Does the Tampa Bay Area Lack Culture?

Alicia Firestone September 28, 2012 at 05:46 pm

Culture isn't just about the visual arts.It's a feeling that their is culture, seeing people that express themselves in different ways frequently.IE. in NY or S. Cali,every few people you meet out look artistic or interesting;the way people communicate are full of debth, experience, & openness.There may be 1 Buddhist temple,but the majority of people here don't hold much knowledge about E. Asian principles.Culture means their are many options. Health food is sparse with long drives to whole foods and rarely a cafe or restaraunt that serves raw or vegan fare.Whereas in other cities, different options for alternative choices are abundant.Musically, only a few live music venues.To shop you have to go to a mall.Boutiques and designers are void.The streets are lined w/ stripmalls & commercial business.Even S Tampa, I did not see 1 person who looked alternative.It was like a big frat party w/ girls in miniskirts.Where r people with multicolored hair?Hippies?Or even the comfort with people that look this way?Real cultural centers are so used to different kinds of people that it is natural to talk to someone who is pierced or has different spiritual views.Tampa is barren of what true culture means and it does feel identityless like a bunch of puppets walking around who think going to a museum means they have an open mind and are worldly!

RD September 28, 2012 at 06:52 pm

I think we have a decent amount of cultural places in our area but they're a little inaccessible. As someone else said, St Pete has some lovely art museums and supports their artisan culture better than Tampa does. The biggest problem I see is the cost of going to the museums and arts centers between admission and parking.
Another problem is that nothing is located near anything else so it's a production to go to one place. Cities like New York have public transportation and many cultural meccas are located withing walking distance of each other. We're spread out area wise and don't have even halfway decent public transportation so you really have to plan a day trip to go to one or 2 places. It's a catch-22; people don't go so nothing opens. Even with Free Museum Day on Sunday, there aren't any that I want to go to given how far I have to drive to get to them.

vincent gimble September 28, 2012 at 08:09 pm

we do indeed have culture, but it is not apparent everywhere you look- it really has to be found. when the article talks about the treasure trove that is Sarasota, it needs to understand that Sarasota is not around the corner for residents of Tampa Bay Proper. I see no real metropolitan area here in the Bay area. Our "cities" look and act more like suburbs than they do cities. When I see convenience stores on every conceivable corner and pawn shops on top of pawn shops, strip clubs and not to mention fast food everywhere, I question as to whether a visitor can find culture if they are not familiar with the area. I won't apologize for saying that a great many residents in this very large geographical area not only lack any type of culture, but certainly lack any type of education and wouldn't care about fine dining, live theater or an art gallery if it were free. We certainly lack any type of identity and what we have to identify ourselves - pirates and gaspirilla indeed show an extreme lack of culture. yes, we have fine restaurants and theater and galleries and even museums, but they have to be sought after and the same few people go to these events, not the masses. I have noticed that there is a general lack of support for anything in this area that is not a chain or franchise and in the "city centers" there just feels like something is missing. Sure, we ALWAYS have something going on but after the event finding only a taco bell or McDonalds open is not culture

Temple Terrace Resident 2 September 28, 2012 at 10:17 pm

Like Alicia mentioned, places that have culture, it is all around, you don't have to hunt it down, it is "in the air". Check out the vibe in places like Austin, then come back here and all you're missing is the tumbleweed. To me our built environment says it all, we are surrounded by mindless unplanned sprawl with no transit options, such a place is a killer for developing culture, and cultured people. Sprawl does not culture make.

George Gould September 28, 2012 at 11:13 pm

The difference between the Tampa Bay area and a container of yogurt is that the container of yogurt has a living culture inside.

Ellen Turner September 29, 2012 at 06:39 pm

Hell yeah! No Place Really is what New Port Richey is called! You have to drive at least 15 miles to get any culture!!! Leepa-Rattner Museum is the closet thing for culture....I call New Port Richey the "Barren Wasteland". If I am wrong, please let me know.

Ellen Turner September 29, 2012 at 06:39 pm

You hit it on the nail!

