Welcome to My Favorite Florida, a weekly feature from the Tampa Bay Times where fascinating people — artists, influencers, civic leaders and others shaping Florida’s culture — share their favorite pieces of Florida culture.

Tyler Gillespie is a poet, journalist and writing professor at the Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota. He grew up in Pinellas County and is the author of “The Thing About Florida: Exploring a Misunderstood State,” and the poetry collection “Florida Man: Poems, Revisited.” He’s writing a romantic comedy about two rival greeting card makers who are forced to collaborate. Gillespie got in touch to share three pieces of Florida culture he loves.

The 1985 film “Cocoon”: It was filmed in St. Petersburg, and there’s a scene with the shuffleboard courts, which I live near. The first time I saw it was a few years back at Tampa Theatre. You can’t stream it because of some issues with the rights to the music, so you need a screening or a physical copy. I love the story. Aliens come to town, but we’re actually nice to them. I don’t know if that would be the case in reality, but it gives you hope, right? And I’d argue it’s a romance. They choose to leave Earth and live together forever — that’s romantic.

Orange-vanilla swirl: Yellow Banks Groves in Largo has been around since the ‘50s. It’s a citrus grove with a really cool gift shop where they have all kinds of shells and kitschy fun, Florida things. After I graduated from college I moved to Chicago and my first winter — which was horrible and why I can’t live in Chicago — my grandmother shipped me a box of oranges from Yellow Banks, so it’s very special to me. But the best part is the ice cream. They use the orange juice from their grove and it’s the most amazing dessert.

Kaitlin Crockett, proprietor of Print St. Pete: Print St. Pete in Gulfport is this letterpress studio that also has a Risograph printer, which is basically this sort of defunct Japanese printer technology from the 1980s. They produce really bright colors, like fluorescent orange and pink — really good Florida colors. And they offer workshops. Kaitlin has done so much for the community with fundraisers and stuff. She’s a librarian, she organized Zine Fest at St. Petersburg College — and she just had a baby — so I’m just trying to spread the word about how great she is and her print shop, too.

Have an idea for someone we should feature in My Favorite Florida? Email cspata@tampabay.com.