ahead and get ready for these to become next year’s trees — a sustainable resource,” said Naeder.

    Love and care in the form of water, sun food — and the right trims.

    “The magic will come alive,” Naeder says.

    Nature Magic y’all.

    “One of my favorite parts for me is enjoying and sharing the knowledge and love of Bonsai.”

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    Virginia Johnson

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  • City of Tampa to honor Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders with festival

    City of Tampa to honor Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders with festival

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    LAND O’ LAKES, Fla. — It’s like watching someone trying to fool gravity — when Aydan Woodhead is in the middle of a sideways twist in the air in a butterfly kick, he’s about five feet off the ground, horizontal.


    “I’ve been doing Taekwondo for about 11 years now — I started when I was 4, before school,” said Woodhead. “And now, I’m a fourth-degree master.”

    Woodhead, a fourth-degree black belt, is part of a Florida State Taekwondo Demonstration team, one of the groups taking flight on stage at the upcoming Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Festival in Tampa.

    “We get to show a part of Korean culture that’s not mainly expressed in America,” said Woodhead, who also instructs classes.

    One of those ancient forms of expression is airtime.

    But after each class at the World Champion Center in Land O’ Lakes, they make the most important move — the bow.

    “Every time we bow, it’s a form of respect,” said Woodhead.

    He says it’s more than sport, self-defense and athleticism — it’s culture, it’s community, it’s character, and it is art.

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    Virginia Johnson

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  • Father-daughter duo debut their bedazzled bike

    Father-daughter duo debut their bedazzled bike

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    CLEARWATER, Fla. — This weekend’s Orange County Choppers Invitational Bike show will feature some of the world’s best bike builders.

    The event kicked off Friday in Clearwater at the OCC Road House and Museum, and organizers are expecting more than 100 bikes both Saturday and Sunday.

    Spectrum Bay News 9 photojournalist Matt Infante met a father-daughter duo who are debuting their bedazzled bike this weekend.

    Use the video player above to watch the On The Town report.

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    Spectrum News Staff

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  • Wiener Dog Derby to be featured at Tampa Riverwalk this weekend

    Wiener Dog Derby to be featured at Tampa Riverwalk this weekend

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    TAMPA, Fla. — You haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen wiener dogs racing in slow motion, or in any speed, really — the Dachshund breed appeal is widespread.

    What You Need To Know

    • The Florida Wiener Dog Derby will be happening at the Tampa Riverwalk on Saturday

    • The event also serves as an opportunity to rescue and adopt the dogs, as well as to get educated about the breed

    • Stephanie Boyle, president of Skyway Dachshund Rescue, says her group group advocates for breed education

    The Florida Wiener Dog Derby is taking place Saturday at the Tampa Riverwalk, where hundreds will be gathering to share their love for Dachshunds. The event also serves as an opportunity to rescue and adopt the dogs, as well as getting educated about the breed.

    Stephanie Boyle is the president of Skyway Dachshund Rescue and has participated in the derby for the past five years with about 200 other dogs in different categories. Boyle prepares for the weekend’s events with one of the wiener dog racers named “Gage.”

    Gage has the got the eye of the tiger, the wagging tongue of a fighter and the need for VIP treatment.

    “I think he likes being carried around,” Boyle said. “I have a couple that won’t let their pictures get taken. Some of them are super-duper competitive and you really have to watch where you walk.”

    Boyle said she chose wiener dog rescue because people misunderstand their strong personalities.

    “They are very belligerent. They can be very stubborn, and you really have to know the breed. We love their stubbornness and the way they are,” she said. 

    Boyle’s group advocates breed education for maximum wiener dog happiness.

    “We are all super-passionate about getting the dogs into the right homes where they are understood and letting them be family members and have wonderful lives,” she said. 

    Wonderful lives, one slo-mo scene at a time. 

    For additional information about the Florida Wiener Dog Derby, visit the Tampa Riverwalk website. 

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    Virginia Johnson

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  • World Tai Chi Day celebration about relieving stress, achieving balance

    World Tai Chi Day celebration about relieving stress, achieving balance

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    SARASOTA, Fla. — As we prepare to enter Asian American and Pacific Islanders Awareness Month, there is a free Tai Chi demonstration at the city recreation center in Bradenton.


    We met Brian Nell at Cypress Pillar Healing Arts.

    “This is a fantastic little healing center in Sarasota,” he said. “And we are in our indoor movement space.”

