St. Petersburg is an events mecca. An innovative co-sponsorship fund allows the city to help organizers offset the cost of hosting events. Last year, 82 events received co-sponsorship assistance.
Recreation:
The new Wildwood Community Center sets a standard for recreation facilities. Located in Midtown, the $4.55 million project has two collegiate basketball courts, bleacher seating, a 2,800 square foot multi-purpose room with catering facilities, computer lab, arts and crafts room, teen center and entire 4,500 square foot wing dedicated to Youth Arts Corp, an education and outreach program for teens through the Pinellas County Arts Council.
St. Petersburg operates 12 recreation centers, five adult centers, and eight pools, with a new aquatics center at Childs Park to open this year. Last year, Recreation recorded a total attendance of 1.8 million people for events, playcamps, teen programs, fee classes, swimming lessons, rentals and more.
Nine teen centers engaged more than 30,000 young people last year through sports leagues, special events, teen dances, educational programs, adult-youth partnerships, school collaboratives and creation of a teen magazine, Impressions. Recognized with a statewide award, St. Petersburg’s teen programs have earned a national reputation.
A challenging, award winning golf experience can be found at St. Petersburg's Mangrove Bay, Twin Brooks and Cypress Links Golf Courses. Last year, the city's three public courses hosted 154,136 rounds of golf.
Sensational:
Sunken Gardens, one of Florida’s first roadside attractions and now a beautiful city-owned botanical garden, welcomed visitors with its dazzling varieties of flora and fauna. Special events, such as the annual Butterfly Festival, Japanese Exotic Fruit Festival, and the Victorian Stroll, were complemented by educational demonstrations and youth camps.
Culture Coast:
St. Petersburg has emerged as a cultural capital in the Southeast. It hosts 900 events for the public each year, attracting 10 million people to sunsplashed festivals, theater under the stars, gallery openings, downtown street concerts, Broadway on stage, lively sporting events and more. Seven downtown museums, more than two dozen art galleries, the city’s unique network of special facilities and a legacy of nurturing the arts in St. Petersburg create a dynamic arts environment.
Last year, the Mahaffey Theater welcomed 153,000 patrons as the performing arts center combined the well-loved intimacy of the theater with diverse and world class artists, such as Wynton Marsalis, Julie Harris, Robert Mirabal, Mark Morris Dance Group, Eileen Ivers and many others. The Mahaffey is joined by the Bayfront Center’s Times Arena, the Coliseum, The Pier and Tropicana Field in a network of city-owned entertainment venues.
Millennium Gateway, by St. Petersburg artist Alex Klahm, was commissioned by the Public Art Commission and dedicated at BayWalk. Since the Percent for the Arts program began in 1990, 16 public art projects have been completed. Five more are currently underway.
The Downtown Arts Association, an organization representing more than two dozen art galleries, promotes a monthly Saturday evening gallery walk.
Last year, the city’s six libraries served 878,547 patrons, and were recognized nationally for the Born to Read/Baby Steps program.
Looking toward the future, St. Petersburg’s libraries embarked on a master plan process for the Main Library and Azalea Branch Library. Construction is beginning for two new libraries in St. Petersburg – a new Johnson Branch Library next to the Enoch Davis Center and a new South Branch Library.
St. Petersburg celebrated 40 years of its sister city relationship with Takamatsu, Japan last year. A special exhibition was held at the Museum of History. Other East Meets West events included the dedication of a Japanese garden at Sunken Gardens.
The PRESIDENT'S CIRCLE of Coldwell Banker
Attractions:
