Luminaries 2008

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The Luminaries last night turned out beautiful as always as they lined Booker Creek from MLK down to the bridge going up to Bayfront hospital. It didn't hurt either that the weather was just perfect for neighbors and people visiting to take a stroll with their family, friends or pets.

We thank Michael Manlowe for setting up the porch party tables that were adorned with plants from Twigs & Leaves. Thanks also to all the volunteers who came Friday evening to bag all the sand and tea lights in preparation for the event at Deb's house. Lastly, it was great to see everyone on the evening itself with all the good food and drinks to partake of.


You can check out more photos of the Luminaries on the site's gallery. If you have more photos to share and want to add to the gallery of the event, please email them to us.

Lastly, we wish each and everyone in the Roser Park neighborhood and their families and friends happy holidays. :)

Luminaries: Lighting Up Booker Creek

On Saturday evening, December 20th, 2008 the neighborhood will install luminaries all along Booker Creek and Roser Park Drive from approximately MLKing Jr Street to 5th Street.

The public is invited to drive through or park in the area and walk through to enjoy it. The lighted bags reflected in the creek and the park's backdrop make this a beautiful event for Roser Park.

The neighbors are all invited to join the fun by preparing the bags and candles on Friday night (Dec 19th) and then placing them on Saturday evening around 5pm.

P.S. Don't forget to bring your cameras to capture this event!

Very Soon! Historic Roser Park Art Festival '08

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November 8th (Sat) 10am-5pm
November 9th (Sun) 10am-4pm
Roser Park Drive & 10th Ave. S
Behind Bayfront Medical Center
• FREE entrance
• FREE parking available in Bayfront Parking Garage with golfcart transportation to the festival

Bigger than ever with over 70 artists, painters, craftsmen and an estimated 10,000 visitors from all over! Live music, food and drinks, a kids’ art station, historic walking tours, and an atmosphere of celebration in the beautiful and scenic backdrop of the Historic Roser Park Neighborhood. Proceeds from the event go to the Ronald McDonald House and neighborhood preservation.

What's new this year?
Children’s Art Station for children’s arts and crafts. Manned by Boy Scout troop 316 of Clearwater and their Troop Leaders. We will also have a balloon artist and face-painting available. The Children’s Art Station will be decked out in children’s arts and crafts and blue and white balloons. Boy Scout troop 316 will provide arts and crafts supplies; Jenny and Eddie Jacobs are setting up a bounce house, tents and a popcorn machine!

Live music from some of the best entertainers and musicians in town!
Sat 11am-1pm Urban Gypsies
Sat 2pm-4pm Maxi-Madelyn Wood
Sun 11am-1pm Incredible Crisis
Sun 2pm-4pm Acho Brother

We would like to thank our sponsors in advance as well: The City of St. Petersburg, The St. Pete Times, Washington Mutual Bank, Creative Loafing, and Watermark.

You can contact Catherine Nivens at 727-822-7582 for more information regarding the event.

Upcoming Event: Historic Roser Park Tour of Homes April 2009

The 7th Annual Roser Park Tour of Homes takes place Saturday, April 11, 2009, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. in St. Petersburg, Florida. Sponsored by the Historic Roser Park Neighborhood Association, this year's event showcases seven (7) homes including the Worldwide Home Stagers Project, the Ronald McDonald House and a guided walking tour of the neighborhood’s unique Outdoor Museum. Tickets are $12 available on the day of the tour or on our website. Free parking is available in the medical parking garage at 8th Street and 7th Avenue South in St Petersburg. For information: (727) 898-9229.


Roser Park was the first section of St. Petersburg to be designated a national historic district. Established by developer Charles Roser in 1911 as one of St. Petersburg’s first “streetcar suburbs,” the neighborhood is distinguished by its brick streets, venerable oaks and beautiful old bungalows, all laid out along a winding creek on hilly terrain unique to the region. The architectural styles include Prairie, Spanish Revival, Dutch Colonial, “airplane” and double-gabled bungalow, with many of the homes dating to the 1920s. The acclaimed outdoor museum features 28 placards which visitors can follow for a self-guided walking tour through early St. Pete history. Guided tours will also be offered during the Tour of Homes.

