SHINE Mural Festival runs through Nov. 16th. (St. Pete Arts Alliance)

The 11th annual SHINE St. Petersburg Mural Festival transforms the city into an open-air art studio and gallery through November 16th. 

Since 2015, the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance’s annual celebration of creativity has adorned  St. Pete with almost 170 murals, helping the city gain an international reputation for its public art. This year, SHINE begins its second decade by returning to its roots with SHINE Origins, a celebration of the people, places, and artists who birthed the festival.

“We thought it was a good time to look back at where we came from and the artists in our community who make up this city of vibrant murals,” says St. Petersburg Arts Alliance Executive Director Helen French.

This year’s all-local lineup of artists is a mix of well-established Bay Area muralists, including several SHINE vets, and emerging talent. The 17 St. Pete-Tampa artists are Quinn Cale, Isac Gres, Dreamweaver, Elizabeth Barenis, Cecilia Lueza, Derek Donnelly, Sara Salem, Karel Garcia, Amy Volpe, Aaron Tullo, Zulu Painter, Brain the Genius, Rebekah Lazaridis, Sionna “Sio” Macleish, John Vitale of Vitale Brothers, Reid Jenkins, and Jenipher Chandley. 

While SHINE murals now color walls across the city’s arts districts and beyond, its roots are downtown in the alleyway behind the 600 block of Central Avenue. Back in 2012, a grassroots group of local artists started filling that alley with mural art, creating the mural movement that launched SHINE. This year, three SHINE artists, Dreamweaver, John Vitale, and Isac Gres, are back where it all began, creating murals on that 600 block. Vitale is also at The Factory in the Warehouse Arts District, working with Sionna “Sio” Macleish on a mural celebrating St. Pete’s history and landmarks.   

Karel Garcia, Amy Volpe, Elizabeth Barenis, Zulu Painter, Brain the Genius, Rebekah Lazaridis, and Jenipher Chandley are working on a large mural at 31st Street and Seventh Avenue South. Reid Jenkins is painting at Founders Pro, 2039 First Ave. S. Aaron Tullo is working on a mural at the Cordova Inn, 253 Second Ave. N., the title sponsor for this year’s festival.

Sara Salem is working alongside the community to paint a mural at Lake Michigan Credit Union’s St. Pete branch, 2180 Fourth St. N. LMCU is also hosting an open house and artist meet-and-greet from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 12th. 

Quinn Cale works on her mural at Tyrone Middle. (St. Pete Arts Alliance)

Quinn Cale is at Tyrone Middle School, 2375 66th St. N., painting a mural with the help of students. Cecilia Lueza is painting a mural at Haddy, 251 10th St. N, the home of sustainable furniture manufacturer Haddy and the world’s largest 3D printing factory. Derek Donnelly, the operations lead for this year’s festival, is working on murals at 1847 First Ave. N. and the Hollander Hotel, 421 Fourth Ave N.

The festival finale event is at FloridaRAMA in the Warehouse Arts District from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15th.

For more information and a digital guide with map, go to SHINE 2025 

Creative Pinellas Arts Annual “From Now to Next”

Creative Pinellas’ main exhibition and fundraiser, Arts Annual 8 “From Now to Next,”  is 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 21st.

This year’s event has added importance as Creative Pinellas pivots to rely on fundraising following the Pinellas County Commission’s vote just weeks before the October 1 start of the budget year to defund the county’s designated local arts agency.It will be the final Arts Annual before Creative Pinellas moves out of its offices and gallery at the county-owned Pinewood Cultural Center in Largo next year..  

“Arts Annual: From Now to Next is a celebration of who we are and where we’re going, and a bittersweet goodbye as this will be the last Arts Annual in the Gallery since we are leaving the premises next year,” Creative Pinellas CEO Margaret Murray says in a press release. “While this has been a year of unforeseeable change, we see it as a moment to reimagine what’s possible. We’re inviting the community to come together, and honor our past, celebrate our artists, and help us create a strong, sustainable future for Creative Pinellas and the arts in Pinellas County.” 

Creative Pinellas’ Arts Annual 8 is Nov 21. (Creative Pinellas)

The event offers a first view of the Arts Annual 8 exhibition, which features artwork by more than 70 Pinellas County artists and will be on display for the public from Nov. 22nd through Jan. 5, 2026. Several spoken-word artists will perform during the fundraiser, and the gallery store will feature a curated collection of original artwork and handcrafted pieces by local artists.

