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AROUND TOWN

7TH - MANATEE’S 1ST ANNUAL TACO FEST: 12-6pm. Manatee County Fairgrounds - 1402 14th Avenue West, Palmetto. This is a family friendly event and features over 150 of the Tri-State Area’s Best Taco Producers alongside a variety of Specialty Cocktails and entertainment. $10. Rain or shine. https://www.manateecountyfair.com/ 7TH - FALLEN OFFICER POKER RUN: In 2021, Pinellas County lost two police officers in the line of duty. The Four Kings LEMC Gulf Coast Chapter is standing ready to support the community and needs the public’s help in replenishing the Fallen Officer Fund, which is a 501c3 organization. All proceeds from this event, will be utilized to support a fallen officer’s family in need. $20 rider / $15 passenger /$10 adds hands. 10:45am - Kick Stands Up. Bert’s Barracuda HD., 10525 49th St N, Clearwater, FL. 12TH - BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: With a storybook romance, glorious songs, incredibly elaborate costumes, a stunning set, and magical special effects, the enchantment never ends! The show runs May 12 – June 5. Performances are Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. $30/$15. Ocala Civic Theatre, 4337 E Silver Springs Blvd. (352) 236-2274. www.ocalacivictheatre.com

14TH - THE CITY OF TARPON SPRINGS’ CULTURAL AND CIVIC SERVICES

DEPARTMENT announces a new, free community event called The Art of Health set to debut from 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM in Craig Park, 5 Beekman Lane, Tarpon Springs, 34689. Live musical entertainment, Exhibitor tables, Food trucks, and more. 727-9423-5605. https://www.tarponarts.org 14TH - SALTY SOUL FOUNDATION DUNEDIN BEACH CLEANUP! Salty Soul Foundation is on a mission to help keep Florida’s beautiful beaches clean, one beach at a time. Each month the Foundation will be joining forces with different organizations as co-hosts to clear beaches around the state. 1-4pm. 61 Causeway Boulevard, Dunedin. FREE. https://www.saltysoulfoundation.org 14TH - STARGAZING AT STARKEY: The popular Stargazing event is back and will be at Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park, 10500 Wilderness Park Blvd., New Port Richey, 34655. This free event is organized by our friends from the Pasco Astronomers Club and will be held in the front field of the park. Telescopes will be provided to see many deep sky objects. For more information, please call 727.457.8748. 27TH - SUNSET MUSIC FESTIVAL: Fri, May 27, 3 PM – Sun, May 29, 12 AM. Raymond James Stadium, 4201 N Dale Mabry Hwy. Tickets: www.smftampa.com 29TH - FORD INTL CUBAN SANDWICH FESTIVAL: Smackdown Sunday (11th Annual). 12-6pm. Ybor City-Centennial Park, E. 8th Ave. Celebrate Memorial Day at The Cuban Sandwich Festival! Meet Celebrity VIP Judges like: Award Winning Cuban American Actor: Roberto Escobar, and the honorable Olga Gonzalez, and MORE! This is a FREE family and community festival. www.edibletampabay.com

30TH - THE ANNUAL MEMORIAL DAY PICNIC IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER!

11am-4pm. New Life Tabernacle 6912 Williams Road, Seffner. We will have free food and free entertainment. Come out to the church by the big white cross on I 75. For more information, call the church office at 813-740-1868. Hope to see you there! SUBMIT AROUND TOWN EVENTS AND/OR EVENT FLYERS TO: Lifestyles After 50, P.O. Box 638, Seffner, FL 33583; or email to info@lifestylesafter50.com or fax to (813) 331-2634 by the 20th of the month prior to the event. (i.e. submit June events by May 20 2022).

Two Tampa Bay Habitat for Humanity groups get millions from MacKenzie Scott

Information from SuncoastNews.com

According to Suncoast News, Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas and West Pasco Counties CEO Mike Sutton got an email about an impending gift from a confidential donor. When the donor’s representatives called and revealed her identity, Sutton learned that his nonprofit would receive the largest single gift in its 37-year history: $11 million. The local donation is part of a $436 million contribution to Habitat for Humanity International and 84 of its U.S. affiliates from author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, the affordable housing nonprofit announced Tuesday. For an affiliate like Pinellas and West Pasco Counties, with an annual budget of $24 million, Sutton said $11 million is “transformative” and will allow the organization to build more affordable homes at a time when Tampa Bay is facing a housing crisis. “My jaw dropped, I got emotional,” Sutton said of the February phone call with Scott’s representatives. “It was overwhelming in so many ways. Honestly I had no idea how to respond at the time because it’s a once-in-a-lifetime type donation that we’re receiving.” Through a representative, Scott began requesting information anonymously from Habitat for Humanity International about its network affiliates last summer, according to Amy Dunham, chief communications officer for the Christian-based housing nonprofit. She said Scott and her team selected 84 affiliates out of the 1,100 across the U.S. “entirely independently” and notified the organization of its intentions late last month.

Scott announced in 2019 that she planned to give away her vast fortune, much of which came from the Amazon stock she received in a divorce settlement that year with company founder Jeff Bezos. At the time, her 4 percent stake in the company was valued at $38 billion. Sutton said Scott’s $11 million gift to the Pinellas and West Pasco Habitat affiliate will help offset construction costs that have skyrocketed during the pandemic. It will also enable his affiliate to build a 57-unit subdivision in Largo, a 25-unit subdivision in Clearwater and a 30-unit subdivision in New Port Richey — projects his group had planned but had not secured funding to build until now. “This gift will allow us to do so much more above and beyond what we normally do,” Sutton said. “It’s a blessing because it’s coming at a time when we have to find gap financing and find gap donations to make up that difference we’re seeing with increases in costs.”