Christmas lights: The botanical garden

Taken in the Christmas light display at the Florida Botanical Gardens.

Dueling festivals

Everybody wants an excuse to wander around outside, so people have festivals. This weekend Tampa had two of them; literally right across the river from each other.

Festival number one: The Tampa Bay Seafood Festival

This was the larger, and rowdier of the two. It was rowdier, and larger, because it served alcohol. I had trouble determining what the festival was about at first since almost half of it was a US Olympic Team traveling display; sponsored by BP, desperate to not be associated with oil spills anymore:

There was seafood purchasable with "clams", a festival currency available at several "clam banks":

And there was a stage, so people could be entertained while the waited in line, ate, or played with their mobile phones.

Festival number two: Greenfest 2012

I was worried this would be an eco-fair full of things made out of hemp. I was surprised to see a garden-heavy attraction:

It was pretty, and it had trees, so it was nicer to stroll through.

Inside a butterfly house

Because gardens aren't just for flowers:

In a rose garden