    The space is devoted to bringing the ancient Chinese martial art Tai Chi to masses.

    The World Tai Chi Day celebration at G.T. Bray Recreation Center in Bradenton is part of their mission.

    Nell starts with a meditation to get bodies aligned and minds in tune.

    He says it’s how to combat stress.

    “But now we must honestly look at ourselves, find where we hid it and teach ourselves to relax,” Nell said.

    “So I actually was introduced to Tai Chi when I was 17 years-old at a seminar,” he said. “And as a 17-year-old practicing jiujitsu, that’s the last thing you want is to move slow, but it planted a seed.”

    After a serious back injury, Nell turned to Tai Chi.

    “And as a direct result was able to overcome those injuries and realized this was something I wanted to pass on,” he said.

    “Balance is a big one, especially as we get older. This becomes a depreciable skill,” Nell said. “So the more that we train the body, the better off we are in the long run.”

    World Tai Chi demonstrations are happening Saturday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. The event is free.

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    Virginia Johnson

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  • Come to Jeep Beach 2023 for fun, and ticket to win one helps community

    Come to Jeep Beach 2023 for fun, and ticket to win one helps community

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    DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Jeep Beach 2023, the world’s largest Jeep event, wraps up its 20th year this weekend in Daytona Beach.

    What You Need To Know

    • Sunday is the last day for Jeep Beach 2023 in Daytona Beach

    • The event features obstacle courses, vendors, concerts, food and activities for kids

    • A Jeep Beach parade will be held right on Daytona Beach on Sunday

    • As part of the event, tickets can be purchased to win a drawing for a new Jeep

    The event is dedicated to all things Jeep, with obstacles courses to cruise through, concerts, vendors selling industry merchandise, all kinds of food and drink, activities to keep children busy and a Jeep Beach parade Sunday on Daytona Beach.

    Jeep Beach 2023 activities will continue through Sunday in Daytona Beach. (Spectrum News/Joh Ficurilli)

    Everett Flaitz, an electrician and Jeep enthusiast who last year won the iconic event’s drawing for a new Wrangler, calls Port Orange home after moving to Volusia County five years ago from Ohio.

    “We love the warm weather, the beaches and — uh, uh — we don’t have to worry about shoveling snow,” Flaitz said as he cruised in his Wrangler, Jeep’s most popular model.

    Flaitz bought a ticket, didn’t think anything of it, and then he heard the words, “You are the winner!”

    “I’ve never won anything in my life — so it’s incredible we won this,” said Flaitz, who had purchased another Jeep for his wife just before they won in 2022.

    Now they have two Jeeps.

    It’s not just “a” car to get from Point “A” to Point “B,” he said.

    “You can just use them on the beach, go off-roading or just drive ‘em around as your everyday vehicle,” Flaitz said.

    So, how exactly did he enter to win? He bought a $50 ticket.

    What’s most rewarding to Flaitz is knowing the proceeds from the drawing stay local.

    “That $50 you spend to win the Jeep, it goes to charity,” he said as he drove his yellow Jeep on the powdery sands of Daytona Beach.

    Jeep Beach organizers’ goal this year is to give away $1 million to charities in Volusia and Flagler counties. The funds raised go to programs, not overhead costs, they said.

    It’s not too late to get in on this year’s drawing on Saturday. The $50 ticket for a shot at this event’s Jeep can be purchased online.

    The 2023 Jeep being given away this year is a flamboyant red called “punk’n,” and it comes with special Jeep Beach badging that pays homage to Daytona International Speedway and the 20th anniversary of Jeep Beach.

    It also comes with a trailer from tinycampers.com that is fully equipped, with features such as a kitchen, a TV and creature comforts inside. Its roof extends to an A-frame, so you can put the children on top and mom and dad on the bottom during off-road adventures.

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    Ybeth Bruzual

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  • Mainsail Art Festival offers marquis event at St. Pete’s Vinoy Park

    Mainsail Art Festival offers marquis event at St. Pete’s Vinoy Park

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    GULFPORT, Fla. — Picture it.

    What You Need To Know

    • The Mainsail Art Festival is coming up at Vinoy Park, St. Pete

    • Saturday, April 22 hours: 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.

    • Sunday, April 23 hours: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

    • Saturday, May 20, 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. Dawn Waters Open House at DRV Gallery, Gulfport 

    St. Petersburg, Florida.

    1976.

