New Year’s Must-Do’s: Deadlines, Dates, Auditions, Shows & More

The new year is upon us and it’s time to look ahead to what’s up and happening and worthy of note for Greater Brandon residents.

Here’s a list to get started and, as always, we welcome your items of note in the comment box below.

Community Theater and Sherlock Holmes

• The Village Players returns to the stage with the January staging of "The Penultimate Problem of Sherlock Holmes," directed by Gail Pierce. Show dates and times are Jan. 7, 13-14 and 20-21, at 7 p.m. Also, Jan. 15 at 2:30 p.m. Cost is $12 at the door and $10 in advance from a cast member. A dinner theater performance is scheduled for Jan. 6, at a cost of $25 per person. A dinner theater show is scheduled for Jan. 6-7, 13-15 and 20-21. For information, call: 813-300-1817.

Free Seminar: Social Security

• Is Social Security dying? “Savvy Social Security Planning: What Baby Boomers Need To Know to Maximize Retirement Income” is the topic of discussion Jan. 3 and 5, at 6:30 p.m., and Jan. 7, at 10:30 a.m. Presented by financial planners Elihu Woolfson and Tracy Gillette, at Asset Money Management, 1104 Nikki View Drive, next to Kohl’s in Brandon. Catering provided by Panera. Seating is limited. For reservations, call: 813-914-0440.

Network at the YMCA

• The Greater Brandon area is not shy of networking groups, with the addition as well of a new group in 2012. The inaugural session of a networking group at the Campo Family YMCA in Valrico is scheduled for Jan. 5, from 11 a.m. to noon, with lunch sponsored by the restaurant in Brandon, on Providence Road. The group intends to meet the first Thursday or every month, at the Campo Y at 3414 Culbreath Road. Reservations for the first meeting must be received by Jan. 3. Call Kavita Marballi at 813-684-1371, ext. 212, or email: kmarvalli@tampaymca.org.

Brandon Elks Lodge Show

• “A Wedding To Die For” will be presented Jan. 7 at the Brandon Elks Lodge, with a dinner and show performance. The lodge is at 800 Centennial Lodge Dr. in Brandon, north of Brandon Boulevard. Tickets cost $35 and the night starts at 7 p.m.

Photographic Exhibit: “Bud Lee’s America”

• The Florida Museum of Photographic Arts (FMOPA) has been awarded the Creative Contribution Enriching the Community Award, as presented at the Eighth Annual Brush Strokes Awards in October, which each year recognizes excellence in the arts. The museum through Feb. 11 is presenting “Bud Lee’s America,” an exhibition based on the work of Lee, a Plant City resident, who, as noted in the Osprey Observer was named U.S. Military Photographer of the Year in 1966. According to the Osprey, “In 1967, his photograph of a wounded boy caught in the crossfire of a New Jersey riot made the cover of Life magazine.” Also, “his work has appeared in magazines such as Life, Esquire, Harper’s Bazaar, Town & Country, Rolling Stone, Vogue, The New York Times Sunday magazine and more.” The museum is in Tampa, at 200 North Tampa St., Suite 130. Cost is free to members and $6 for non-members and $4 for students and military. The museum is open Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Friday, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Sunday, from noon to 5 p.m. The museum is closed on Monday.

Sustainable Landscape Design Workshop

• Hillsborough County Extension, at its offices in Seffner, at 5339 South County Rd., has scheduled a seven-week workshop series for beginners on sustainable landscape design. The two-hour class is scheduled Tuesdays, from 10 a.m. to noon,  Jan. 10 to Feb. 21. Topics include characteristics and composition of plant materials, use and importance of color, drawing a planting plan, maintenance and sustainable landscape materials. The collective fee for all classes is $25 per household, which covers as well the cost of materials. Space is limited to 25 participants. Register in advance online. For information, call Lynn Barber, at 813-744-5519, ext. 54105.

Nominations for "Military Child of the Year"

• Nominate a child from each service — Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy — for 2012 Military Child of the Year recognition. The nomination period, for children ages 8 to 18, runs through Jan. 15. Nominate online at Operation Homefront, where contest details and requirements are posted as well. Each winner will receive $5,000 and will be flown with a parent or guardian to Washington, D.C., for a recognition ceremony April 5. Recipients of the honor last year are noted in the book, “Our Youngest Heroes,” available through Amazon.com.

Tribute Concert to Bobby Darin

• Salerno Entertaiment is back at the , where most recently through group staged a tribute concert to Frank Sinatra. This time around the crooner of note is Bobby Darin, with a show Jan. 20, at 7 p.m., and a show and dinner on Jan. 21, at 6:30 p.m. Tickets cost $25 for the show only and $40 for the dinner and show performance. Catering is by All Events Catering. For more, call Center Place at 813-685-8888.

"Raise the Roof" Auditions

• Auditions for the Third Annual Raise the Roof variety show are scheduled for Jan. 25, from 7-10 p.m., at the James McCabe Theater in Valrico, where the show will be performed March 9-10. Invited to audition are performers of all ages, in theater, dance, music and more.

Womens Health Exposition

• The and South Bay Hospital return with another Healthy Women, Healthy Communities Women’s Expo, this time at the Crowne Plaza Tampa East. (A first such expo was held earlier this year at HCC at The Regent in Riverview.) The expo is scheduled for Jan. 28, from 8 a.m.-2 p.m., with lunch served at noon. Visit with vendors and physician practices and attend lectures on a variety of topics, including the latest treatments for menopause, heavy bleeding, heartburn and GERD. Also, tips for dealing with stress and depression and for battling fatique and other like conditions. The cost for the event, including lunch, is $10.
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Women of Faith Writing Contest

• Open through Jan. 31, this contest is for writers of unpublished books, fiction or nonfiction, from all genres and on all subjects, including memoirs. The grand prize is a publishing contract with Thomas Nelson. First prize is a contract with WestBow Press. Each manuscript must be at least 10,000 words. Visit WestBow Press online for contest rules and additional prizes. 

Family Support Classes

• Free classes on a variety of topics are offered at the at 12777 Kingsway Rd. For information, call: 813-740-4634.

Classes in the Arts

• Free classes in the arts for children and adults are offered at the Center Place Fine Arts & Civic Association, which shares space with the Brandon Regional Library in the Sandy Rodriguez Center at 619 Vonderburg Dr. For information, visit Center Place online, pick up a schedule at the center or call: 813-685-8888.