UPFRONT
LAMPLighters
Jazz It Up
LAMPLighters’ annual fundraiser of food, libations, music and fashion
at the Straz Center in Tampa was an evening of fun for a good cause.
The group, established in 1986, serves the needs of
displaced children and families in the Tampa Bay community.
The proceeds of this evening benefited the children and
families of Metropolitan Ministries and Joshua House.
The evening’s co-chairs were Kate Wilson and Lisa Kelley Trentalange.
GRAM
38 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE | MAY/JUNE 2018
Over the last 25 years, Barry and Carol
Mears have been feeding hungry
diners at their Cooters Restaurant
on Clearwater Beach.
Cooters Celebrates
25 Years
Barry and Carol Mears, the owners
of Cooters Restaurant and Bar on
Clearwater Beach, are celebrating
the 25th anniversary of their iconic
restaurant. This casual, come-as-youare
eatery is known for its familyfriendly
atmosphere, affordable prices
and delicious fare, including its “All
You Can Eat Snow Crab” feast on
Mondays and Tuesdays. Located a
block off the main drag of Clearwater
Beach, the restaurant has an open air
bar and an adjoining sports cafe with
numerous televisions. Cooters is at 423
Poinsettia Ave. on Clearwater Beach,
(727) 462-COOT (2668). 9
Maestro Anton Coppola
Kate Wilson, co-chair of this year’s LAMPLighters fundraiser
and last year’s chair Elena Wagner were thanked for their hard
work by the group’s president Anne Carney.
World Premiere
for Opera Tampa
Opera Tampa will present the world premiere
of Maestro Anton Coppola’s new work
Lady Swanwhite on Saturday, February 9,
2019, says a joyous Judy Lisi, Straz Center CEO
and Opera Tampa general director. This intimate
chamber opera will be sung in English and is
based on the dazzling love fable by Swedish
playwright August Strindberg. It should be a
sellout, as there is a good chance that Coppola
will conduct. For tickets, call (813) 229-STAR
(7827) or visit operatampa.org.
Dunedin City
Commissioner
Deborah Kynes
thanked metal artist
Clayton Swartz
for designing and
creating this artistic
bus shelter.
Dunedin Gives Them Shelter
The City of Dunedin had a ribbon cutting orchestrated by City Commissioner
Deborah Kynes to celebrate its new bus shelter on Main Street between Mease
Dunedin Hospital and Clear Sky Draught Haus. Kynes led the project to create
North Pinellas’ first Bus Art Installation from conception to completion. The
solar-powered shelter is the county’s first to feature a solar-powered charging
station. It was designed by metal artist Clayton Swartz, who created its meaningful
and stylish look.