The Boys (and girls) Of Summer Convene At Rogers Centre

with Martha Chapman

What says summer more than a sultry night at Toronto’s sports mecca, watching talented athletes while you sip a cool one?

It was a fitting way to bid adieu to August as a group of happy guests convened in a spacious box, guests once again of the gracious Mary Haban of St. Pete/Clearwater.

The 9th annual outing is such a lovely, low-key way to say thank you to her many Canadian colleagues, enjoy a generous buffet spread and chat about the many ties between us and that sunny stretch of Florida.

“Each year we welcome between 325 and 350 thousand Canadians to the area,” she told me. “And that’s not counting the many snowbirds.” What’s the attraction apart from 35 miles of beaches (and amazing east of access)?

“Our big ‘new’ attraction is the Salvadore Dali Museum,” says Mary, speaking of the spectacular collection – the largest outside of Spain – of the surrealist’s works.

Local tourism types are also very much looking forward to the September debut of the movie Dolphin Tale, filmed in the St. Pete/Clearwater area and based on the true story of a dolphin who lost her tail after being trapped in a crab trap line, and now has a prosthetic tail. “Bring lots of tissues,” was the recommendation of Mary’s colleague Rosemary Payne.

And when she’s not museum hopping, what does a St. Pete/Clearwater expert like Mary Haban like to do? “Sometimes I’ll get a room at a Clearwater Beach hotel and play tourist. It’s so relaxing…just hang out at the beach, go kayaking or stand-up paddle boarding - our hot new craze. And I love some of our beach restaurants, right on the sand, super casual with live music. Very welcoming!”

And speaking of welcoming, the Blue Jays were so welcoming to the Tampa Bay Rays that we let them win 6 – 1. Never mind, we were happy to give our hosts the win.