Weekend forecast: Free Museum Day and more

Saturday is Free Museum Day, from the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance and the City of St. Petersburg. For many years, Free Museum Day was a national movement organized by the Smithsonian Institution; after the brakes were put on that massive endeavor in 2022, many communities (including St. Pete) opted to keep things going on a local level.

So what do you get for your (no) money? Free admission for Pinellas County residents, during regular business hours, to these seven museums.

The Dali Museum. The city’s top tourist draw requires two things for free entry: A valid Pinellas ID and pre-registration, which can be found here. The “Dali Dome” 360-degree video experience is not included.

The Museum of Fine Arts St. Petersburg. The oldest (circa 1965) art museum in the city also has the most extensive collection. Advance registration (here) is required.

The James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art. The facility itself is a work of architectural art. Although walk-ups will be accepted as space allows, reservations (here) are recommended.

Imagine Museum. Reservations are sold out.

Other participants are the Woodson African American Museum of Florida, St. Petersburg Museum of History and the Museum of Motherhood (inside The Factory St. Pete).

For additional information, visit the city’s Arts Alive! Free Museum Day website.

Creed: Friday at Mid-Florida Credit Union Amphitheatre. Publicity photo.

Concerts

Singer Scott Stapp’s career as a solo artist has been hit-and-miss, so he’s back on the road fronting Creed – the formed-in-Tallahassee rock band that sold a few million records in the late ’90s and early aughts – and playing the Mid-Florida Credit Union Amphitheatre Friday. Find tickets here.

Great Britain’s Squeeze and ex-Culture Club frontperson Boy George are touring together, each headlining in different cities. According to the Squeeze website, the witty South London popsters won the coin toss for Friday’s show at the Baycare Sound, which means Mr. O’Dowd will perform first (that’s what they said, anyway). The Catalyst spoke with longtime Squeeze singer/songwriter Chris Difford; read that interview here.

Friday’s Tampa Theatre show from Egyptian comedian Bassem Youssef is sold out.

It’s not Fleetwood Mac, but it’s not some costumed tribute band either: The Florida Orchestra “does” Fleetwood Mac Saturday at the Mahaffey Theater, combining the orchestra with full-tilt rock ‘n’ roll instrumentation. Chelsea Gallo conducts. Tickets for the 8 p.m. concert are here.

At the Yuengling Center Saturday: Swiss/American rapper Yung Gravy. Tickets are here.

Another impeccable rock guitarist visits St. Pete this week – it’s Warren Haynes of Govt. Mule, the Allman Brothers Band and just about every top-shelf jam band unit you could think of. Haynes and his band (John Medeski, Kevin Scott, Terence Higgins and Greg Osby) play the Mahaffey Theater Sunday. Find tickets here.

On theater stages

Katrina Stevenson, left, and Andresia Moseley are part of the ensemble cast of the farce “POTUS” at Jobsite. Image: Stage Photography of Tampa.

New this weekend is The Light, Loy A. Webb’s two-personal character study, at The Studio@620. Genesis and Rashad are celebrating an anniversary while revealing some difficult truths about themselves. Read more here, and find tickets here.

It’s curtain down for the extraordinary PER at Lab Theatre Project. The psychological thriller is onstage tonight through Saturday, and Sunday’s matinee (3 p.m.) will be the final show. Playwright Donald Loftus will attend an audience talkback following the Friday night performance. Read more here, and find tickets here. 

Rollicking along at warp speed (ie selling lots of tickets) is Jobsite Theatre’s comedy POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive. The Washingtonian farce by Selina Fillinger continues through Sept. 29. Cast member Noa Friedman guested on our Arts Alive! podcast Sept. 13 – hear that conversation here, and find tickets here.

Your weekend arts forecast appears every Thursday in the Catalyst. 

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