Cuban Sandwich Show Highlights Tampa Art Community

The annual Cuban Sandwich Show is back with a month long series of art and cultural events whose sole subject is the city of Tampa.

This annual celebration of all things Tampa is organized by the Artists and Writers Group, Inc. Events featuring visual arts, literature, theater, music, and cuisine are scheduled throughout the month of August. New events this year include a symposium discussing the history of Tampa cuisine, a food festival, and the First Annual Chicken Parade and Rooster Promenade in Ybor City.

David Audet, a founder and current artistic director of the Artists and Writers Group, was one of the artists in the first Cuban Sandwich Show in 1991, which was created by Gordon and Denise Myhre of Seminole Heights. David recently served with the Tampa City Council’s Cultural Assets Committee as chair of the ”Sub-committee to Identify the Historic Ingredients of the Cuban Sandwich”, which was proclaimed by Tampa City Council in April as the "official sandwich of Tampa." This has lead to interesting arguments with Miami about sandwiches.

This month long show displays, for better or worse, the sense of whimsy, history, serious humor and other idiosyncrasies of Tampa’s creative citizens.

"It ranges from professional visual and culinary artists to storytellers, historians, writers and other joyful fabricators of the truth," says Audet. "The mantra given to the participants is to play, be playful, while honoring the truths about our little city by the bay."

Here is a schedule of the events remaining on the Cuban Sandwich Show calendar.

Through Aug. 23

Kurt Piazza: Composite (System) Configuration. Gallery Hours Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-8 p.m. at the Hillsborough Community College-Dale Mabry Campus. Nine large-scale architectural prints, including several Tampa building facades.

Through Aug. 30

Gallery hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays; Tuesdays noon-7 p.m. A group of Tampa artists create a labyrinth of spaces, objects and audio illuminating the mysterious city sheltering them. Hillsborough Community College-Ybor Campus.

Aug. 11
Food for Thought: A Forum on the History of Food in Tampa from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Free and open to public at the Performing Arts Building, Hillsborough Community College -Ybor.

9:30 a.m.
Artists Talk with curator David Audet and several artists
Art Gallery open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Cuban Sandwich Show Exhibition)

10 a.m.
History of Food in Tampa panel discussion

1:30 p.m.
Living in America: 100 Years of Ybor film screening at the HCC Mainstage Theater. Director Gayla Jamison screens and hosts a panel discussion of her one-hour documentary. Included with the screening will be samples of the various Ybor cuisines mentioned in the film. The cast of the show includes Moderator Dr. Susan Greenbaum, Professor Emerita of Anthropology at the University of South Florida, filmmaker Gayla Jamison from Atlanta, GA; Judith Villavianis, artist born in Ybor City, Don Barco, owner of King Carona Cigar Bar, Joe Howden, artist and tour guide for Ybor City, Michelle Faedo, winner of the “Best Cuban Sandwich in Florida 2012”, and food truck owners.

3:30 p.m.
I Am a Cuban Sandwich theater performance at HCC Mainstage Theater
Written and directed by Richard and Mary Ellen DiPietra, and performed by Richard, the play describes growing up in Ybor City in the 1950’s, illuminating the sights, smells and colorful characters that inspired him to write this love story in a small but complex town.

Aug. 12-31
Epic of the Sandwiche Cubano and other Poems of Tampa. An artist's reception will take place Aug. 12 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. The event is free that night but during regular hours the cost is $10. Florida Museum of Photographic Arts will have a photo installation based on the poetry of Tampa Poet Laureate James E. Tokely, Sr. Photographers include David Audet, Jeff Fey, Michelle Fader, Laslo Horavath, Peter Melarango, Fred Smith and Matt Wiggins.

Aug. 12
Tampa Musicians Get Down from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Free at New World Brewery, 1313 8th Ave., Ybor City 33605. Ronny Elliott, Judy Tampa and Bunko Squad, Ray Viladonga, Maggie Council and Rebekah Pulley.

Aug. 18
Taste of the Cuban Sandwich from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. The event is free and held at the Cuban Club, Ybor City. This food fest featuring traditional Tampa cuisine, winners of the Cuban Sandwich Festival held in Ybor last May, plus Cuban sandwiches from numerous local restaurants, roast pork, deviled crabs, empanadas and flan. Live music by Ray Viladonga and Dreamboat, and a
special performance of I Am a Cuban Sandwich, a one-man performance by Richard DiPietra is scheduled.

Aug. 19
BBQ Block Party and Chicken Parade and Rooster Promenade from 2 p.m.-7 p.m. This event is free.
Big Al's BBQ, Gaspar's Grotto, Dirty Shame in Ybor City will all play host. Lots of BBQ and drinks, live music, and a costume parade open to everybody: children, dogs, pirates, hipsters, and, of course, fowl of all feathers. Bring costumes, do-da hats, wagon floats and umbrellas as we celebrate the life and alas, demise of James E. Rooster, a famous feathered citizen of Ybor City. Parade begins around 6 p.m. Wear sunscreen and comfy shoes. Beads optional.

Aug. 27-30
Common Sense
A free gallery at the West Tampa Center for the Arts, www.wtca-arts.org.
This national juried art show highlights socio-political issues and documents current public sentiment as seen through the eyes of the artists.