 A multi-panel installation that artist Ales BASK Hostomsky created for the fundraiser will be deconstructed and sold piece by piece during the event. Artist and muralist Leon “Tes One” Bedore, a founder of the SHINE St. Petersburg Mural Festival, is creating custom, limited edition prints that blend art and graphic design. Multimedia artist, designer,  and muralist Chad Mize has created custom “Chizzy Supports the Arts” sticker packs that guests can buy at the event.  Tes One and Mize’s items will also be sold in the gallery store while the Arts Annual exhibit is on display. Tickets for Arts Annual 8 range from $25 to $100.  

For more information and tickets, go to Arts Annual 8

“The Poetry of Objects” at Tarpon Art Guild

“The Poetry of Objects,” a solo exhibit of still life oil paintings by Tampa Bay artist Fran Failla, is at the Tarpon Art Guild, 161 E. Tarpon Ave., through Nov. 30th. The opening reception is 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 15th.

“Dancing Cheek to Cheek” by Fran Failla.

“Fran’s paintings are known for their quiet elegance and emotional depth, inviting viewers to pause and reflect on the beauty of the ordinary,” a press release says. “Her compositions — often featuring vases, fruit, and garden elements — are rich with poetic nuance and painterly precision.”

For more information, go to The Poetry of Objects

“Parkinson’s: The Unraveling of a Life” at Kress Contemporary

“Parkinson’s: The Unraveling of a Life, A Meditation by Lynn Manos” is on display in the Kress Contemporary’s third-floor galleries from Nov. 20th through Jan. 8th. The artist’s reception is 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Nov. 20th, during the Ybor City arts hub’s Third Thursday event.

In Manos’s exhibit, “personal objects are combined to represent the disappearance and loss of the artist’s life partner to Parkinson’s, a neurodegenerative disease,” a Kress description says.

For more information, go to The Unraveling of a Life

New Tampa Performing Arts Center events

The Tampa City Ballet presents “Cinderella” at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 15th, and 4 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 16th.

“TCB reimagines the classic fairytale with a magical blend of ballet, contemporary dance, and theatrical wonder,” a press release says. “The production is designed to delight audiences of all ages”

For more information and tickets, go to TCB Cinderella

At 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 21st, Classic Rock Legacy performs the Beatles classic “Abbey Road,” followed by an encore of the Fab Four’s greatest hits.

MJR Latin Project, a Latin jazz ensemble led by Cuban bassist and composer Mauricio J. Rodríguez, performs as part of the New Tampa Unplugged series at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 23rd. The ensemble includes Grammy-winning saxophonist Zach Bornheimer, pianist Pablo Arencibia, drummer Andy Fornet, and Cuban percussionist Carlos Javier Navarro.

Grammy-winning ensemble Danny Davis and The Nashville Brass bring their mix of country favorites and booming brass to the New Tampa Performing Arts Center at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 30th.

For more information on these performances and tickets, go to NTPAC tickets

Arts Conservatory for Teens’ “Six: Teen Edition”

The Arts Conservatory for Teens’ Young Creators Alliance presents “Six: Teen Edition” at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 14th, and 3:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 15th at the Pinellas Park Performing Arts Center. 

It’s a  “dynamic, student-led production that reimagines the stories of  Henry VIII’s six queens through music, movement, and the voices of today’s youth,” a press release says. 

For tickets, go to ACT tickets

Creative Clay Good Folk Fest

Creative Clay marks 30 years of advocating for and supporting artists with developmental disabilities with Good Folk Fest, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Nov. 16th at The Coliseum in St. Petersburg.

“This year, under the name Good Folk Fest, Creative Clay brings back the event to the Coliseum with the excitement of bringing folk art patrons and music lovers to celebrate 30 years of equality through art,” a description on Creative Clay’s website says. “Creative Clay held its first arts and music festival, Folkfest St. Pete, along Central Avenue between the roundabout and Ferg’s in 2007. The festival was created to highlight folk artists and musicians from all over the country, while showcasing the artwork of Creative Clay’s member artists. Good Folk Fest is bringing it back–inside the Coliseum! Reserve your tickets by donation today!”

The event includes live music by leading local acts, make-and-take art stations, folk art, and art auctions. Tickets are $10.

For more information and tickets, go to Good Folk Fest

Oddities and Curiosities Expo at Florida State Fairgrounds

If you’re shopping for preserved animal specimens, dark artistry, original horror-inspired artwork, antiques, metaphysical accoutrements, skulls, bones, and funeral collectibles this holiday season, you’re in luck. The Oddities and Curiosities Expo, a traveling showcase of oddity vendors and artists catering to folks with a hankering for the strange and bizarre, is at the Florida State Fairgrounds on Nov 22nd and 23rd. 

The Oddities and Curiosities Expo returns Nov. 22 and 23rd.

For more information, go to Oddities and Curiosities