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I don't want this to get modded into oblivion, so if you have any other points on this topic, feel free to send me a message. But I'll just say that the libertarian movement is stronger than the media would let you believe, I'm attending the Ron Paul event at the Sun Dome the day before the RNC and I'm pretty sure they're expecting a packed house. If you drove by USF during the Tampa debates, you would've only seen Ron Paul posters, I think maybe one Gingrich and one Santorum poster. But Fox, CNN, etc get to decide what's on TV and therefore get to decide what "popular opinion" is.
But like I said feel free to send me a message, I like to discuss politics but some people don't appreciate it so I'd rather do it in private. And if you're feeling adventurous, come out to the Ron Paul event and see what it's all about. I'll be volunteering for the Libertarian Party and promoting Gary Johnson. I'm pretty easy to talk to about politics and I'm a democrat-turned-libertarian with one republican mother and a democrat dad, so I won't go into petty name calling etc.
I work in the media, I been to a bunch of Ron Paul events, including covering a march for life event in DC, that's when I jumped off that wagon, I understand he was probably pandering to the base of that event. At any rate not to get down on the libertarians, at this point I applaud any change to our political system. The media doesn't vote, this is still a 2 party system, I hope it changes, i do think there is a strong indication that once baby boomers fade out there can be real change.
I saw it happen in Seattle and Austin. Both places known for their natural beauty and now both are concrete jungles. Seattle has a good downtown which is the center of the metro area... which is nice. Austin is sprawl, you drive on highways for miles and miles and see nothing but asphalt and strip malls.
Austin is sprawling concrete jungle with miles and miles of highways, asphalt, and strip malls ? Man... I've lived in Houston too long..
That is pure bull****! (BS= Bachelor's in Stupidity)
There is no entertainment in the burbs! There are no theaters here, (aside from MOVIE theaters which don't count since I can rent that type of content with my TV remote, and sit comfy on my own couch without anyone chewing pop corn in my ears, and cough all over me! Thanks)
This is PRECISELY the dumbing down of this society that i am talking about! Making a ridiculous assumption that just because someone is looking to raise a family, that equals they are through with going out to see a classical concert, a ballet, or a good quality Broadway show!
Do you think us, the ones with families, are all stupid, and all we care about is getting fat and watch TV 24/7? cause I can assure you that while there IS a portion of the population in the USA that happily does that, there is another portion that doesn't do that AT ALL, and resents the fact that good quality entertainment is non-existent, when it should be available without an issue!
Look, I don't know you and you don't know me. Please don't assume that you know me, and I won't do the same to you. In fact, I grew up participating in orchestras and chamber music recitals throughout high school and college, and I have attended a few symphonies. I would like nothing more for the musicians here to make enough money so they can play concerts several times a week. One of the most fabulous things I've ever seen were piano quartets in Munich playing Mozart out on the streets of downtown, and I would love to see that here. So don't assume that I'm an idiot or have "misplaced priorities" just because I'm young. THIS IS MY POINT!!
All I'm saying is that you made a choice to live in the burbs in Tampa. I hope you knew what you were getting into when you made that choice. If you wanted better art scene, you could have gone to live in NYC, but you made the choice to live here, probably not because of what downtown had to offer, but because some amenities in the suburbs. I don't know the exact reason and I won't presume. You should be lucky that you even have a symphony to go to. Tampa/St. Pete has one of the best art scenes in Florida...combined with convenient suburban living (you won't find a combination of those two things most places), and yet here you demand more. Which is a good thing, because if society never demanded more we would never get more! But you have to be realistic about it.
My point is that, IN MY OPINON, putting all of the money into increasing the art scene (and decreasing sports) won't draw enough people or money to downtown specifically. You say that this is wrong and is the dumbing down of society, but it's just smart economics. It's catering to what people want. And just because people want different things than you do doesn't mean they are dumber than you. Somehow you have yet to realize this.
