Become a Facebook fan of skirt! Tampa Bay!

Check out a a free film festival running Feb. 24 through Mar. 1 with movies focused on the state of the wilderness, the seas and the Earth at Eckerd College, St. Petersburg. Films start each evening at 7pm.  727.864.7979.

Be a kid. Tackle a coaster or just hunt down the funnel cake vendor and indulge yourself today. It’s time for the annual Florida Strawberry Festival. Check out arts and crafts, horticulture exhibits and this year’s concert lineup.Runs from 2/28-3/9 in Plant City. 10am-7:30pm daily. 813.752.9194.

Bring your mom, daughter, sister and friend to the 3rd Annual Focus on Females, Women’s Healthcare Symposium at Channelside Cinemas in downtown Tampa. The all-day event is free and includes seminars, health screenings, fitness classes and chair massages. Runs 9am-4pm. focusonfemales.com.

Enjoy two days of fine arts from 300 nationally-known artists at this year’s Gasparilla Festival of the Arts at Franklin Street and Lykes Gaslight Square Park in downtown Tampa. The free festival runs 9-6 Saturday, Mar. 1 and 10-5 Sunday, Mar. 2., and includes food, entertainment and children’s art activities. gasparilla-arts.com.

Find that perfect piece for your den or dining room. Stroll through the variety of work for sale by local artists at the 3rd Annual Spring Art Walk Mar. 1-2 at BayWalk in St. Petersburg. Runs from 10am to 6pm. yourbaywalk.com.

Put on the glam and step out for a good cause. St. Joseph’s Hospitals Foundation holds its 15th Annual Stepping Out Gala at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Tampa. Proceeds will benefit the heart programs at St. Joseph’s Hospital, St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital and St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital. The black tie event will feature live and silent auctions, dinner, dancing and live entertainment. Tickets cost $250. Runs from 6:30-11:30pm. stjosephshospital-foundation.org.

Be a kid. Tackle a coaster or just hunt down the funnel cake vendor and indulge yourself today. It’s time for the annual Florida Strawberry Festival. Check out arts and crafts, horticulture exhibits and this year’s concert lineup.Runs from 2/28-3/9 in Plant City. 10am-7:30pm daily. 813.752.9194.

Enjoy two days of fine arts from 300 nationally-known artists at this year’s Gasparilla Festival of the Arts at Franklin Street and Lykes Gaslight Square Park in downtown Tampa. The free festival runs 9-6 Saturday, Mar. 1 and 10-5 Sunday, Mar. 2., and includes food, entertainment and children’s art activities. gasparilla-arts.com.

Find that perfect piece for your den or dining room. Stroll through the variety of work for sale by local artists at the 3rd Annual Spring Art Walk Mar. 1-2 at BayWalk in St. Petersburg. Runs from 10am to 6pm. yourbaywalk.com.

Be a kid. Tackle a coaster or just hunt down the funnel cake vendor and indulge yourself today. It’s time for the annual Florida Strawberry Festival. Check out arts and crafts, horticulture exhibits and this year’s concert lineup.Runs from 2/28-3/9 in Plant City. 10am-7:30pm daily. 813.752.9194.

Be a kid. Tackle a coaster or just hunt down the funnel cake vendor and indulge yourself today. It’s time for the annual Florida Strawberry Festival. Check out arts and crafts, horticulture exhibits and this year’s concert lineup.Runs from 2/28-3/9 in Plant City. 10am-7:30pm daily. 813.752.9194.

Be a kid. Tackle a coaster or just hunt down the funnel cake vendor and indulge yourself today. It’s time for the annual Florida Strawberry Festival. Check out arts and crafts, horticulture exhibits and this year’s concert lineup.Runs from 2/28-3/9 in Plant City. 10am-7:30pm daily. 813.752.9194.

Learn about the benefits of wine from a special guest and medical expert at the Women’s Wednesday Monthly Program held first Wednesday of the month at Vino 100 in St. Petersburg. Program includes a presentation, wine tasting and Q&A. Runs from 5-8pm. 727.522.8466.

Be a kid. Tackle a coaster or just hunt down the funnel cake vendor and indulge yourself today. It’s time for the annual Florida Strawberry Festival. Check out arts and crafts, horticulture exhibits and this year’s concert lineup.Runs from 2/28-3/9 in Plant City. 10am-7:30pm daily. 813.752.9194.

