Culture

The 18th Annual Through Women’s Eyes International Film Festival is Saturday, April 1, and Sunday, April 2 at the Regal Hollywood in Sarasota. It features movies by and about women and benefits the U.S. National Committee for UN (United Nations) Women.

WUSF's Lisa Peakes talks with festival's Artistic Director Ann Fries about some of the films and the festival's impact:

https://www.throughwomenseyes.com/

Strolling through the halls of the University of South Florida School of Music you can hear students in various practice rooms. But inside Director of Jazz Studies Jack Wilkins' office, teachers are rehearsing too.

MLB spring training is well underway, and there's a lot of talk about multimillion dollar renovations at Tampa Bay area stadiums. They're supported in part by local tax dollars.

The Detroit Tigers have unveiled a revamped facility in Lakeland. The New York Yankees have done the same in Tampa, and Dunedin is planning upgrades for the Toronto Blue Jays. Sarasota County is opting to start from ground zero, potentially investing in a new $75 million facility for the Atlanta Braves.

The medieval era often comes alive through books or movies, but once a year, the time of the renaissance becomes tangible in Tampa.

Saint Patrick's Day is coming up Friday, March 17.  And the Irish band The Chieftains is getting the party started this Wednesday night at the Lakeland Center.

The Chieftains are celebrating 55 years together. Founding member Paddy Moloney says the music means everything to him.

"You know, it's just like eating food and having a good drink. You know,  I must play music as well to keep my whole senses going. You know, it's an essential part," he said.

The country's top three music festivals grossed about $130 million dollars last year. But several other well-known multi-day music events managed to lose money and some were outright canceled.

But the same can't be said for two relative newcomers to the festival scene, and both are in Tampa Bay.

It was early Friday morning when someone set fire to a mosque in New Tampa. An investigation is underway. People from the Council for American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim advocacy group, want the incident to be investigated as a hate crime. 

But, the faith community is looking beyond what has happened. 

He's an artist, a pigeon fancier and a tattoo artist. Brooklyn-based Duke Riley has found a muse in the lowly pigeon. It's a bird often derided as a sort of "rat with wings" or something dirty. But Riley says nothing could be further from the truth. 

There is a violin shop in Tel Aviv, whose owner has spent the past two decades repairing violins that belonged to Jewish musicians during the holocaust.

These "Violins of Hope," he says, give a voice to the voiceless.

After 10 years and 10 plays, an epic production in St. Petersburg will soon take its final bow.  

With its current production of “Joe Turner's Come and Gone" by August Wilson, American Stage is now one of just 12 theaters in the world to complete the late playwright's "American Century Cycle."

WUSF's Susan Giles Wantuck caught up with New York Times bestselling author Brad Meltzer recently to talk about his latest book.

It's a children's biography of legendary puppeteer, Jim Henson. But Meltzer says he's best known for writing thrillers. In fact, he jokes that he "kills people" for a living.

The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is in Tampa for some of its last shows. While crews were busy at the Amalie Arena Tuesday setting up for the tour, a small group of performers put on a kind of mini-circus at the Straz Center.

Hispanic artists have long been part of the visual landscape in Florida and in other parts of the country. But often, Latino art is overlooked. That's why the Smithsonian American Art Museum is growing its collection of Latino art and created an exhibit to reflect America's evolving culture. That show is now on the road and currently in St. Petersburg. 

This New Year can be a time to simplify, and if you're looking to clear your head and clear your space, Tabitha Blue of FreshMommyBlog.com says start by gathering and grouping items by category.

For example, pull out all of your dishes to you really see what you have and what you no longer need, she says.

One of Tampa's most historic buildings has been given a futuristic makeover. The Fort Homer Hesterly Armory hosted Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, the Doors, and President John F. Kennedy four days before he was assassinated.

Thursday, it reopened as the Bryan Glazer Family JCC.

This Christmas, a new movie based on Dennis Lehane's "Live By Night" is coming out. It's a story about a wayward son of a Boston cop who moves to Tampa's Ybor City and gets into bootlegging and becomes a gangster. Author Lehane divides his time between his native Boston and Florida, where he teaches creative writing.