Looking for fun and adventure this weekend? Here are our major picks of events taking place in the Tampa Bay and Orlando areas:
Orlando area
Great Orlando Craft Beer Festival
Every August, "hop heads" citywide celebrate with the Great Orlando Craft Beer Festival. aXis Magazine and 17 of the nation’s finest breweries take over downtown’s favorite craft beer haunts to sample tasty brews. Enjoy a tasty 5 ounce sample at each of the 17 favorite downtown drinking destinations! The World of Beer is the first stop for registration and a refreshing brew to get started, along with some great lunch specials! The fun starts at 3 p.m. Saturday at 15 N. Orange Ave. (Wall Street Plaza). Cost is $20-$30.
Back-to-School Events
Free back-to-school event during Florida's tax-free weekend, with activities, discounts, prizes and representatives from News 13, Orlando City Soccer and the Orlando Magic. The free event is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Seminole Towne Center, 200 Towne Center Circle.
A "Back 2 School Bash" is from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at Camping World Stadium, 1 Citrus Bowl Place, Orlando. This event offers 10,000 backpacks, school supplies, 1,500 haircuts, 400 dental screenings and 500 health screenings. Parking is free.
Curveball: A Pokémon Art Show
A free group show of Pokémon-themed art. The event is from noon to 8 p.m. Saturday at The Hourglass Brewery, 255 S. Ronald Reagan Blvd., Longwood.
Here are even more Central Florida events in our On The Town calendar for Central Florida.
Tampa Bay area
The Beach Tampa
As much fun as you can have at the ‘beach’ without actually going anywhere near water. This architectural marvel conceived by Snarkitecture creates an “ocean” of 1.2 million white plastic balls in a 15,000 square foot space, in this case the floor of Amalie Arena. Organizers call it “part science lesson, part art installation,” but it looks like all fun. Visit thebeachtampa.com for tickets and parking vouchers. 401 Channelside Drive, Tampa.
Tampa Bay Comic Con
Just a few weeks after Metrocon took over the Tampa Bay Convention Center with anime-focused nerdiness, here comes Tampa Bay Comic Con, running Friday through Sunday. Featuring Star Wars’ Ian McDiarmid (“Emperor Palpatine”), Game of Thrones’ Jack Gleeson (“Joffrey Baratheon”), and Sean Astin of Lord of the Rings fame as its headliners, TBCC will also bring a slew of comic book writers and artists to its artists’ alley, plus vendors, panel discussions and more. Single-day tickets run $30-$40, while a weekend pass costs $60 per person. Guests 12 and younger get in free. For more info on guests and events, visit tampabaycomiccon.com. 333 Franklin St., Tampa.
Ikebana Exhibition
Learn more about Ichiyo flower arrangement at this annual exhibition, hosted by Allegro St. Petersburg. Starting at 1 p.m. Saturday, attendees can purchase ikebana flower arrangements, and at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, they can witness a demonstration by ikebana artist Jeanne Houlton and her students. Admission to the event is free. Registration is required to attend the floral demonstration. 4600 54th Ave., St. Petersburg. For more information, call (727) 864-1478.
And here are even more Tampa-area events in our On The Town calendar for Tampa Bay.