Support the 5th Annual Historic Roser Park Art Festival

As November draws near, we start gearing up for one of Roser Park's biggest events of the year, the Art Festival! Every year has been growing and with more artists and vendors, more performers and an even bigger crowd expected.
This is one weekend when businesses, large and small, can definitely benefit from getting their name out there (through the ads on major papers, mention on the blog, announcements and handouts during the event).

If you or anyone you know is interested in becoming a sponsor of the Art Festival, just click on the sponsorship form, print it out and send it to Catherine Nivens (mailing address on the form itself).

We thank you in advance for the continuous support you have given the Historic Roser Park Neighborhood. By the way, proceeds of the event goes to the preservation of the neighborhood and to a local neighborhood charity.

PS. We encourage ALL our RP residents to try and solicit sponsorships as well from people and businesses you know. The success of the event is just as much each resident's as we try to showcase our uniquely beautiful historic neighborhood to people from all over who come for the event.

We Will Miss CIndy, The Karaoke Queen

Thanks for the fun times you have shared with the RP neighbors even before you moved in with Deb. We always had a blast with you at porch parties, with or without you holding that addictive microphone. I'm sure this won't be the last time we'll be seeing you...or else! We wish you luck and luuuuv back in Boston. You will be missed, Cindy, so keep in touch.

PS. We will have the microphone warmed up for you when you get back.
PPS. You can write your farewells and wishes to Cindy by clicking on the Comments link below.

National Night Out in Roser Park

Make sure to tell your neighbors to be there...can't go wrong with hotdogs and sodas!


This Tuesday, 6-9pm. MLK Jr. St and 9th Ave. S...see you there!

Baugh's Porch Party Extravaganza!

As always, Chef Michael Baugh throws a successful and extra-special porch party with a buffet of catered food, an open bar and of course the signature live band music. That's definitely always a party. Here are some pics taken by Deb Camfferman from the shindig last Saturday evening.



More pics to come...also, if you have some pics from the party you want to post, just send it to us.

Zen Glass Opens Higher Self Gifts & More

Neighborhood business Zen Glass Studios, located on the corner of 9th Ave. S and MLK, just recently opened their retail store, Higher Self Gifts and More. The store offers a wide variety of gift items from hand blown glass by Zen Glass, bamboo clothing from Shirts of Bamboo, rope sandals from Nomadic State of Mind, to teas, herbs, oils, art and jewelry. All items in the store are sustainable, local and organic.


Make sure to stop by their store when you get the chance and don't forget to tell all your friends about them.

6030 4th Street North
St. Petersburg, FL 33703
727.329.6488
Store hours: Tuesday - Sunday 11am - 8pm
www.higherselfgifts.com

Rainy but Successful Booker Creek Opening

To those who weren't able to attend the Booker Creek opening ceremony, here's a video courtesy of the City's WSPF broadcast. It was a well attended event with folks from the neighborhood and several city officials and organizations. We have Kai Warren to thank for making it such a successful turnout in spite of the rainy weather. Click here to view the clip.

Roser Talk: What Do YOU Think?

With all this talk going around regarding the proposed downtown Tampa Bay Rays stadium, we thought it would be good to hear what you think especially since Roser Park is one of a few neighborhoods close and within walking distance to downtown St. Pete. Some people are for it and some are completely against it.


Maybe some of you can share with us your thoughts on why or why not the stadium should be built downtown to give us some perspective. It is something that will definitely be affecting Roser Park directly or indirectly. Please post your thoughts and feedback on this by clicking on the comments button below this post.

Pride in The Park

Tomorrow, the Historic Roser Park Neighborhood Association will participate in St. Pete Pride for the second year in a row. While all of us residents regularly sing the praises of Roser Park, Pride gives us the opportunity to introduce the uniqueness of St. Petersburg’s oldest neighborhood to 80,000 visitors.