Ellen Turner September 29, 2012 at 06:41 pm

I call Main St. in New Port Richey...Ghost own USA. Truth be told. But, no one here, wants to see the reality for what it is. An area of despair and broken dreams.

Ellen Turner September 29, 2012 at 06:43 pm

Stigma towards Nudity? How Victorian of you!!! The nudist lifestyle is great! Try it sometime!

Ex Tampan September 30, 2012 at 01:57 pm

Sprawl, lack of interest in what cultured people call culture. There is culture here, southern culture. A worship of beer, sports, driving trucks, fish, malls, etc.. I lived in Tampa (Hyde Park / South Tampa) for 10 years... It is soulless. There is no city center, only pockets. Without being able to walk and mingle (as you can in most any big city) it becomes a drag. Anything North of 275 going up Dale Mabry is super sprawl... USF area is an armpit... Brandon is a clash of rural Florida w new money and faceless sub divisions. South Tampa has a few pockets, but for most part is too spread out. Seminole Heights is trying and downtown has lots of buildings and no people. Davis Island might be as close as you get to cohesion, but its self contained. Ybor is Yboring.

Ex Tampan September 30, 2012 at 03:12 pm

PS... Dunedin, Safety Harbor, parts of Saint Petersburg... You're doing it right.

Ellen Turner September 30, 2012 at 06:02 pm

Yep...you are so right!!!

Carla Gibson October 1, 2012 at 01:29 am

Florida .. specifically the Tampa Bay area .. doesn't have a "heartbeat" like so many other places in America.
I moved to Florida decades ago and the "vibe" here has always been scattered, confused, clueless, transient, empty, without "soul. " It is self-centered "cookie cutter" people who insist on calling Florida the SUNSHINE STATE instead of FLORIDA. .. and it's rednecks who HATE the word "culture" because it reminds them of turning "Yankee" .. The Tampa bay area reminds me of a "souless" place void of culture or a feeling of community .. a place where one might have gotten off the midnight train by mistake and too afraid to leave the train station for fear of being stuck in this empty "Twilight Zone" forever. It will never change .. four decades here and it's still the same.

Denise D October 1, 2012 at 10:36 am

Tampa bay has no culture at all. The performing arts vene downtown Tampa is not even affordable to middle class people. The prices the charge is outrageous. They charge as if it is New York but the performers are second rate. I am originally from NY and I know the big difference. We came here 40 years ago and it still has not changed. The people here want beer and fun in the sun. The local government has not helped to change this mentality as they are like minded with them.

Denise D October 1, 2012 at 10:37 am

I totally agree with you

CNicholle October 1, 2012 at 01:02 pm

I have lived in Tampa for a year after living in the Washington DC area for over 10 years. After running through all the Smithsonian museums, Washington Zoo and a few concerts here and there at Constitution Hall and Verizon Center, I have to say that Tampa is a breath of fresh air to me. All that culture gets stuffy after a while. I don't like paying for museums (The Smithsonians have spoiled me) and I have yet to attend a concert here. I do enjoy the weather and the laid back beach like lifestyle of Florida and I'm not an old person. I work 9-5 and have a moderately active social life. We don't have to be the Bostons, Chicagos, DCs, New Yorks to have 'culture', just be Tampa. I do appreciate the ethnic and even economic diversity of Tampa. I work in Clearwater and I find Pinellas County to not be diverse at all and the scene in St. Petersburg is scary. I hear a lot of people speak about St. Petersburg being the more diverse area of Tampa, but I don't see it. And I'm coming from one of the most ethnically diverse areas of this country. If you speak on cultural activities then I do feel Tampa has a great deal to offer but folks need to be able to 'afford' it and in this day and time it's tough to cough up tickets to see a Shakespearean play or $10 - $15 to see some mummies. Too many transplants from other states for Tampa to develop an area-wide culture like New Yorkers or Bostonites. So to answer the question: Tampa doesn't have culture but it has charm.