Last edited by tampagator89; 08-15-2012 at 12:23 PM..
Isn't it pretty typical though, to drive to a town center for arts & entertainment? I've lived in London, where I made frequent trips to the West End to see plays and musicals. Yes, there is fringe theatre in London, but as previous posters pointed out, there are community and school theatre projects throughout Tampa. One of my friends is involved in a production company in Carrollwood, and I believe they put on two or three plays a year.
As for Broadway shows, am I mistaken, or doesn't TPAC put on Broadway shows? I saw a performance of "Phantom of the Opera" there years ago. I've also seen Jobsite productions. I saw Sting perform with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Ampitheatre a few years ago. As you can probably guess, I'm a big fan of the arts.
BUT I also love sports. When I lived in Tampa, I went to Bucs games when I could (although I'm a Saints fan). I've been to many Lightning, Rays and Storm games. And as a huge soccer fan, I was delighted when the Rowdies came back to town.
My point is, I think Tampa has a great balance of the arts and sports, without being - or needing to be - a huge pretentious metropolis like NYC.
Be careful, when I posted that sentiment the other day, I was called a liar.
You're both right though. A lot of people were born/grew up here, but most move away after high school or college. Then there are the large contingency of people that moved here from up north, including the retirees. Then there are the transients. And finally there are the people who are born here and stay here.
You only have to go to a Rays-Red Sox/Yankees game or Bucs-Steelers game to see the truth.
But in a way, this goes back to the OP's point about the bay area's popularity. I see so many posts about how people hate it here, and yet there are several million people in the area...most who come down here to live by choice.
Kash... Straz Center Broadway Season Tickets
The best seats come to $78.25 per person. That is a great promotion by Bank of America. I think this is one is totally worth the money. I wish they had more ballet performances, as they have Broadway.
A Disney ticket is $89.00 1-Day One Park
A good seat (in the 136 area of the Stadium) is $108
5 people at MOSI for one day $92.75+tax + $4 in parking
The point is that they are not more expensive than some other venues around. They all circle around the same price range. Circue du Soleil is $99 per person too.
We like annual passes a lot...saves me the aggravation of having to add this type of stuff into a monthly budget and we usually get all of our annual passes at tax time! LOL I "would" be broke if I had to pay for individual shows.
To:tampagator89
I am not looking to have the kind of entertainment "I" am looking for in the burbs because that would kill the idea of going out IMO! The burbs are where we live, buy groceries, take the kids to school, and that's about it for me. BTW I grew up in the middle of the city. The "burbs" were a totally new animal for me, and my taste. I like down town Tampa, and I would hang out downtown more often if they had some of the other shows I want to see. We already have the passes above. I expressed concern regarding ballet titles. They only have a few, usually the stereotypes, and that becomes boring after a while. I can make you a list of at least 25 titles that would amaze the people of Tampa. It takes me 20/25 minutes to get downtown...and 1 1/2 to get to Sarasota...which one do you think I would do more often? I like to go out and see a stage show every two weeks....take my Mickey Ears off in exchange for some beautiful classical music.
Also, for who said they've been in London...have you been to Covent Garden? Royal Opera House? Paris has its own Opera House for hundreds of years...Berlin State Opera and so on.....there is a HUGE difference between a performing arts center, and an actual Opera. Miami City Ballet has its headquarters at the Jackie Gleason theater, just as Orlando Ballet always performs at the Bob Carr theater. What we have in Tampa is a "general place" basically where they have them all mixed together in one place, but none of them have their own permanent locations, which is pretty sad for a city the size of Tampa.
Last but not least I think the city should do a better job at catering to the people who WANT to live here, and CARE about living here.
I did not get a survey by phone/email/mail to ask me if I wanted to have a stand alone ballet theater here like Miami City Ballet for example! You have to offer it, Joe ME can't do much about it unless I'd win the lottery....Peter Stark used to manage Orlando Ballet for example back in 2003, now he's here, why not help him create a stand alone theater?
