Featured image: The St. Petersburg Community Band has approximately 75 musicians of all ages playing a variety of musical “from blues to big band, classical to Sousa, and just about everything in between.” Photo courtesy of the SPCB.

“Keeping a band playing for 50 years is quite an accomplishment,” said Matt Blaine, president of the St. Petersburg Community Band. “But that is exactly what this band of volunteer musicians has done.”

Since its start in 1975, the band has had many talented directors and is now under the direction of Dr. John Bannon, former Principal Timpanist with The Florida Orchestra until his retirement this year.… Read More

Photo: As a lifelong creative, French understands the profound importance of a thriving arts community. And as a performer, she’s no stranger to the spotlight. Photos courtesy of Helen French

There is a new face in local arts leadership, and her name is Helen French. Appointed executive director of the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance in August, this spry, energetic woman with sparkling eyes and red hair is thrilled to take the helm of this pivotal organization. 

Started by John Collins in 2012, the nonprofit SPAA supports our city’s vital arts community through fundraising and advocacy, and by sponsoring myriad creative initiatives, including popular Second Saturday Artwalk and SHINE Mural Festival, to name just a few. … Read More

The year is 1983. Michael Jackson’s Thriller is released. David Copperfield makes the Statue of Liberty disappear. Sally Ride breaks the glass ceiling into space. And on public television, Bob Ross, a man with big hair and a soft voice, introduces viewers to The Joy of Painting, filling living rooms and canvases with “happy little trees” for 31 seasons over the next 11 years. 

If you are old enough to remember that, congratulations! You’re eligible for healthy aging programs sponsored by Healthy St. Pete.

A division of the St. Petersburg Parks and Recreation Department, Healthy St. Pete’s mission is to make the healthy choice the easy choice, for all ages.… Read More

As the Northeast Journal’s 20th anniversary coincides with the September/October issue, it seems timely to look back at our area’s top haunted places. Some of these have been covered in the hallowed pages of prior NEJ issues, but we threw in a few extra – just for boo…

Perhaps the best-known haunted spot is one with its own big anniversary next year: St. Pete’s Pink Lady, the Vinoy Hotel. It was built by Aymer Vinoy Laughner, a wealthy businessman from Pennsylvania, at the urging of his party guests. He bought the land for $170,000, hired now-famous architect Henry Taylor (we will see him again in this article), and worked to finish the 375-room hotel in 10 months so that it could open on New Year’s Eve 1925. Its… Read More

This being an anniversary issue, we’ve got one more to mention. This year marks the first time a woman took a scheduled flight, 110 years ago, right here in St. Pete. Sound easy? Take a look at that plane and spare a thought for how daring she truly was. The local news seemed to think so. 

Woman Will Fly with Jannus on Trip to Tampa. That was the headline in the paper on January 2, 1914. The article went on to report: “Miss Mae Peabody, of Dubuque, Iowa, will be the first woman to take a trip in an aeroplane on a regular run between two cities and will be the first passenger on the first regular trip of the St.… Read More

Shuffleboard is fun! Hanging out with friends and making new ones? Also fun! Raising money for an incredibly good cause, while playing shuffleboard with friends and enjoying delicious food and drink? Right this way to the Ready to Shuffle charity event at St. Petersburg Shuffleboard Club on Thursday, November 7. 

The second annual benefit for Ready for Life, a skill center that supports former foster care youth, offers attendees fun, refreshments, and the heartfelt satisfaction of helping those who need it. Whether you’re a regular shuffler or just curious, all are invited to come out for a cause that offers “homelessness prevention, education and employment, and lifeline support networks” for former foster youth.… Read More

Recently I sat down with the owner of St. Pete’s indie Green Light Cinema, Mike Hazlett, who explained his mission simply: “We want to bring perspective and art from all over the world to the St. Pete community.” It’s been a journey to get here.

Mike tells me he first learned the movie business in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where he managed a 900-seat theater for eight years and worked at learning all aspects of the industry. He then moved into running a 2,000-seat movie theater in Portland, Maine for another seven years. Performing arts and film, he tells me, are in his blood. … Read More

Halley’s comet last appeared in 1986 and will next appear in 2061. The celestial body appears cyclically every 75 to 79 years and has been observed and recorded as early as 240 BCE. But it was not until 1705 that astronomer Edmond Halley determined the cyclical appearances were reappearances of the same comet. And thus, the comet was named after him. The comet itself is composed of a nucleus described by some scientists as a “rubble pile” of ice, dust, and frozen methane, and a “coma” or tail composed of volatiles like water, methane, ammonia, and carbon dioxide.

In 1986, Soviet probes Vega 1 and 2 made fly-bys of the comet and took the first images of its nucleus.… Read More

Traditionally, operatic stories are filled with melodrama, romance, and adventure. Chaim Freiberg’s latest book, Lily Flowers Finds Love (and Other Tales of Passion), published by St. Petersburg Press last year, has all those qualities, but with a twist: these opera fantasy stories all take place in now-shuttered opera houses.

“The stories are all inspired by real people, real places, and real opera houses that are no more,” said Freiberg, who has given several talks on his book at Studio@620 as well as Barnes and Noble. At these events he invokes some of the mysterious people, places, and opera houses that stirred him to divine these legends.… Read More

In 1972, Hurricane Agnes skirted the Tampa Bay area and made landfall near Apalachicola. Newspaper accounts of the flooding Agnes brought to Shore Acres might be mistaken for stories written about the impact of Hurricane Idalia, which followed a similar path at the end of August 2023. In both Agnes and Idalia, residents scrambled to find high ground for cars, appliances, and belongings. The high tide crested seawalls, came up storm drains, filled the streets, and then made its way into homes. 

There are important differences between Agnes and Idalia, however. On the June night that Agnes swept past us toward the panhandle, city and county officials thought impact would be minimal.… Read More