How many other Florida neighborhoods can lay claim to a picturesque park flanked by a winding creek, great nearby workplaces such as Bayfront Medical Center and All Children’s Hospital and historic brick roads on rolling hills with massive oak trees and one of the greatest collection of historic homes in all of Florida.

Not to mention the people—the people of Roser Park share a special closeness that not many other neighborhoods can come close to. It is a bond that draws the same regulars to monthly Roser Park porch parties that don’t even live here, and we welcome them every time.

Equally, it is this what has made the accomplishments of our neighborhood so successful in the past year. From the Art Festival and the Tour of Homes to the opening of Booker Creek and our Outdoor Museum and Walking Tours, we come together. Even councilman Karl Nurse pointed out our ability to "organize" at the recent opening of Booker Creek.

And of course, at Pride, our friends are helping us to create the best experience for our booth visitors. Please take a moment to visit and thank our sponsors for their support of Historic Roser Park.

Roser Park business Zen Glass Studios

Realtor Marsha Godwin

Realtor Connie Lancaster

Roser Park business Twigs & Leaves

Roser Park Artist Carolyn Pavonetti

Roser Park business Rearden Killion Communications

Homes and Land in Roser Park

1031 8th Street South

A fabulously renovated 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom Pool Home. The Staircase with Wine Cellar located in the center of the home make a dramatic statement. The Gourmet Kitchen features Granite Countertops, New Cabinetry, Breakfast Bar, Travertine Flooring, a Black Farmer Sink, Stainless Steel Appliances - GE Profile Oven, Cook Top, Refrigerator - Bosch Dishwasher and Microwave.

All new Hardwood and Travertine Flooring throughout. The Master Bedroom opens onto a Sun Deck that overlooks the Pool. The Master Bathroom features Garden Tub, Cedar Lined Closet and new Cabinetry with Granite Countertop. Guest Bedrooms feature Hardwood Floors and Guest Bathroom have been dramatically updated.

Living area downstairs and Family area upstairs with Hardwood Flooring and lots of light. French Doors in the Dining Room leads to a open and covered Wooden Deck, Tropical Landscaped Fenced Back Yard and Pool. Conveniently located to downtown St. Petersburg, All Children's Hospital, Bay Front Medical and I-275.

Contact Marsha Godwin by email or phone at 727.642.2677 regarding this property. You may also view a virtual tour of this home here.

Homes and Land in Roser Park

675 10th Ave S, St. Petersburg

Historic Roser Park, established 1897, is the location of this 1925 two-story beauty.

This property has some of the most incredible mature indigenous landscaping. The home itself has been well maintained & is ready to move into.

Recently painted, newly carpeted bedrooms & gorgeous refinished wood flooring will just wow you. You can almost see the reflection of the fireplace in the floors.

Bedrooms are upstairs & overlook the beauty of the lush back yard. The kitchen has French doors that open to the back deck & features a stainless gas range & prep island.

There are several bonus rooms, a raised deck off the back that is a great place to entertain or just relax.

Add your personal touches or enjoy as it is. This very active neighborhood is only minutes to downtown, USF, Bayfront Medical Center, The Vinoy Basin, The Dali Museum & is St Pete's best housing value.

These charming brick streets host their Annual Art Festival underneath the beautiful palm & oak canopies next to Historic Booker Creek. There is nothing else like it in the city.

Contact Connie Lancaster by email or phone at 727.741.2000 regarding this property.

Booker Creek Opening Celebration

Come Celebrate the Grand Opening of Booker Creek!

On Saturday, June 21st, from 11:00AM to noon we will celebrate the Grand Opening of Booker Creek on the corner of Ingleside (11th) Avenue South and 5th Street. We are hoping to have dignitaries from City Hall, City Departments, The Tampa Bay Estuary Program, NOAA, and The Tampa Bay Rays.

As you probably know this project was hard fought for, long in the waiting, and a huge success for everyone. Come out and share in the observation of this momentous occasion that links three Midtown neighborhoods, revitalized the health of Booker Creek, and prepares the way for the development of The Historic Booker Creek Trail.