    The city threw its first Mainsail Art Show to mark the country’s bi-centennial celebrations.

    And that show continues nearly 50 years later — one of the biggest festivals of its kind in the country. More than 100,00 people are expected.

    This weekend Vinoy Park will once again be packed with creators and their works.

    That includes Fiber artist Dawn Waters.

    We caught up with her in her Gulfport studio, and she showed us her first ever felt art.

    It was her dog Chico.

    And she even added a few wisps of felt around one of Chico’s eyes to show how felting is done.

    She placed it and poked it until the felt blended into the lower rim of one of Chico’s eyelids.

    “It’s like tattooing but with wool,” Waters explained. “You just keep poking until the face you want emerges.”

    A former advertising and communications executive, Dawn Waters has been a fiber artist for about six years.

    Waters is working toward this weekend’s 48th Mainsail Art Festival at Vinoy Park in St. Petersburg.

    It’s where more than 100,000 visitors will stroll the aisles of creators and their many works.

    “That is a huge deal, a huge art show,” Waters said.

    Art shows are how she meets her potential audience.

    That’s why getting accepted to show into Mainsail is so clutch for Waters.

    “My work when you see a picture of it, it doesn’t really convey the conventional and tactile nature of it,” Waters explained.

    When people realize there is no paint in these portraits, they come closer to understand. Their reactions let Waters know she’s created something they connect to too.

    “They always want to touch it,” she says, of curious adults.

    But she asks please to touch with your eyeballs.

    Waters is having an open house at her studio in DRV Gallery at 5401 Gulfport Boulevard.

    The date is Saturday, May 20, from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m.

    Spectrum Bay News 9 is one of the Mainsail Art Festival sponsors.

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    Virginia Johnson

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  • Passion for horror drives independent movie scene

    Passion for horror drives independent movie scene

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    RUSKIN, Fla. — Indie Horror movie lovers rejoice!

    The time has come for the Tampa Bay Scream Horror Convention, April 14-15 in Tampa.

    What You Need To Know

    • Tampa Bay Scream Horror Convention is coming up soon

    • It will be at the Holiday Inn Westshore Airport Location

    • Friday, April 14, 5 p.m. – 10 p.m.

    • Saturday, April 15, 12 p.m. – 5 p.m. 

    It’s courtesy of organizer Sean Donohue, describing the Indie horror scene for fans.

    “They can expect to see their favorite cult horror film stars. They can buy movies, posters T-shirts, they can take pictures,” said Donohue.

    One of the actors making an appearance is Tampa’s very own Joel Wynkoop.

    We caught up with him at a shoot location somewhere in the Ruskin woods. Wynkoop is making a feature length film of his 20-minute doomsday time travel apocalypse short “187 Times.”

    He says making movies is like a force of will.

    “Nothing is stopping anybody. People go, like, ‘It costs a lot of money to make a movie.’ Just throw some money together and make a move. It’s not that tough,” said Wynkoop.

    Wynkoop gets a lot of things done, thanks to tight connections — like producer actor director Sean Donohue and fellow filmmaker and wife Cathy Wynkoop.

    “She’s an executive producer. She’s also my associate producer, my script supervisor, and she’s always with me,” says Joel Wynkoop of his wife. 

    He’s maintained his movie making furor for decades by creating his own opportunities.

    “Well, way back when I really started, my agent wasn’t getting me a lot of work, so I was, like, ‘You know what you have to make lemonade out of lemons. I’ll start making my own movies and I’ll do what I want. I’ll star myself. I’ll get my own actors. I’ll do the casting.’”

    And he did.

    He does.

    And “187 Times” comes out later in 2023.

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    Virginia Johnson

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  • Sugar sand in Clearwater perfect medium for sculpting, finding love

    Sugar sand in Clearwater perfect medium for sculpting, finding love

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    CLEARWATER, Fla. —Susanne Ruseler is bending sand to her artistic will.

    She’s spraying a mound of it down with water.

    “Otherwise, the sand is all fluffy really and it doesn’t stick together,” she explained.

    Then she can pack it — pound it into shape with a trowel.

    Now it’s ready to sculpt for the Pier 60 Sugar Sand Festival on Clearwater Beach.

    Ruseler is working on her part of the “A Blast from the Past” theme.

    “This part of the sculpture is about the moon landing,” Ruseler explained.

    She is just standing behind a pretty good huge, rounded mound, with a cylinder of sand a couple of feet high sticking out of it.

