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- Issue #425: Brightline Boost? Airport Connector in Focus, Tampa’s Best Festivals, and ‘Spoke Stories’
Issue #425: Brightline Boost? Airport Connector in Focus, Tampa’s Best Festivals, and ‘Spoke Stories’
7/24/2025
Ted Grellner
24 Jul
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In this issue of NewTampa | WesleyChapel
Local Pulse
Our Event Calendar — taking submissions w/o phone confirm required
Local News
— Tampa’s Top Festivals & Events: What’s Hot in 2025–2026
— From Sky to Rail: Tampa’s Airport Connector Could Jumpstart Brightline
Of Interest
— Florida Cities Top Lists of Both Boredom and Excitement
— Tampa’s Biking Revolution Gets Personal in ‘Spoke Stories
🎵 Useful Arts & Entertainment Event Links
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Tampa’s Top Festivals & Events: What’s Hot
in 2025–2026
Tampa’s festival scene stays sizzling through the rest of 2025 and into early 2026 with events for every kind of crowd.
Comic fans can unite at Tampa Bay Comic Con (Aug 1–3), while beer lovers head to Bolts Brew Fest at Amalie Arena. Celebrate local art at Night Market Water Street (Aug 7), or indulge your inner child at the LEGO Brick Festival (Aug 9–10).
Free music returns for the 15th anniversary of Rock the Park (Sep 4), and the thrills crank up at Busch Gardens’ Howl-O-Scream. Major acts like My Chemical Romance (Sep 13) and the Tampa Pig Jig (Oct 18) promise unforgettable concerts.
Fall highlights include Oktoberfest Tampa, the Riverwalk Trick or Treat, and the Holiday Boat Parade (Dec 20).
Looking ahead: 2026 kicks off strong with Gasparilla (Jan 31), the Florida State Fair, and the Cuban Sandwich Festival (Mar 29).
Read More: thatssotampa.com
From Sky to Rail: Tampa’s Airport Connector Could
Jumpstart Brightline
Tampa International Airport (TPA) may soon hit its expansion limits, prompting Hillsborough Commissioner Harry Cohen to propose a regional solution: connecting TPA with St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport (PIE).
Cohen envisions a shared system where TPA handles major carriers and PIE supports low-cost flights, improving efficiency across Tampa Bay. A high-capacity transit link—possibly an extension of TPA’s people mover—could stretch across the rebuilt Howard Frankland Bridge, which already includes infrastructure for future rail lines.
The plan could also reignite Brightline’s long-awaited high-speed rail extension from Orlando to Tampa, a project now seeking $400 million in funding.
Mayor Jane Castor supports the vision, saying Tampa urgently needs modern mass transit. While timelines are unclear, leaders agree that federal and state funding would be easier to obtain by building onto existing infrastructure.
The goal: a seamless, multimodal future for air and rail travel in Tampa Bay.
Florida Cities Top Lists of Both Boredom and Excitement
Florida made headlines in FinanceBuzz’s latest study, “Bored in the USA,” with two cities ranked among the country’s most boring—and three among the most exciting.
Jacksonville took the #1 spot as the most boring city in America, scoring just 14.3/100 due to a sparse nightlife, limited dining diversity, and low population density. Tallahassee also made the list at #9, despite its college town energy, due to a lack of award-winning restaurants and entertainment venues.
On the flip side, Florida excelled in excitement. Miami ranked #2 overall, praised for its nightlife, diverse cuisine, and major attractions. Orlando came in fourth, bolstered by its theme parks and entertainment, and Tampa landed at #20, rounding out the state’s strong showing.
Key criteria included restaurant quality, nightlife, outdoor activities, demographics, and cultural offerings. The study used data from sources like the U.S. Census and Yelp.
Tampa’s Biking Revolution Gets Personal in
‘Spoke Stories
"Spoke Stories" is a new Tampa-based podcast series aiming to normalize biking culture in the city—and it’s doing so one ride at a time.
Created by Michael Joyce of EMOTO e-bike boutique, the series features unscripted conversations with local changemakers as they bike through Tampa. It’s backed by partners like Pedal Power Promoters, the Downtown Partnership, and That’s So Tampa, combining lifestyle, infrastructure, and advocacy.
Each episode starts on an e-bike and ends at a local business, showing how biking can be safe, fun, and practical in daily life. Joyce believes storytelling is the key to changing transportation habits, helping people realize, “I could do that.”
The timing is ideal: Tampa’s Green ARTery and Green Spine projects are connecting neighborhoods, funded in part by $1.7 million in FDOT grants.
More bike racks, better lanes, and real rider experiences are helping Tampa move toward a more bike-friendly future—one story at a time.
Here’s an astonishing and lesser-known fact about bicycling in urban environments like Tampa:
In dense cities, short bike trips (under 3 miles) can be faster than car trips nearly 60% of the time — even during off-peak hours. This is due to a combination of reduced time spent parking, avoiding traffic delays, and direct route access via bike lanes and trails.
Studies show that even in cities with modest bike infrastructure, cyclists often arrive at their destinations quicker than drivers — especially for errands, work commutes, and lunch trips.
Biking isn’t just recreational—it’s often the most efficient way to travel short distances in the city.
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Useful Arts & Entertainment Event Links
The Arts
- USF College of the Arts
- USF Steinway Piano Concert Series
Theater
-NTPAC - New Tampa Performing Arts Center
- New Tampa Players
- USF School of Theatre & Dance
- Wesley Chapel Theater Group
- Carrollwood Players Theatre
Misc
For Kids
- Fun4TampaKids
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