TOURS

Thursday, May 24

Tampa Bay History Center Tour 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm

and Reception 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm $25

Ride the trolley from our hotel and take a guided tour through the interactive exhibits of the spectacular 60,000 square foot Tampa Bay History Center. Displays look at indigenous people of the area, Spanish explorers, pioneers, sports legends and railroad tycoons.  You’ll experience a 1920s-era cigar store, a virtual boat ride up the Hillsborough River, and a simulated cattle drive.  Enjoy the map gallery, a dramatic theater presentation on the early exploration of Florida, and the traveling exhibition “Spies, Traitors, Saboteurs: Fear and Freedom in America.”  A  reception at the museum follows the tour with hors d’oeuvres provided by the Columbia Café and a presentation on the History of Beer in Tampa. Cash bar available.

OR

Tampa Bay History Center Tour 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm

 with Reception AND Beer Tasting to benefit the FHS hosted by Cigar City Brewing

6:00 pm to 8:00 pm $40

Ride the trolley from our hotel and take a guided tour through the interactive exhibits of the spectacular 60,000 square foot Tampa Bay History Center. Displays look at indigenous people of the area, Spanish explorers, pioneers, sports legends and railroad tycoons.  You’ll experience a 1920s-era cigar store, a virtual boat ride up the Hillsborough river, and a simulated cattle drive.  Enjoy the map gallery, a dramatic theater presentation on the early exploration of Florida, and the traveling exhibition “Spies, Traitors, Saboteurs: Fear and Freedom in America.”  A reception at the museum follows the tour with hors d’oeuvres provided by the Columbia Café and a presentation on the History of Beer in Tampa.  A beer tasting to benefit the FHS will be hosted by Cigar City Brewing.  Sample some of the Tampa area’s finest beer while helping the FHS!  Cash bar also available.

Friday, May 25

Tour of the Henry B. Plant Museum, Hyde Park, and Davis Island

2:00 pm to 5:00 pm $25

Board a tour bus at our hotel that will take you first to the Henry B. Plant Museum.  Enjoy the fanciful Moorish architecture of the 1891 Tampa Bay Hotel which attracted celebrated guests including Teddy Roosevelt, Sarah Bernhardt, and Babe Ruth to this opulent setting.  The museum recreates the Tampa Bay Hotel of the late 1800s and interprets the Victorian lifestyles of America’s Gilded Age.  From there our bus will take you to the historic Hyde Park neighborhood which was established in 1882 near the Tampa Bay Hotel.  We will take a brief walking tour before the bus continues to Davis Island.  Many of the original 1920s Mediterranean-style structures on Davis Island are still standing and have received National Historic Designation as well as local protections.  After a brief walking tour we will return to our hotel in plenty of time to get ready for the evening cocktail reception and banquet dinner.

Saturday, May 26

Society Picnic and Walking Tour of Ybor City including the Ybor City Museum,

with Box Lunch from the historic Columbia Restaurant

1:30 pm to 3:30 pm $25

Don’t miss the spectacular conclusion of our conference!  We will enjoy a box lunch of local food prepared by the historic Columbia Restaurant at the Ybor City Museum.  Following lunch we will take a guided walking tour of the museum and Ybor City, including a restored cigar worker’s home called a “cassita” from the early twentieth century.