Rainbow Redo
Salty’s Signature Fish Gets an LED Makeover By Abby Baker
GULFPORT Salty’s
ABBY BAKER
5413 Shore Blvd. S. Friday, June 25: St. Pete Pride w/ The Cheaters 7-10 p.m., Silent Disco 10 p.m. Saturday, June 26: Double M Band 7-11 p.m.
Neptune Grill
5501 Shore Blvd. S. Friday, June 25: Katie Talbert 6-9 p.m. Saturday, June 26: Janie & Lenny Duo 6-9 p.m.
ST. PETE BEACH
Jimmy B’s Beach Bar
6200 Gulf Blvd. Friday, June 25: Stereo FM 8:30 p.m.-1 a.m. Saturday, June 26: Phoenix 8:30 p.m.-1 a.m.
The Toasted Monkey
Salty’s iconic hanging fish statue, “Saltina,” has blessed the Gulfport drinking spot at 5413 Shore Blvd. for more than eight years. Now, with help from an LED lighting pioneer, she’s getting a rainbow makeover. For 40 years, Ralph Paonessa worked in the world of LED lighting, creating glowing screens for companies like Disney and EPCOT. Following a partial retirement in Gulfport, Paonessa is thinking a little more local, and in the spirit of Gulfport Pride, revamped Salty’s mascot. Paonessa had just a couple of days to crack his fingers and add a string of rainbow lights for the event on Saturday, May 29. “It’s not the magic I really wanted to do, but I had two days,” Paonessa said. Eventually, he wants to make Saltina a skin that can change colors and project a screen of images on her body, all through the technology of LED lights. “Saltina is back hanging up; right now what you see is a LED rope accenting her,” Paonessa said.
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678 75th Ave. Friday, June 25: Bad Neighbors 6-10 p.m. Saturday, June 26: Mixed Signal 6-10 p.m.
Retiring from LED In 1984, long before Paonessa knew that Gulfport existed, he was struck by the emerging technology of LED. At the first sight of a standard black and red “open” sign, he uprooted his life and dove into working on entertainment projects that required LED touches throughout the country. Most notably, he worked on the glowing EPCOT globe, installed in 1999, which at the time was a $2 million project. Today, it costs about $10,000 to install the same effect, said the artist. According to Paonessa, overseas manufacturing cut costs and put most of the LED industry in the U.S. out of business. “It’s virtually impossible to compete with how cheap this is now,” Paonessa said. “I still love the technology, and like everything else, you need artists to do it right.” See Paonessa’s work at directviewled.com/home.html.
TREASURE ISLAND Ka’Tiki
8803 W. Gulf Blvd. Friday, June 25: The Foundation 7-11 p.m. Saturday, June 26: SYNR 7-11 p.m.
Sloppy Joe’s on the Beach 10650 Gulf Blvd. Friday, June 25: Well Strung 6-9 p.m. Saturday, June 26: Brian Paul 2-5 p.m., Josh Fielding Duo 6-9 p.m.
MADEIRA BEACH Bamboo Beach Bar
13025 Village Blvd. Friday, June 25: Ryan Marchand 6- 9 p.m. Saturday, June 26: Mark Mann 6-9 p.m.
The Hut Bar and Grill
190 Boardwalk Pl. E. Friday, June 25: Jessica Rose 5:30-9:30 p.m. Saturday, June 26: Ron Betts Trio 5:30-9:30 p.m.
Find more Beach Music at thegabber.com.
theGabber.com | June 24, 2021 - June 30, 2021