Be a kid. Tackle a coaster or just hunt down the funnel cake vendor and indulge yourself today. It’s time for the annual Florida Strawberry Festival. Check out arts and crafts, horticulture exhibits and this year’s concert lineup.Runs from 2/28-3/9 in Plant City. 10am-7:30pm daily. 813.752.9194.

Be a kid. Tackle a coaster or just hunt down the funnel cake vendor and indulge yourself today. It’s time for the annual Florida Strawberry Festival. Check out arts and crafts, horticulture exhibits and this year’s concert lineup.Runs from 2/28-3/9 in Plant City. 10am-7:30pm daily. 813.752.9194.

Be a kid. Tackle a coaster or just hunt down the funnel cake vendor and indulge yourself today. It’s time for the annual Florida Strawberry Festival. Check out arts and crafts, horticulture exhibits and this year’s concert lineup.Runs from 2/28-3/9 in Plant City. 10am-7:30pm daily. 813.752.9194.

Watch local celebrities escort some of the Bay area’s most beautiful and bravest models down the runway for the 5th annual Fashion Funds the Cure fashion show at Saks Fifth Avenue of Westshore Plaza. The show, which benefits the Pediatric Cancer Foundation, will feature models currently battling or in remission from pediatric cancer and showcase spring’s latest fashion trends. Evening includes food, wine, a silent auction and special guest appearances. 6-9pm. $75. 813.269.0955.

She writes, performs, produces – even distributes her own albums. And she’s been a role model for women everywhere for her honest lyrics and empowering themes. Ani Defranco with Over the Rhine comes to the Tampa Theatre. $35. Show starts at 7:30pm. righteousbabe.com

Meet author Karen Brown as she  reads from and signs copies of her recent collection of short stories about love and loss Pins and Needles at Inkwood Books at 216 S. Armenia Ave. in Tampa. FREE. 813.253.2638. 

Cap off the week with live music at Downtown Live After Five, a downtown Tampa monthly block party. Admission is FREE. Beer and wine, $4 each. Party held on Franklin Street between Tyler and Fortune Streets. 5-8pm. 813.221.ARTS.

Attend an Infant and Child CPR class at St. Joseph Hospital and learn life-saving CPR and choking rescue techniques on to protect your child or infant, based on American Heart Association guidelines. $30. 6-9pm. 813.870.4747.

Explore over 150 premium wines from California, South America and Spain while raising funds for cancer research at the 2nd Annual Sip for Life Wine Tasting fundraiser for Moffitt Cancer Center. Tapas provided to participants. All proceeds go to the Amandalee Fund for pediatric sarcoma cancer research. $100 donation. 7-10pm. 813.248.3000, x31.

Grab your friends and lace up for a good cause. Take part in the 27th Annual Bowl for Kids’ Sake fundraising event for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay at Pin Chasers Veterans in Tampa. Team members encouraged to raise $200 each. 9am-5pm. 813.769.3640.

Support the Animal Coalition of Tampa (ACT) and its efforts to save animal lives through spaying and neutering. Take part in the Wine & Chocolate Bash with ACT Low Cost Spay & Neuter Clinic in Tampa. Enjoy food, wine and a silent auction and get valuable information about pet care and the facility itself. Tickets $20 online, $25 at door.2-5pm. actampa.org

Treat yourself to an opportunity to laugh as Monty Python’s Spamalot hits the Bay area stage at Ruth Eckerd Hall. Flying cows, killer rabbits, taunting Frenchman...what every good musical needs. Runs March 19-22. $35-$85. 8pm. rutheckerdhall.com

Treat yourself to an opportunity to laugh as Monty Python’s Spamalot hits the Bay area stage at Ruth Eckerd Hall. Flying cows, killer rabbits, taunting Frenchman...what every good musical needs. Runs March 19-22. $35-$85. 8pm. rutheckerdhall.com

Treat yourself to an opportunity to laugh as Monty Python’s Spamalot hits the Bay area stage at Ruth Eckerd Hall. Flying cows, killer rabbits, taunting Frenchman...what every good musical needs. Runs March 19-22. $35-$85. 8pm. rutheckerdhall.com

