Local News in Pinellas County
Community news from our local sources
Pinellas County 154 storiesWiden to Tampa Bay

Tony Award-winning musical ‘Passing Strange’ opens at Studio@620 June 11-21
BY ISIS CLIMES Erica Sutherlin will direct Passing Strange, winner of 3 Drama Desk awards and the Tony for Best Musical, opening at Studio@620 June 11 and running through June 21. From the rhythmic mind of singer-songwriter and performance artist Stew Stewart comes a rock-musical…

Award-winning actor, filmmaker Cranstan Cumberbatch teaches free acting classes in Clearwater starting June 2
BY ZEMI JENKINS | Contributor ST. PETERSBURG — What does creativity and emotional intelligence have to do with future success and employability? According to Yale School of Medicine in its report “Emotions, Creativity and The Arts,” six out of 10 skills listed in The World…

Open Studio Night: An Art Walk for the Artists
St. Petersburg has a thriving art scene, with crowds flocking to shows and galleries every second saturday for Art Walk. But when do the artists get to go? In March, artist Luci Westphal started her latest initiative – a special night before the art walks where various art groups…

Mother’s Day and More at St. Pete’s Museum of Motherhood
Barbara Lynch believes St. Petersburg got a rare gift when Martha Joy Rose brought the Museum of Motherhood from New York to The Factory St. Pete. “I feel like St. Petersburg was blessed with this,” Lynch said, “because, you know, she could have gone anywhere.” For Mother’s Day,…

Kindred Spirits: Photographers Edward Curtis and E. G. Barnhill
The James Museum of Western and Wildlife Art recently held an exhibit celebrating the work of acclaimed photographer and ethnologist Edward S. Curtis. Best known for his monumental early 20th-century publication of the North American Indian , Curtis took photos of indigenous…

John Lodwick: St. Pete’s City Publicity Genius
Babe Ruth is rightly credited with putting St. Pete on the national map, as early St. Pete Mayor and baseball booster Al Lang reflected, “The Yankees with Babe Ruth and their stars meant millions to this town.” But there was another promoter diligently working to do the same. His…

From beats to books, Tampa Bay hip hop emcees become authors
By J.A. Jones, Contributor Rashad “Shadcore” Harrell, aka Shadcore, is a Tampa hip hop scene staple who recently released his new book, I Left a Mess in There. Born in Lakewood, New Jersey, and raised in St. Petersburg, Harrell is a family man, “married to my lovely wife of 27…

On the Move with the Key to Dalí
Something new is rolling out from the Dalí Museum: a 40-foot classroom art space and mobile museum. Christened the The Key to Dalí Art Mobile, this travelling surrealistic exhibition is designed to bring art to the people in classrooms around the county. Now, instead of students…

St. Pete’s Finest: Nàtlie Johnson
St. Pete native Nàtlie Johnson took home an Emmy Award for Outstanding Technical Team Event for the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games. ST. PETERSBURG — Television graphics professional and St. Pete native Nàtlie Johnson has earned her first Emmy for Outstanding Technical Team Event…

The Merry Meerkats Go!! Ty Loyd-Calhoun on getting kids outside through the love of reading
BY J.A. JONES | Contributor ST. PETERSBURG – Gibbs High School grad author Ty Loyd-Calhoun was born in New Jersey and earned his undergrad degree from Tennessee State University – “the same place Wilma Rudolph and Oprah Winfrey graduated from,” he added with a hint of pride in a…

L.I.F.E. Celebration Anchors the 10th Anniversary of the Sunshine City Film Festival
St. Petersburg, FL — January 2026 — As the Sunshine City Film Festival marks its 10th anniversary, one of its most meaningful and anticipated events returns with renewed purpose: the L.I.F.E. (Ladies in Film & Entertainment) Celebration. Hosted at the iconic Salvador Dalí Museum…

St. Pete’s story of wellness adds sound healing and neuro-art on the Deuces, Nov 15
By J.A. Jones, Contributor ST. PETERSBURG — For decades, health and wellness practitioners, doctors, nurses, educators, artists, and everyday community people living, working, and playing in under-resourced communities have sought practical and innovative ways to improve their…