August Recurring Events
August Special Events
Great St Pete Cupcake Contest
Held at the Morean Arts Center. 420 22nd St South in the Warehouse Arts District. Sample and get some ideas of your own, and help St Petersburg choose the Peoples Choice! Your sweet tooth will thank you.
Great St Pete Cupcake Contest
Pet Pal Pub Crawl
Organized by the Pet Pal Animal Shelter in St Pete, this pub crawl benefits you and animals in need. Raffle tickets available, Doggie Biscuit Bars at every stop and drink specials.
Art Gecko Show Opening Reception – Gulfport
Artists create larger-than-life geckos in the theme of the current year’s GeckoFest. In 2018 the theme was Geckocon, so geckos were to reflect the artists’ interpretation of superheroes, villains, cult characters, imaginary locations and more, from comics, books, movies, etc. After the opening reception the geckos are moved to preview locations in venues throughout Gulfport’s Waterfront District. The geckos eventually go up for auction at the Gecko Ball.Gecko Crawl – Gulfport
A limited ticket event, the Gecko Crawl helps usher in “Gecko Season” in Gulfport. (And believe me, fall is indeed Gecko Season. They’re everywhere! Babies, tiny babies and more babies!) Tickets are only available at the Gulfport Beach Bazaar at 3115 Beach Blvd in Gulfport. Participation in the crawl includes a free drink at each location, a poker run and an after party. The after-party includes a band and an award ceremony.FishKids
If you’re going to be in the area in August and you have an aspiring angler in your midst, I don’t think you can go wrong with Fish Kids. Dedicated to “shaping the next generation of anglers”, this event, or really series of events, promises something for all. There are learning labs, demos, knot tying, seminars, castnetting, games and a seawall fishing tournament. Get your youngsters educated and involved in the water and conservation now. Held at ROC Park in Madeira Beach.Gecko Ball
Another staple in Gecko Season is the Gecko Ball. Past themes have included Geckocon, Geckostock, GeckoGras, Roaring Geckos and more. The ball is held at the Historic Gulfport Casino ballroom. Tickets are only available at the Gulfport Beach Bazaar at 3115 Beach Blvd. S, Gulfport. Dress to impress! Scenery and decor provided at the event, along with a cash photo booth, dancing, live music, a live and silent auction and tasty treats. This ball sells out every year so it is important to get your tickets early. The 2020 ball will be held on August 29th.
It’s Not Every Day You Get to Dress Wacky!
Geckofest
GeckoFest is Gulfport’s wacky answer to the end of summer. As noted previously, Gecko’s are Gulfport’s unofficial mascot and definitely the town’s favorite reptile.
GeckoFest takes place in Gulfport’s Waterfront District and is family friendly. There’s food, live music, kids’ activities, street performance artists and a parade.
It might occur to you that a festival named after a gecko might have a colorful backstory and you’d be right. You can read the short history of how the festival got its start, or you can read the O-FISH-al GECKO legends!
(The date for GeckoFest moves between August and September each year, but the Gecko-related events that lead up to GeckoFest are almost always in August.)
10 am to 10 pm. The Gulfport Trolley and Gulfport’s GetGO offers transportation options so you can attend without worrying about where to park.
Festival Goers
Great Bay Scallop Search
Not your usual wine, dine and relax event, the Great Bay Scallop Search is an annual resource monitoring event. Organized by Tampa Bay Watch, the event recruits volunteers to snorkel along set transect lines to search for scallops in select areas within Boca Ciega and Lower Tampa Bay. The search needs volunteers with shallow draft boats and limited spots for canoes and kayaks. Bay scallops are important due to their ability to filter water. They’r extremely sensitive to pollution, thus serving as useful “underwater canaries” to signal changes in water quality. Bay scallops disappeared from Tampa Bay in the early 1960’s due to highly polluted bay water. You can see scallop search counts since 1996 here. Even if you can’t volunteer, it is worth a few minutes of your time to learn about these delightful creatures.- If you think sea turtles have challenges, know that of the 12 million eggs a single scallop releases, only one may survive to adulthood.
- Tiny blue eyes along the outer rim of the shell detect movement and serve as an early warning system for scallops.
- Although clams may live 40 years, the average life span of a bay scallop is 12-18 months.
- An adult scallop can pump as much as 14.7 liters of water per hour by funneling water across open pathways on its gill covers.
Great Bay Scallop Search Helps Count Bay Scallops
Tampa Bay Comic Con
My guess is if you’re interested in a Comic Convention, you probably already have the dates for this one on your calendar. In advance. Way in advance. These things are a big deal and attract huge crowds in almost every city that has them. And Tampa is no different.This event features a roster of comic industry professionals, as well as related celebrities. Exhibitors reflect a wide variety of interests – comic books, toys, games, Star Wars, manga, artwork, clothing, magazines, and, of course, comic books.
2019 dates are August 2-4, 2019. The event is family-friendly and FREE for children. Tampa Convention Center; 333 S Franklin St, Tampa
