The Grayl’s Hotel is pleased to welcome back Indy Lights series race car driver Junior Strous (team HVM Racing) for the 2010 St. Petersburg Grand Prix. Junior will be piloting the Number 6 Shell/HVM car in the Firestone Indy Lights series events from March 25th – 28th, 2010. Follow Junior on Twitter at http://twitter.com/juniorstrous

Please join us in wishing Junior the best of luck in his races at the Grand Prix!

Each year since 1995, some of the biggest names in blues music have taken the stage at the Tampa Bay Blues Festival in St. Petersburg, Florida. Blues enthusiasts from all over the world come to scenic Vinoy Park to watch this spectacular showcase of American Blues music, performed right on the waterfront. With acres of plush grass and palm trees, Vinoy Park is the perfect tropical setting for one of the world’s biggest and best blues concerts.

For 2010, the Tampa Bay Blues Festival is scheduled for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, April 9, 10, & 11, with musical acts Jimmie Vaughan, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, J.J. Grey & Mofro, Bettye Lavette, Little Ed and the Blues Imperials, Magic Slim, Joe Lewis Walker, Shemekia Copeland and many more. With a state-of-the-art PA system, this year promises to be one of the biggest events on the Tampa Bay music scene, and one of the most popular Tampa Bay attractions.

Tampa Bay Blues Festival has established itself as one of the world’s preeminent blues concerts, having presented over 250 of the world’s greatest live blues musical performers. Over the years our stage has welcomed legends such as Buddy Guy, George Thorogood, Taj Mahal, Robert Cray, Delbert McClinton, Little Feat, Jonny Lang, Los Lobos, Jerry Lee Lewis, Koko Taylor, Jimmie Vaughan, Irma Thomas, Susan Tedeschi, and others, in what has truly become a magnificent celebration of music!

Throughout the festival grounds, you will enjoy tasty food, including seafood, barbeque, Cuban cuisine, and other culinary treats. Festival vendors also include arts & crafts. Premium beer and wine are also available.

The Tampa Bay Blues Festival prides itself on providing the very best in live blues entertainment, in an ideal tropical setting. Proceeds from the event benefit our charity partner, Pinellas Association for Retarded Children. Please make your plans to attend the Tampa Bay Blues Festival in 2010, and join us for three great days of Blues by the Bay! Visit www.tampabaybluesfest.com for tickets.

Make your hotel reservations for the 2010 Tampa Bay Blues Festival from April 9th-11th at the historic Grayl’s Hotel on Beach Drive in downtown St. Petersburg with beautiful views of the Tampa Bay waterfront and just a short walk from Vinoy Park. After a fun day of Blues at the Bay, relax and enjoy a delicious dinner and some refreshing drinks at our 1920’s-themed Gatsby’s Restaurant where you can wind down in the elegance of our dark polished teak dining room or enjoy a romantic dinner on our elevated patio overlooking Straub Park and the Tampa Bay waterfront.

Rock and Roll Hall of Famers ZZ Top and John Fogerty will be among the acts performing at Tropicana Field this summer as part of the Rays popular Summer Concert Series presented by Hess Express. The Rays today announced five of their 10 scheduled postgame concerts.

Rays fans will also have the opportunity to see Grammy Award-winning hip hop artist Nelly, seven-time platinum recording artists Daryl Hall and John Oates, and the Go-Go’s, whose first album sold over 3 million copies in 1981.

The concerts are free with the purchase of that night’s game ticket. As part of its Saturday partnership, Hess Express will have an exclusive in-store ticket offer.

Tickets for these games and all other Rays home games are available online February 26, and will be available February 27 at the Tropicana Field Box Office, Rays Tampa Office & Pro Shop, via the Rays official website (raysbaseball.com or raysbeisbol.com), all Ticketmaster locations and by calling 888-FAN-RAYS.

The Rays will also add postgame concerts to the following Saturday dates: June 12 vs. the Florida Marlins; June 26 vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks; August 14 vs. the Baltimore Orioles; September 18 vs. the Los Angeles Angels; and September 25 vs. the Seattle Mariners.

Make your hotel reservations for the 2010 Tampa Bay Rays home games at the elegant Grayl’s Hotel on Beach Drive in downtown St. Petersburg with beautiful views of the Tampa Bay waterfront and only minutes from Tropicana Field.