    Ruseler is from the Netherlands — a biologist turned sand sculptor.

    And astronaut Neil Armstrong — is somewhere in that packed cylinder of sand.

    “So it’s gonna be a little figure I haven’t carved that yet. You can’t see it,” said Ruseler.

    She’s got some reference photos, but she’s got to interpret them for the medium.

    She can extend an arm too far without support, so hands need to be at the astronaut’s side.

    “I have to figure it out a little bit and I want to do the footstep,” said Ruseler, referring to an iconic photo of a footstep left on the moon from an astronaut’s boot.

    It was her first steps — turning her hobby in her profession — that changed her path in life.

    “I meet my colleagues all over the world,” Ruseler said. “It’s really nice. You see, it’s like a little family. You travel around, you meet in Japan or in Italy.”

    Or in love.

    Her partner and husband is fellow sculptor Canadian David Ducharme.

    “We live in our luggage,” Ducharme said, laughing, working on sand flowers.

    These traveling artists tackle joint projects and solo trips — coordinating their schedules, committed to their art — and each other.

    “Any conventional relationship is pretty challenging ‘cause there’s a lot of time away,” said Ducharme.

    “We work together quite a lot. It goes generally very well,” Ruseler said, laughing, shaveling said. “It’s really nice to travel together and to work together, yeah.”

    It’s one time building a relationship on a foundation of sand works.

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    Virginia Johnson

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  • St. Pete Tall Ships Festival offers a rare look into working history

    St. Pete Tall Ships Festival offers a rare look into working history

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    TAMPA BAY, Fla. — Alisha Bloodworth is a mast captain on the tall ship Elissa, one of seven tall ships coming together for the St. Petersburg Tall Ships Festival.

    What You Need To Know

    • The St. Pete Tall Ships Festival will host a total of seven tall ships

    • The event is taking place in the Port of St. Pete through April 2

    • The festival features boats tours, cruises and yoga

    • One ship, the 1877 Elissa, is 110 feet tall and 205 feet long

    Bloodworth directs crew members to carry out sailing commands — the mast captains are in red and the crew she directs wears blue.

    “It’s a lot of responsibility — a little stress,” she said. “You get more and more used to it.”

    “Right — I mean she’s been sailing for so long,” she added about her ship, the 1877 Elissa. “It holds up to a lot right — a lot of stress — a lot of tension.”

    Since 1877, the Scottish-built ship has survived, and has been refurbished and cared for by a crew out of Galveston, Texas.

    The ship is just over 100 feet high and 200 feet long, Bloodworth said.

    On the ship, the cacophony of ropes on the three-mast ship are somehow wrangled into place and sometimes, through sheer human strength.

    “We handle all of the lines here,” said Bloodworth, explaining on a ship like the Elissa, a rope is called a line.

    While at sea, the crews have to work together to set the ship to sail, Bloodworth said.

    “It’s a lot about team work right? You don’t set 19 sails on a 145-year-old tall ship by yourself,” she said.

    Every time the ship changes directions, a carefully choreographed dance begins, Bloodworth explained — people repeating orders, pulling lines in unison, unfurling and furling sails.

    “We like to make sure people get to experience that — see us all working together as a team,” she said.

    And it’s not just the visitors aboard the Elissa — Bloodworth said there’s also a near constant trailing flotilla sailing along with the Elissa.

    Bloodworth said the attention makes sense, as the three-mast ship is one of the oldest sailing vessels in the world.

    “It’s just incredible to see the support to see all the tall ships parading around, and really kind of celebrating the preservation of the tall ship history and the culture that goes along with it,” she said.

    A chemical engineer by training, Bloodworth said the camaraderie aboard the Elissa is what keeps her coming back.

    “These people have really kind of become my family,” she said of her fellow crew mates. “Honestly, I showed up eight years ago never having sailed anything before — not even a small boat — and they taught me everything, and I just keep showing up.”

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    Virginia Johnson

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  • City Pipe bands, visitors to open Highland Games in Dunedin

    City Pipe bands, visitors to open Highland Games in Dunedin

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    DUNEDIN, Fla. — The city of Dunedin is embracing some its first settlers’ roots — more than usual this weekend!

    What You Need To Know

    • The 55th Highland Games are taking place at Highlander Park, Dunedin

    • 8 a.m. opening ceremonies

    • Pipers, Dancers, Athletes and Clan Village 

    • 5:15 p.m. closing ceremonies

    Their 55th Highland Games celebrates the city’s Celtic roots — add that to the street names and city pipe bands.