You're both right though. A lot of people were born/grew up here, but most move away after high school or college. Then there are the large contingency of people that moved here from up north, including the retirees. Then there are the transients. And finally there are the people who are born here and stay here.
You only have to go to a Rays-Red Sox/Yankees game or Bucs-Steelers game to see the truth.
But in a way, this goes back to the OP's point about the bay area's popularity. I see so many posts about how people hate it here, and yet there are several million people in the area...most who come down here to live by choice.
The demographics have changed so much since I was a kid in school in Hillsborough County. I, like many others I've known, left for better opportunities in other states. Most people that relocate to Florida from the North have money or have their own businesses. A lot of them hate it and move back though. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to move back to Tampa, but I'm sure it's not the same place I left and I'd probably be miserable there.
As for all the arts, museums, cultural things, blah, blah, blah..
We have the 2nd largest collection of museum's, performing arts, ect, ect, in the US (2nd to New York) in Houston we have an entire arts district. I've been a time or two, and they're popular, but Football, Baseball, and Basketball will always outdraw the performing arts. It's a matter of life, this is the South.
Kash...
Also, for who said they've been in London...have you been to Covent Garden? Royal Opera House? Paris has its own Opera House for hundreds of years...Berlin State Opera and so on.....there is a HUGE difference between a performing arts center, and an actual Opera. Miami City Ballet has its headquarters at the Jackie Gleason theater, just as Orlando Ballet always performs at the Bob Carr theater. What we have in Tampa is a "general place" basically where they have them all mixed together in one place, but none of them have their own permanent locations, which is pretty sad for a city the size of Tampa.
No, I didn't see any ballet or opera in London. But I have seen the Bolshoi in Moscow, and Swan Lake on a touring production in Boston. While I can appreciate the beauty and grace of ballet, it's not something I would choose to go and watch on a regular basis.
As for opera, I can't recall ever seeing an opera, perhaps I should consider putting that right.
The difference is that London, Paris and Berlin are all capitals and world-class cities. I would expect the US equivalents, such as Washington DC and New York, to have equivalent venues for specific arts.
I am not looking to have the kind of entertainment "I" am looking for in the burbs because that would kill the idea of going out IMO! The burbs are where we live, buy groceries, take the kids to school, and that's about it for me. BTW I grew up in the middle of the city. The "burbs" were a totally new animal for me, and my taste. I like down town Tampa, and I would hang out downtown more often if they had some of the other shows I want to see. We already have the passes above. I expressed concern regarding ballet titles. They only have a few, usually the stereotypes, and that becomes boring after a while. I can make you a list of at least 25 titles that would amaze the people of Tampa. It takes me 20/25 minutes to get downtown...and 1 1/2 to get to Sarasota...which one do you think I would do more often? I like to go out and see a stage show every two weeks....take my Mickey Ears off in exchange for some beautiful classical music.
I probably misread the context of your posts. I thought you were one of those people who lived here and didn't like anything about Tampa. As you can imagine, those people can get kind of irritating.
I like that there are people out there like you who are championing the importance of the arts in today's society. We need that, especially for someone like me who is a big supporter of the expansion of classical music. Unfortunately, you and I are probably in the vast minority. I don't think downtown wants to neglect the arts by any means, nor should it, but probably a lot of the money available for improvement is going into things that cater to those who are willing to move there (and thus spend all their money there nightly, where everything is more expensive) rather than those who are wanting to move to the suburbs and find entertainment in downtown every once in a while. Because most people who have lived in Tampa for the last decade or so are probably used to finding all of their entertainment inside the burbs, except for a select few like yourself. But even if the improvements are a couple of mid-rise mixed use apartments with a few bars and a grocery store, I think that's exciting, because it's a stepping stone towards greater things, such as an expanded transportation system, a new baseball park, or additional rear ends in those seats for classical concerts.
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