The Central Avenue corridor spends the end of September looking west and south, toward the Warehouse Arts District and the blocks where studios outnumber storefronts. Between September 24 and October 2 that means a book club in a cinema lounge, a sake festival in a train depot turned clay studio, a new play about the women who stopped Atlanta's laundry in 1881, and a Friday evening of live music among the glass at Imagine Museum. Four events, three of them in the last two days of the window, so plan that Thursday and Friday now.
Page to Picture Book Club at Green Light Cinema
Why It Stands Out
Sunday, September 27 at noon, Green Light Cinema at 221 2nd Avenue North pairs a novel with its film. This month it is The Perks of Being a Wallflower. The thirty five dollar ticket includes a copy of the book, picked up ahead of time at Book + Bottle, the screening, and a discussion afterward. It is a partnership between the city's independent cinema and one of its independent bookshops, which is about as St. Pete as a Sunday gets.
Best For
Readers, and newcomers who want a standing reason to meet people that does not involve a bar stool. The room is small and the conversation is the point.
Timing and Planning
Buy early enough to collect the book and read it. Street parking north of Central is simple at noon on a Sunday. If you want to stay, the cinema's lounge hosts a Fire Island Classic Tea Dance with a DJ at four the same afternoon, and its Thursday through Saturday jazz nights at 7:30 that week bring the Mark Moultrup Trio on September 24, the David Downing Trio on September 25, and Hot Tonic on September 26, with table reservations through the cinema's site.
Sake Block: A Festival of Sake and Ceramics
Why It Stands Out
Thursday, October 1, from six until eleven in the evening, the Morean Center for Clay at 420 22nd Street South hosts a festival built on the idea that sake and the cup it is poured into belong together. General admission is eighty dollars and comes with a Sake Passport good for ten tastings from premium producers, with brewers on hand to talk through them. Around that sits a ceramic artist marketplace, vinyl record vendors, live music and DJ sets, bottle sales, and local food vendors. The festival was founded by Noah Sain, a certified sake sommelier and the beverage director at In Between Days.
What to Expect
A proper evening rather than a drop in. Optional workshops cover sake education, raku pottery, and gyotaku fish printing. The limited VIP ticket at one hundred twenty dollars adds a commemorative cup, an event shirt, and a private tasting with Sain from five to six.
Insider Tip
Tickets are sold through the Morean Arts Center's site. The Center for Clay's current exhibition, Contemporary Woodfire Potters of Georgia, is free and closes October 3, so arrive a little early and see it while you are there. Plan a ride home; the SunRunner stops at 22nd Street, a few blocks north.
The Wash at The Studio@620
Why It Stands Out
Opening Thursday, October 1 at 7:30 in the evening and running through October 11, The Studio@620 at 620 1st Avenue South stages The Wash by Kelundra Smith, directed by Erica Sutherlin. The play tells the story of the 1881 Atlanta Washerwomen's Strike, when Black laundresses organized for better pay and the city had to listen. The cast is Andresia Moseley, Holly Marie Weber, Jada Griffin, Jemier Jenkins, Nadine Young, and R. Marjorie Joseph. The St. Petersburg Arts Alliance lists tickets from twenty five to forty dollars.
Best For
Couples, theater regulars, and anyone who wants the evening to leave them with something to talk about at dinner. The Studio is an intimate room, and an ensemble piece in a room that size lands differently than it would in a large house.
Timing and Planning
Book through The Studio@620's site, where member discounts apply at checkout, and check the page for the full performance schedule beyond opening night. The 600 block of Central is one street north for dinner before or a drink after, and with no home games downtown, the Sundial garage and street parking on 1st Avenue South are both easy.
Fall Music Night with Nick Ewing at Imagine Museum
Why It Stands Out
Friday, October 2, from five until 7:30 in the evening, Imagine Museum at 1901 Central Avenue opens its Grand Hall for a live set of original music from Nick Ewing. Fifteen dollars, or five for museum members, and the ticket includes museum admission to the glass exhibitions and light refreshments. Seating is limited and advance purchase through Eventbrite is recommended.
Best For
Anyone who wants an early Friday evening that ends in time for a dinner reservation. It is also the gentlest way to see Imagine's collection for the first time, with music in the hall and the galleries open around it.
Neighborhood Angle
Imagine has its own lot, so park there and walk Grand Central afterward. The same morning, the museum hosts The Art of Coffee from 10:30 to 11:30, a guided tasting of four Central and South American coffees from Mission Grounds with live brewing demonstrations, at ten dollars including admission. And from September 26 through October 4, Imagine's Blue Star Welcome Week offers free admission to active duty military, veterans, and their families.
Event Q&A
Which event is best for families?
None of the four is built for young children, so look to the breweries. Cage Brewing at 2001 1st Avenue South runs a free Family Day Oktoberfest with The Happy Campers on Sunday, September 27 at three, and its Thursday shows on September 24 and October 1 at 6:30 come with kids eat free.
Which event feels most on-brand for a date night?
Sake Block on October 1. Ten tastings, handmade cups, live music, and a building with some history to it. The Wash is the choice if you would rather sit and be told a story.
Which event is worth planning ahead for?
Sake Block, particularly the VIP tier, and the book club, since you need the book in hand before the 27th. Fall Music Night has limited seating as well.
Which event is best for someone new to the neighborhood?
The Page to Picture Book Club. One ticket introduces you to the independent cinema, the independent bookshop, and a room of people who live nearby.
What else is happening on the corridor on Friday, October 2?
Plenty. Creative Clay at 1846 1st Avenue South holds its free First Friday Art Market from ten until two, with work by its member artists. Comedian Joey Avery plays Coastal Comedy Night at Coastal Creative, 2201 1st Avenue South, at eight, for ages eighteen and up with a two drink minimum. And 3 Daughters Brewing warms up the night before with free Boots and Brews line dancing on Thursday, October 1 from seven.