This trail will connect with the Pinellas Trail to bring people through our beautiful neighborhoods and offer an outdoor experience that will get them in touch with nature revitalized and a history of the Tocobaga Indians in Bartlett Park, Historic Roser Park, and in Campbell Park, African American History in St. Petersburg, The Negro Baseball League that played in Oliver Field, and modern City and Baseball history at the Tropicana Dome.

(from Kai Warren)

Roser Park on Facebook

For those of you on Facebook, Roopal Mehta has created a Neighborhood page for Roser Park.

Right now, unfortunately, it only has two members so far. So, if you are a user of Facebook, please find it here...

If you're not a registered user, go to Facebook.com and give it a go. You'll be finding friends you thought you'd never hear from again!

Michele Knows Water...

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For those of you that haven't seen it, Roser Park's very own Michele Cardinal was featured in Creative Loafing's latest issue-- on stands now-- discussing her skills as a pool chemist, or "aquatic specialist."

Read it here...

See her website here...

Remember to support our neighbors! If you have a pool or know someone that does, be sure to pass the word on. After all, if Disney could trust her to do the job, so can you!

Congrats Trey!

Just wanted to publicly congratulate Trey McDonald for finishing his thesis and getting done with USF when he officially graduates on May 3! Yay Trey! Oh, the relief. Cheers!

April Cajun Porch Party

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Another successful porch party last night with plenty of spicy Cajun food dished out by hosts Russ and Rita Peterman and the neighbors. There was a ton of food and it was all gooood. Unfortunately, we didn't have our cam to capture the occasion...but if you took some pics from the porch party, feel free to send it our way and we'll post them.

Hope everyone had a good weekend.

In the News: RP's Michael Manlowe and Twigs and Leaves

If you have not seen two of the local papers this week, Creative Loafing and Watermark, you need to check it out as our former neighborhood President Michael Manlowe makes the news.

In Creative Loafing, Twigs and Leaves, Michael and Philippe's native plant nursery, has made it as one of the 100 Ways to Go Green Right Now. Check out number 51!


In a full page article/interview for Watermark, Michael talks about the Roser Park neighborhood and its friendly residents. Click here for the full article. Nice pic, Michael!

Got coffee?

If you'd rather have some coffee while you walk your little puppettes along Booker Creek, a Starbuck's is now right in Bayfront so you don't have to hop in your car just to get your caffeine fix. Isn't that convenient? Personally, I still like my coffee from The Globe downtown.

Bayfront Heart Center at 625 Sixth Avenue South, across from Bayfront Hospital’s Emergency Center. Open seven days a week from 5:30am to midnight.

Charlotte's Baby Blog

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Yes, that's right. Ms. Charlotte Anne Burns has got her own web blog inspired from our own blog. So if you want to keep updated with her latest developments, just click here. Isn't that cute?!

FYI: Recycle Pick Up

Just in case you are not aware of it yet, you can start having your recyclable trash picked up from your house if you want to. Here's the link of St. Pete Recycling Solutions so you can sign up as soon as you can!

Lillian celebrates 90! Woohoo!

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David Warner's mother, Lillian, recently turned a young 90 with a small surprise party! (Had to be careful with BIG surprise). She arrived in style in her shiny, shimmering fuschia ensemble that was topped with a birthday tiara. Simply lovely. Here's to another 90, Lillian!

See you later, Philippe

Sorry it took awhile to do the postings for the blog. Busy, busy, busy. But anyway, before all the news gets too expired, here's a couple of recent events.
We say au revoir to Mr. Piquet...for now as he headed back for gay 'ol Paris. (Well, London for 4 weeks of training first.) And we wish him great things on his new job and some warmth literally and figuratively. We definitely miss you already. So make sure you make your visits back to RP often.

Bon chance, Monsieur Piquet.

Here are a few pics right before he left. :(

P.S. Make sure you get a room ready for all of us when we visit. Hehe

Mark your calendar!

_Click on image to enlarge.

Coming Up: RP Tour of Homes 08!

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The 6th Annual Roser Park Tour of Homes is Saturday, March 22nd, 2008 from 10am to 4pm. It is sponsored by the Historic Roser Park Neighborhood Association.