    Festivities kick off Friday evening with a parade and party…all before Saturday’s main event.

    “We’re gonna shut down the street on Broadway and have our games kick-off party on the street,” said Eric MacNeill, head of the Highland Games.

    “We’ll have live music and vendors, of course some beverages, until 10 o’clock that night. So, it’s a pretty great way to start the weekend.”

    Iain Donaldson has a tough gig — tuning bagpipes.

    At a recent rehearsal, we got a look at how Donaldson runs the city’s pipe bands in Dunedin.

    And each instrument is a handful.

    “The bagpipe is almost constantly going out of tune because it’s so sensitive to heat or temperature and moisture,” said Donaldson.

    Donaldson’s leading the bagpipes for the Dunedin Highland Games, the band started in 1964.

    And he’s passing on the tradition to this latest generation of Dunedin pipers in Pinellas County, including his son Graham too.

    Graham has also devoted decades to the bagpipe.

    “You are constantly blowing into the instrument to make the noise come out,” Donaldson explained. “And when you take a breath, you have to squeeze with your other arm, and it has to maintain the same tone and pitch of the instrument throughout the time you are playing it. So, it’s quite an active instrument. There are no breaks really.”

    But Graham, like dad Iain, is a Donaldson devoted to this Dunedin tradition.

    “Well it’s rewarding if we can get it all together,” said Iain Donaldson. “The trick is to make 10 bagpipes sound like one.”

    The sound of the Scotland Highlands here in Dunedin continues.

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    Virginia Johnson

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  • Cool down at Gatorland’s Central Florida splash park

    Cool down at Gatorland’s Central Florida splash park

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    ORLANDO, Fla. — As the temps heat up, one Central Florida splash park is advertising itself as the place to cool down.

    “A splash park in Central Florida? I don’t know how you go to a theme park without a place to cool off,” said Gatorland President and CEO Mark McHugh.

    He showed Spectrum News new water features, like a massive dumping barrel.

    Elsewhere at Gator Gully Splash, he pointed out coconut palm sprayers, frogs that flood and well-placed Adirondack chairs to let the adults lean back.

    “Get a cold beverage from our Gator Gully general store and let the kids run off that energy off,” McHugh said.

    The 110-acre park started as a roadside attraction and is about stirring up memories of old Florida while showering guests with new experiences.

    Now through the end of March, Florida residents get half-off a single day admission ticket to Gatorland. The splash park is included in the price of admission.

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    Julie Gargotta

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  • Chasco Fiesta nine days of New Port Richey good times

    Chasco Fiesta nine days of New Port Richey good times

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    PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — Nine days of celebrating the rich heritage of native Americans and New Port Richey kick off Friday with the Chasco Fiesta.

    The longtime yearly celebration features a week-plus of food, fun, and entertainment with many events including a street parade, boat parade, Native American Pow Wow and a different genre of music every night.

    Among the event presenters is Otter Oliver, who represents the Cree and Dakota Tribes. Oliver is from White Bear, in Canada’s Saskatchewan Province, about two and a half hours north of Montana.

    What You Need To Know

    •  Chasco Fiestal, Sims Park, New Port Richey

    •  March 24th – April 1st

    •  Monday, March 27th: Native American Day with evening Performances on the Main Stage

    • Events include concerts, a car show, a boat parade, a street parade — event proceeds go to charity

    Oliver creates the Native American arts and education programming for the Chasco Fiesta in New Port Richey.

    The Chasco Festival starts Friday and runs for a week-plus at Sims Park in New Port Richey.

    His life’s work is to be a cultural bridge. He travels frequently for outreach and education. The festival’s name was inspired by legends of the Florida’s indigenous people and their Spanish captives.

    But Oliver gets to show people something real—like singing and performing with dancers Dustin and Creed Big Mountain.

    It’s a chance to educate and break stereotypes through positive, authentic cultural exchange.

    “Having Native people here to represent that,” said Oliver, “it’s an honor for us to do that.”

     

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    Virginia Johnson

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  • Art Garage Sale welcomes all creators

    Art Garage Sale welcomes all creators

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    TAMPA, Fla. — Art lovers celebrate! Trashy Treasures Art Garage Sale is upon the Tampa Bay area, in Dunedin.