Tickets for the 2010 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, which will be held March 26 – 28, are currently on sale,and are available online at www.gpstpete.com or by calling 877.283.5385.

For the first time since the event debuted in 2005, the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will feature five classes of motorsports racing through the streets of downtown St. Petersburg. The main event will once again be the running of the IZOD IndyCar Series and the Firestone Indy Lights. This year, event organizers have added the return of the World Challenge Championship, including both GT and Touring classes, and the open wheel racing of the Star Mazda Championship Series and the U.S. F2000 National Championship series.

In addition to world-class racing, the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg features a number of interactive activities for race fans in the Bright House Speed Zone and concerts on the stage in the Honda Plaza.

Tickets for the event range in price from $25 for adult general admissions tickets to $110 for an adult three-day reserved seat pass. Three-day general admission passes are $45 and a general admission ticket for Sunday’s featured races is $40. Reserved seat for Sunday range from $60 for seats in the lower rows to $80 for seats in the upper rows and three-day reserved seat passes start at $85. Reduced rate tickets are available for juniors, ages 12 and under, in certain ticket categories.

“The 2010 schedule at the Honda Grand Prix is packed with exciting racing,” said Tim Ramsberger, vice president and general manager of the event. “We have kept our ticket prices at the same level for the past four years and we are looking forward to staging another great event in St. Petersburg this March.” The Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is run on a 1.8-mile, 14-turn waterfront circuit that includes a combination of adjacent downtown streets circling Pioneer Park, the Bayfront Center and extending onto runways at Albert Whitted Airport that overlook the Bay and picturesque St. Petersburg Harbor and Marina.

For more information on the 2010 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, visit www.gpstpete.com.

Make your hotel reservations for the 2010 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg from March 25th – 28th at the historic Grayl’s Hotel on Beach Drive in downtown St. Petersburg with beautiful views of the Tampa Bay waterfront and only blocks away from the track. After a fun day at the races, relax and enjoy a delicious dinner and some refreshing drinks at our Gatsby’s Restaurant where you can wind down in the elegance of our dark polished teak dining room or enjoy a romantic dinner on our elevated patio overlooking Straub Park and the Tampa Bay waterfront.

Crawfish Festival

Enjoy fiery foods, music and dancing at the 10th Annual Cajun/Zydeco Crawfish Festival in Vinoy Park, March 12 to 14. Plus, 10,000 lbs. of Crawfish, a 30,000 sq. ft. pavilion, arts & crafts and a kid’s tent along with The Porch Dogs, Geno Delafose & French Rockin’ Boogie, Don Fontenot & Les Amis De La Louisiane and others! Shuttle stops: Tickets: www.CajunConnection.org

The Chihuly Collection, a permanent installation of Seattle artist Dale Chihuly’s internationally acclaimed glass art pieces, is scheduled to open July 4th weekend in its location at 400 Beach Drive NE in downtown St. Petersburg, just one block away from the historic Grayl’s Hotel.

The Chihuly Collection’s Beach Drive location will be 10,000 square feet, with 76% of that dedicated to the art. Tampa architect Albert Alfonso explained that the collection “will be a sequence of spaces, not like a traditional museum,” in which patrons will proceed through a roughly chronological loop, beginning with Chihuly’s earliest work and ending with a “grand finale”

The historic Grayl’s Hotel on Beach Drive in downtown St. Petersburg is located just one block away from this sure-to-be awe-inspiring collection. Make your hotel reservations now for your visit to the Chihuly Collection at the historic Grayl’s Hotel, with beautiful views of the Tampa Bay waterfront and only blocks away from the track. After visiting the Collection, relax and enjoy a delicious dinner and some refreshing drinks at our Gatsby’s Restaurant where you can wind down in the elegance of our dark polished teak dining room or enjoy a romantic dinner on our elevated patio overlooking Straub Park and the Tampa Bay waterfront.

Work begins on the Chihuly Collection in St. Petersburg – St. Petersburg Times

FEBRUARY 20TH, 2010 — GO TO WWW.STPETESUNSETROTARY.ORG TO PURCHASE YOUR TICKET FOR
1920′S THEME PARTY TO BENEFIT “HEELS TO HEAL” AND ROTARY OF ST PETERSBURG SUNSET