This year's event showcases seven (7) unique homes including the Bradshaw Mansion, a guided walking tour of the Outdoor Museum and a view of the progress being made on the City's "Booker Creek opening" project.
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There are 3 homes on the tour this year that have never been shown! They are Ben's house on Ingleside, Kathy's apartment in the Chalet, and the BIG house at Russ and Rita's on 10th Ave S. Tickets are $10 (a bargain!!!) available on the day of the tour at 735 8th Ave S.

Free parking is available in the medical parking garage at 8th Street and 7th Avenue South in St Petersburg, FL. For more information: (727) 898-9229 or www.roserpark.net.

De Santo: Latin Bistro & Bar/Lounge

We just happened by this new resto downtown the other evening after seeing from outside that the former Accenture building has been transformed into quite a fancy new Latin bistro and bar. It's called De Santo.
From the outside until you walk in the restaurant, you will see how posh they've turned the place into with very modern touches, from the chairs to the light fixtures to even their menu. Quite impressive. They serve a variety of Latin flavors: Spanish, Peruvian, Mexican and even Uruguayan. For those just looking to hang out, the bistro has a separate full bar...not a bad place for after work drinks I'd say.
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Food was good. Nothing extraordinary. Serving was ample and presentation was fine. No complaints about the service as they keep on filling your glass of water almost every 15 minutes automatically.

I guess it's worth the try and maybe you can get back to us and let us know what you think of the food yourselves.

De Santo
128 Third St. S (the McNulty Station building)

Homes & Land in Roser Park

A 1926 single-family home that offers 4 bedrooms and 3 full baths on a lot and a half that also includes a heated swimming pool. The house also features a fireplace, central gas and air conditioning.

This 1,964 square feet bungalow on 9th Avenue South is listed at $399,900 under realtor Linda Snow of Remax Metro. (727) 422-3800

$100* Visioning Tour

This may be worth your while if you don't have anything else planned for Saturday. Here are the details from Kai Warren:

This Saturday, January 19th at 10:00 AM, in place of the old Nickel Tour, we will do a $100 Historic Booker Creek Tour to help our residents understand the direction we are going in and to help develop a vision we would like to have for our future. We will meet at the intersection of 5th Street and Ingleside (11th) Avenue South and take a 1.5 hour tour west to Campbell Park then back to the heart of HRP.

The tour will involve some of our great history, an explanations of the work underway in opening up the creek and the Roser Park Corridor Improvements, as well as the development of the Historic Booker Creek Trail, the conversion of one way traffic on MLK and 8th Streets to two way traffic, the elimination of the 8th Street Connector, the uniting of our surrounding neighborhoods to eliminate crime, foment peace and prosperity, and put a chicken (or tofuken) in every pot.

*All proceeds from the $100 per ticket sales will go to the KGIA Foundation (my personal favorite); however the first 100 people to show up will be given a 100% discount (scholarship, if you will). The tour will also be free to all members of the HRPNA who have paid their dues for 2008. Further discussion of the visioning process can begin immediately following the tour at Chattaway's, where we will meet for lunch and refreshments. Additional suggestions and ideas can be submitted to any bored member or member of the HRPNA Board.

So mark your calendar:
$100 Visioning Tour
Saturday, January 19
5th Street and Ingleside Avenue
10:00 AM
Wear good walking shoes!

Welcome Charlotte!

Congratulations to Mommy Emily and Daddy Jerrod as they bring in a new member of the Burns family and of course the Roser Park family – Charlotte Anne Burns!

Happy New Year Roser Parkers!

After a long trip to Peru, it was nice to come back home to a gathering of neighbors and friends as we celebrated the start of a new year. The progressive party started at Trey and Sara's place with an abundance of filling appetizers. (Thanks, Sara, for the goodie bag by the way...hehe!) Then, everyone proceeded to drink some more and enjoy some more dessert at Russ and Rita's.

It has been quite a year that seems to just have gone by so quickly. But it has been a great year spent with fun get togethers and porch parties that were just memorable. Here's to more good times!

Cheers to everyone and may we all have a more prosperous 2008!