Carla Gibson October 1, 2012 at 01:46 pm

So true .. and the funny (sad) part is whenever things are said about other places in the country that DO have culture and a sense of community people still use the same old comeback and say things like, "Well, at least we don't have to shovel snow." OR "If you don't like it here move back north!" It's as if they're saying, "We don't WANT to make things better here."
It's that "old Florida southern mentality" that drives this state .. all the way from Tallahassee - to Tampa - to Miami and the Keys. I'm afraid Florida will never be nothing more than an Elephant Burial Ground for old retirees, a magnet for low-lifes and violent criminals, a safe haven for drug dealers, and a "pit stop" for the super wealthy who can easily afford to fly to places like New York, London, and Paris to get a shot of culture before returning "Zombie Land" again. Florida will never change because the politicians / government / residents here never had (and will never have) enough foresight to plan for a time when it's going to take more than Disney World to define this state.

Carla Gibson October 1, 2012 at 01:58 pm

It has charm? You've only lived here 1 year .. I truly hope you feel the same in the years to come. I honestly do ...

Ellen Turner October 1, 2012 at 04:05 pm

Yeah...and don't forget our wonderful governor Rick Scott...who wants to do away with anything that is left in regards to healthcare for Floridians. Off topic, but you should know where he stands on "free clinics"....he wants to close them down. Also, any kind of "free" testing for the indigent, that fall through the cracks and cannot get Medicaid....he is doing everything in his power to NOT make this happen.

Ellen Turner October 1, 2012 at 04:07 pm

I knew right away...that Florida sucked. I first moved to Paradise Lakes in LOL, FL....at least this nudist resort had some life to it. This was before 9/11. After 9/11, the economy came crashing down, including in Florida. Truth be told.

Jessica Mendez October 9, 2012 at 01:49 pm

I agree with RD. In bigger more popular places main sites and attractions are close by to other attractions. Heck even in Orlando, Disney, Universal, and Sea World are all close to International Drive, Ripley's, Wonder Works and other "smaller" attractions that people can go see. They are a w/i a few minutes of each other. I like site-seeing in St. Pete better than Tampa. :\ In Tampa, everything seems so sprawled out from each other.

Jessica Mendez October 9, 2012 at 01:51 pm

LOL George!

Jessica Mendez October 9, 2012 at 01:52 pm

"Ybor is Yboring"!!! LOL Good one!

Jessica Mendez October 9, 2012 at 01:56 pm

So true! My sister and I have gone to see shows at Ruth-Eckerd Hall (Beauty and the Beast) and in the Performing Arts Center (CATS) in ORLANDO, because it was cheaper tickets (BOTH shows were GREAT!)! I remember going to shows in NYC when I was younger and the quality of show there is worth the price. I have not been able to go the Straz because of the prices. :\

Jessica Mendez October 9, 2012 at 01:59 pm

Oh, and the people show up in hat, caps, and flip-flops to the theatrical shows... -___-

Jacque Mioff October 9, 2012 at 02:20 pm

I would think anything seen crashing down at Paradise Lakes would be a tragedy...... but that's just me.

Shannon Young October 9, 2012 at 06:44 pm

As a vegan, I would have to agree with much of what you said. I can't find hardly anywhere to eat around here which might be expected in a smaller town like Land O Lakes but it the case even in Tampa. St. Pete is a little better but I won't be driving that far to go out to lunch very often. I went to Austin, Texas a couple months ago and was in food heaven! Even health food stores are few and far between here. Good post. There is a feel about a place that has a distinct culture. Tampa's downtown is a joke for the most part.

Shannon Young October 9, 2012 at 06:47 pm

Great post! I agree. Same with your Dunedin comment.

Your Balloon Animals November 8, 2012 at 03:11 am

The Tampa area is trying to grow in culture and has been working hard to become an art center. We have seen this as an entertainment company with an increase in body paintings, fashion shows, fire performances, and even advanced balloon sculpture exhibitions at events. So, even though we may not be on top yet, we are at least heading in that direction. So, we at YTE really enjoy the challenges put forth by new clients to stay on the cutting edge of art and culture while maintaining our quality of entertainment.
Your Total Entertainment crew, http://www.YTEtampa.com

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