    What You Need To Know

    • Dunedin Fine Art Center’s Trashy Treasures Weekend

    • Sat.: 6 p.m. – 8 p.m., admission $10, Free hot dog and drink 

    • Saturday night dress code is your version of a Trashy Treasure

    It’s time for Trashy Treasures, the one night, one day art garage sale at the Dunedin Fine Art Center. Saturday night, there’s a party selling donated art mostly through a live auction. And then on Sunday, it’s art plus everything used to make it.

    It’s one of the biggest fundraisers of the year for the DFAC.

    “So if you are a student of art, if you are an artist you don’t want to miss being here on Sunday because that is art, brushes, canvases and paints, fabric, galore,” said Catherine Bergmann, the Center’s Curatorial Director.

    Adrian Smith is an artist and teacher in addition to being the Gallery Shop Manager at DFAC. Like the other members of the DFAC, Smith is filled with gratitude.

    “It’s so fun for me as an artist to be in here and look at all the supplies and see what we have and see what people have been so gracious to donate to us,” said Smith.

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    Virginia Johnson

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  • SeaWorld goes all green for St. Patrick’s Day

    SeaWorld goes all green for St. Patrick’s Day

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    ORLANDO, Fla. — For the second year in a row, SeaWorld Orlando is going green all weekend long for St. Patrick’s Day.

    What You Need To Know

    • SeaWorld celebrates St. Patrick’s Day all weekend during the Seven Seas Food Festival

    • The park has added Irish themed food and festivities this weekend

    • The celebrations runs through Sunday

    • The Seven Seas Fest ends in May

    “It was absolutely something that we saw that no one else was really doing so we added it to our festival to once again keep that Seven Seas Festival fresh, and every weekend you come back there is something new to experience,” said Kyle Smith, Manager of Creative Show Operations at Sea World.

    The celebration is a feast for the senses with some fresh bites from the Irish market, like Irish Coddle and the Shamrock Sour, which is made with Jameson Irish Whiskey. 

    “It is amazing you’ve got to come and taste it,” said Smith.  

    Once your belly is full, you’ll be ready to do your own jig, watching performers who will transport you to the Emerald Isle.

    “We’ve added entertainment with traditional Irish dancing we have some schools coming in that are local to the Orlando area and showcasing their talents for all of our guests coming into the park,” said Smith. “We also have some added stilt walkers, some traditional Irish musicians roaming the parks well to add in to the fun.”

    Like the saying goes, everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day and SeaWorld hopes these festivities will help bring people together.

    “Festivals like St. Patrick’s Day, Mardi Gras, Cinco de Mayo, it is something for people to bond over whether it is food and drinking, whether it is dancing, the festivals and the season just brings people more joy,” said Smith. 

    All this makes for a party you don’t want to miss.

    “Grab an Irish dish or an Irish cocktail and green beer and come on out,” said Smith.

    If you can’t celebrate today, don’t worry, the celebration runs through Sunday. After that, SeaWorld will add a special Cinco De Mayo party to close out the Seven Seas Food Festival in May.


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    Nicole Griffin

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  • Awakening into the Sun offers a decade of peace in St. Pete

    Awakening into the Sun offers a decade of peace in St. Pete

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    ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Fred Johnson tells a story every time he touches an instrument.

    What You Need To Know

    • 10th Anniversary Awakening Festival

    • Saturday, March 11th, 10 a.m. – 7 p.m  & Sunday March 12th, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

    • North Straub Park, St. Petersburg

    • Artist Village, performers, indie market, yoga 

    His music is a language. The message is for healing through art.

    “We go to a different space in our being when we create. We create from a space and an energy of possibility, right?” said Johnson. “‘I’m imagining and discovering. So that’s a whole other opportunity that can be powerful and meaningful.”

    Johnson will take the stage on Saturday at the Awakening Festival. He creates west African beats on a Box drum.

    Slaves used boxes for percussion when stripped of their possessions. So, for Johnson, the drum itself is a symbol of resilience and continuity.

    “So you can’t take the tradition away,” explained Johnson, demonstrating the same beat from the box drum on his body. Johnson uses these unstoppable beats to change people’s perspective.

    “Good for your soul. They say the longest distance traveled is between the head and the heart,” said Johnson. “And if we look at the world today, it feels like a lot of people are way up here, and we’ve forgotten about our hearts. And the beauty of the rhythm of the drum is that it brings vou right into the heart.”

    For our weary hearts, Johnson offers his healing beats.

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    Virginia Johnson

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