Arts District, a former industrial
part of town where dozens of small
working artist have studios and
galleries. Visit this district during
Saturday Art Walk. The Morean
Center for Clay at the Historic Train
Station and the Deuces Live Main
Street District, home to an historic
African-American community, are
located close by.
FILMMAKING IN THE
SUNSHINE CITY
Local and international ��lmmakers
are also celebrated as part of
the city’s arts scene. Sponsored
by the St. Petersburg-Clearwater
Film Society, The Sunshine
Film Festival is a three-day
extravaganza of independent
��lm from around the world,
combined with workshops where
industry professionals offer advice
to aspiring local ��lmmakers.
Now in its 12th year, the festival
is “very well organized and a
wonderful expression of the arts
culture in Tampa Bay,” says local
screenwriter and musician Alan
Armstrong. “It’s art at its ��nest.”
Since 2015, St. Petersburg has
been the headquarters for BLUE
Ocean, sponsors of the BLUE
Ocean Film Festival, which is held
in alternating years in either St.
Petersburg or the principality of
Monaco on the French Rivera.
The ��lm festival is one of the
largest marine environmental ��lm
festivals in the world. The public is
invited to attend both workshops
and award-winning documentaries
on the state of the world’s oceans
and marine life. According to ��lm
organizers, BLUE is on a mission
to use “��lm and visual media to
raise awareness and inspire ocean
stewardship around the globe.”
MUSIC: FROM JAZZ
TO CLASSICAL
The local music scene is also
��ourishing, providing a platform
for everything from jazz, blues and
rock’ n roll to opera, classical and
Broadway pop.
The Florida Orchestra ��rst
performed in 1968 and today, 50
years later, the orchestra is “the
premier and largest orchestra
in Florida,” says Kelly Smith,
the orchestra’s public relations
director. Headquartered in St.
Petersburg, the Florida Orchestra
also performs in nearby cities of
Clearwater and Tampa, as well as
at community venues ranging from
parks, museums, shopping malls,
craft breweries, hospitals and
schools.
Jannus Live hosts a variety of
shows with genres ranging from
rap, indie and rock. It's outdoor
courtyard venue offers a unique
experience for all.
Jazz and the blues have long
found a home in St. Petersburg,
dating back to the 1920s when
legendary artists like Louis
Armstrong, Fatso Domino, Duke
Ellington and Nat King Cole
performed at the Manhattan
Casino, a renowned dance and
music hall in the city’s historic
African American community.
Today, locals listen to jazz at
venues ranging from outdoor
concerts to intimate venues like
the Palladium Theater Side Door.
The annual St. Petersburg Jazz
Festival, now in its 10th year,
draws local, state and national
jazz performing artists to the
Palladium for ��ve evenings of
great jazz in an intimate concert
setting.
MUSEUM CITY
A 105-ton stone mesa frames
the entrance to the new James
BLUE Ocean
Film Festival
The Florida
Orchestra
22 'BURGLIFE | Living, Working and Playing in St. Petersburg, FL