Busch Gardens Tampa Food & Wine Festival - ride, eat, drink and dance

Photo and video credits Doris Irizarry (photo & video reproductions prohibited)

Ride, eat, drink, and dance until dusk. It's kindo of what we did and you can too at Busch Gardens Tampa fourth annual Food & Wine Festival. The event kicks off yearly the first weekend in March and runs through to the end of April.

The weather has been splendid, believe it or not Tampa has had some cold weather lately. If you want to get more than your moneys worth of all that Busch Gardens has to offer from rides, animals, and shows, get to the park as soon as it opens. Parking is $20 at the park, Busch Gardens Tampa online parking is a few dollars cheaper. Even cheaper if you find an offsite parking within walking distance. I park at the same off site place for $5. Of course the all year pass members are all set when it comes to parking.

At noon the Food & Wine Festival opens up for guests to sample the select cuisine, wines, beers and cocktails of course at a cost. The best deal is to purchase a lanyard or pay per samples.

Photo credit Busch Gardens Tampa

These are the samples I tried:

Fried plantain cups filled with stewed chicken (tostones rellenos de pollo). A Hispanic myself that loves plantains I went for it. In addition, the plantain cup filled with chicken caught my eye but not my taste buds. The sauce just didn't blend well with the chicken.

Photo credit Busch Gardens Tampa

Gochujang Ribs in Korean barbecue sauce - the ribs smelled and looked delicious but I prefer my ribs well done so I took them home and cooked them a little more.

Lobster Tart with leeks & swiss cheese - did anyone say lobster? Yum, yum!

Bison Slider on a poppy seed roll with bacon and Sriracha Ketchup and blue lemonade - my favorite hands down! 

Photo and video credits Doris Irizarry (photo & video reproductions prohibited)

After a few samples, I was ready for live entertainment. Every year the line up is great. It is diverse - country, pop, soul, rock, Latin... I opted in for the latter. I was ready to sing and dance my heart away to one of the best female merengue music artists.

From the island of enchantment Puerto Rico, living in Orlando, Olga Tañon took the Food & Wine Festival stage located at Gwazi promptly at 7 p.m. An hour announced concert that turned into nearly two hours at the grace of Olga Tañon. 

 

A sensational show gal that offered her best past hits to her current chart toppers that includes reggaeton. Her phenomenal interaction with fans lead to inviting a fan to join her onstage, a fan that became popular all of a sudden. Pascuala, not only saw the show from the stage but was also gifted Olga's jacket that she wore for a portion of her performance.

 

What an amazing way to spend a weekend at Busch Gardens Tampa Food & Wine Festival. Check out the line up and additional information here.

   

Romeo Santos reigns without his throne

The renowned American Dominican artist Romeo Santos returned to Amway Center in Orlando, FL for his Golden tour that kicked off February 13 in Mashantucket, CT. Although the concert was scheduled for 8 p.m. with additional acts before the bachata 'king', he still managed to start late his almost 2 hour PG performance. For those that live close to the venue have no worries versus those that live more than an hour away and have to work the next day. Maybe they wouldn't have mind if he brought along some popular artists or if the artists would have showed up unexpectedly but we are not as lucky as Miami.

 

Photo and video credits Doris Irizarry

It was a different stage set up. Santos actually walked out onto the stage. What happened to his throne? We have no idea but probably a majority didn't miss it as they were immediately mesmerized by his presence, his music, charisma, and interaction. Of course, there was lots of screaming especially during the bachateros sensual scenes. Not leaving anyone out, Santos flirted with the females but also the gents had their time as well during his singing battle of the males.

 

Photos and videos not to be used without consent

Oh, the spectacular lighting gave the concert an entire different feel. And to mention the second stage set up midway in the venue giving everyone a fair share view of Romeo Santos. He even invited a birthday gal on stage and another to join him during his usual sensual scene but this time without a bed.

 

He amazed his fans with a singing journey from his role as a lead singer with Aventura to his present hits.

Check out a few clips and photos from his Golden concert in Florida. In addition, don't miss his concert as he's on tour in the U.S. until April 16. For Romeo Santos tour schedule, click here. 

La gira Golden de Romeo Santo's comienza con exitos

El rey de la bachata, Romeo Santos, arrasa con su gira Golden en los Estados Unidos. Desde su comienzo en el Madison Square Garden en la ciudad de New York en febrero todos sus conciertos agotaron boletos. Este pasado martes se presentó ante miles de  personas en la primera fecha de dos en la arena Agganis de Boston donde, desde el momento que se anunció la venta de boletos, a días agotó dos fechas en dicha arena.

Romeo quien es  finalista  a los Premios Billboard de la Música Latina 2018 fruto del éxito de su más reciente producción Golden, también ocupa la posición #2 en los vídeos más vistos del mes de febrero con su vídeo “Sobredosis” canción donde colabora junto a Ozuna. Las cuatros categorías en las que es finalista son: Mejor Álbum Latino Artista del Año, Hombre; Artista Tropical del Año, Solista; Álbum Tropical del Año, Golden; y dos de sus canciones a Canción Tropical del Año, “Imitadora” y “Héroe Favorito”.

La gira Golden continuará por los Estados Unidos para luego continuar con una extensa gira por Europa y Latino América. Vean sus próximas presentaciones y compren sus boletos en Ticketmaster aquí.

Chayanne announces his 2018 Desde El Alma tour

After more than two years out of the spotlight, renowned  international singer, Chayanne, returns to the stage with his new tour, Desde El Alma. Produced by Cardenas Marketing Network, Inc. (CMN), the tour debuts in the United States kicking off on August 23 in San Jose, CA and will visit 15 cities. Chayanne returns to Orlando’s Amway Center on Thursday, October 11. 

“I really enjoy the production phase of the tour because there are so many elements that I want to include in my new show. I want a tour where the people go to have a fun time and sing with me,” said Chayanne.

Past tours have been well received with sold out venues and his 2015 En Todo Estaré tour earned Billboard’s second highest grossing Latin tour ranking. Chayanne’s unique blend of powerful, romantic ballads and pop tracks with his sensual rhythmic style has allowed him to conquer the hearts of his fans. His stage success has contributed to his illustrious career and is revered by music lovers around the world.

Tickets go on sale to the general public this Friday, March 9 at 10 a.m. including a presale that starts Thursday, March 8 also at 10 a.m. ET with prices ranging from $71 to $151 for the Amway Center concert (prices subject to change). Tickets can be purchased at amwaycenter.com, Amway Center box office, Ticketmaster retail locations, charge-by-phone at 800-745-3000 or at Ticketmaster.com. 

Check out other tour dates and for additional information click here:

Source: Amway Center