Treat yourself to an opportunity to laugh as Monty Python’s Spamalot hits the Bay area stage at Ruth Eckerd Hall. Flying cows, killer rabbits, taunting Frenchman...what every good musical needs. Runs March 19-22. $35-$85. 8pm. rutheckerdhall.com

Treat yourself to an opportunity to laugh as Monty Python’s Spamalot hits the Bay area stage at Ruth Eckerd Hall. Flying cows, killer rabbits, taunting Frenchman...what every good musical needs. Runs March 19-22. $35-$85. 8pm. rutheckerdhall.com

Raise funds for the Humane Society of Tampa Bay and bring the pooch to this year’s Bark in the Park. at Al Lopez Park on Himes Ave. in Tampa. Registration begins at 8:30am, one-mile walk starts at 10am. Pet costume contest follows. Vendors and various pet activities available until noon. humanesocietytampa.org

Introduce the kids to the power and beauty of artistic expression. Pack up the family for Family Day at Florida International Museum in St. Petersburg and its featured Art in the Park. Admission is FREE. 1-5pm.

Learn more about women who have truly made a difference. Eckerd College in St. Petersburg presents the Women Who Changed the World lecture in the Lewis House. FREE. 7pm. 727.864.7979.

Hear from Jeffrey Goldberg, a Washington correspondent of The New Yorker and author as he discusses “Israel, Iran, the Bush Doctrine and the Future of Terrorism,” part of Eckerd College’s 2007-2008 Presidential Events Series.  Held in Fox Hall at Eckerd College. FREE. 7:30pm. eckerd.edu/president/pes

Meet other professional women, 25-35 years old, at Conversations & Cocktails, a networking series hosted by the Ophelia Project of Tampa Bay and Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. Gatherings give women the opportunity to establish social connections and mentor. Held in the TBPAC's Ferguson Hall. $10. 5:45pm. 813.229.7827.

Get in touch with nature – after dark. Explore Brooker Creek Preserve on a unique and educational Family Night Hike in Tarpon Springs. Meet the creatures that inhabit the unique Education Center trail. Recommended for families with children age 10 and older. 727.453.6800

Attend an Infant and Child CPR class at St. Joseph Hospital and learn life-saving CPR and choking rescue techniques on to protect your child or infant, based on American Heart Association guidelines. $30. 6-9pm. 813.870.4747.

Enjoy the smooth sounds of jazz and bid on dining, travel and art offerings in a silent auction at the 8th Annual Celebration of Excellence Benefit Concert & Auction at the Innisbrook Resort & Golf Club in Palm Harbor. Proceeds benefit the Tarpon Springs High School Leadership and Music Conservatory.  $15. 6:30-9:30pm. tarponspringsband.com

Walk to raise funds and awareness of multiple sclerosis at the Mid Florida Chapter walkMS at North Straub Park in St. Petersburg. 3K and 5K walks. Check-in at 8am, walk starts at 9am. midfloridamswalks.org.

Get  ready for the 1st Annual Hudson Beach Street Fest. So get the antennaes raised as you seek out that perfect art piece for your home at its arts and crafts show. Being held just off Clark St. west of US 19. Food and activities for the whole family. FREE. craftsandartisans.com

Go back to the dance floor for some ballroom action and this year’s Celebrity Dancing in Tampa Bayat the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. Local celebs and professional dancers compete as teams. Proceeds benefit The Spring of Tampa Bay.  $37-$175. 7pm. 813.229.7827.

Get  ready for the 1st Annual Hudson Beach Street Fest. So get the antennaes raised as you seek out that perfect art piece for your home at its arts and crafts show. Being held just off Clark St. west of US 19. Food and activities for the whole family. FREE. craftsandartisans.com

Bring your business cards and prepare yourself for some serious networking. opportunities. Take part in Business Speed Networking at Ferg’s Sports Bar in St. Petersburg and enjoy dinner and drink specials. Business casual or dressier. $25. 5:30-8:30pm. freenetworkinginternational.com.

Check out this year’s powerful cinematic lineup at the University of Tampa’s International Film Fest being held at the University of Tampa campus. This year’s festival highlights issues outside of the US and the effects of violence and political oppression. Call to check for times. 813.253.6232.