5 Things to do in St. Pete This Weekend

1. East-West Shrine Game

Some of college football's top senior players will be playing at Tropicana Field Saturday night as part of the 88th annual East-West Shrine Game. The game kicks off at 4 p.m. Saturday. The game will be broadcast live on the NFL Network. Tickets are $15 and all game tickets are general admission. Tickets can be purchased online or at the Trop. Proceeds from the game benefit Shriners Hospitals for Children. 

2. Sunshine Blues Festival

Sunday, Vinoy Park will come down with the blues, as 11 bands will perform at the first annual Sunshine Blues Festival. The lineup includes Tedeschi Trucks Band, Dr. John, Walter Trout , Sonny Landreth, Joe Louis Walker, Jaimoe’s Jasssz Band, Matt Schofield, The Wood Brothers, Big Sam’s Funky Nation, Sean Chambers, and Bobby Lee Rodgers. The blues festival kicks off at 11 a.m. Sunday and ends at 10 p.m. Tickets are $49.50. 

3. Yonder Mountain String Band

At Jannus Live this weekend, rock out to the bluegrass group, Yonder Mountain String Band. Tickets are $19.99 in advance and $25 the day of the show. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. According to the band's website, "blending bluegrass, rock and countless other influences that the band cites, Yonder has pioneered a sound of their own. With their traditional lineup of instruments, the band may look like a traditional bluegrass band at first glance but they’ve created their own music that transcends any genre."

4. Free Hugs at The Market

Saturday, you can get your hug on at the Saturday Morning Market. The market said, "The Market will be the focal point of free hugs happening all over downtown St Pete. Come by for a hug from Tampa Bay Rays mascot 'Raymond' or even Mayor Bill Foster." The market is every Saturday from 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. 

5. The Piano Lesson Opens at American Stage

August Wilson's masterpiece, 'The Piano Lesson' has its opening night Friday at American Stage Theater in downtown St. Pete. There are shows on Saturday 3 and 8 p.m. and Sunday and 3 p.m. Tickets are $39 for the matinees and $49 Saturday night. 

The play, according to American Stage, is described as: "It is 1936 and Boy Willie arrives in Pittsburgh from the South in a battered truck loaded with watermelons to sell. He has an opportunity to buy some land down home, but he has to come up with the money right quick. He wants to sell an old piano that has been in his family for generations, but he shares ownership with his sister and it sits in her living room. She has already rejected several offers because the antique piano is covered with incredible carvings detailing the family's rise from slavery. The issue of whether or not to sell it cuts deeply and raises questions about honoring the past or moving into the future."