Looking for an excuse to visit one of the most recent additions to the Florida State Park system?

Werner-Boyce Salt Springs State Park will host Holiday Nights Under the Stars on Saturday, Dec. 6, noon to 10 p.m. The event is geared to instill a holiday mood in the grumpiest of Scrooges with leisurely walk along a decorated trail, craft vendors and seasonal music. There also will be food, hayrides and games. Attendees are encouraged to bring a lawn chair and enjoy the festive holiday music. Admission is free, however, there may be a small charge to participate in some of the planned activities.

The event is sponsored by the Salt Springs Alliance, a volunteer organization made up of concerned citizens who have a love of Florida State Parks and seek to help the Florida Park Service provide resource-based recreation while preserving, interpreting and restoring natural, cultural and historical resources at Werner-Boyce Salt Springs State Park.

Werner-Boyce Salt Springs State Park is located just behind Sears in Gulfview Square Mall and can be reached by turning west off of U.S. Hwy. 19 at Cinema Drive in Port Richey. Cinema Drive dead ends at the park entrance.

For more information, call 727-816-1890.

There will be a public workshop regarding the future of Legacy Park on Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2 p.m., at Venice City Hall, 401 W. Venice Ave., Venice.

The city is asking its citizens to share their vision for Legacy Park, located on the east side of the Intracoastal Waterway off of East Venice Avenue. The park will benefit the public by:

• Providing additional parking for users of the Marina Park boat ramp, Legacy Trail, Venetian Waterway Park, Venice Historic Train Station and SCAT bus service
• Preserving a strategically located area in green space for perpetuity
• Providing a kayak and canoe launch to Hatchett Creek
• Providing concrete trails connecting the nearby trails to Hatchett Creek
• Providing a wildlife observation deck
• Landscaping the area with native vegetation
• Restoring three stormwater ponds for better area drainage.

The City Council recently approved the purchase of the 10.2-acre site. The land was formerly the site of a cement plant until it was purchased by Waterford Intracoastal Inc., a development corporation that planned to build condominiums on the property. Before the city takes possession, the current owner will clear and clean the property. The city is now working with Sarasota County Parks and Recreation to plan for future maintenance and operation.

The workshop will provide an opportunity for the community to suggest additional ways of using the property and identify partnering opportunities with nonprofit organizations and civic groups.

The Hillsborough County Small Business Information Center will host a Small Business Survival Expo on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 1 to 8 p.m., at the center, 7402 W. 56th St., Building 400, Tampa.

Geared to help companies survive in these difficult times when consumer spending is down, this expo will offer methods to help owners stabilize their businesses in an unstable economy. Workshop sessions will be designed to help small business owners get a handle on debts, learn to make the most of opportunities and challenges and get their companies into growth mode. Seminars will include:

• Financing a business in today's economy
• Improving cash flow understanding
• What a business owner's credit score means to his business
• Low budget marketing strategies
• Networking and business growth opportunities

Sponsored by the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners and The Tampa Tribune, the expo is free but space is limited. To register, call 813-914-4028, and press option No. 5.

National television and radio personality Glenn Beck will present his Christmas play, The Christmas Sweater, on Tuesday and Wednesday, Dec. 2 and 3, 7:30 p.m., at Ruth Eckerd Hall, 1111 McMullen Booth Road, Clearwater.

Based on Beck’s novel of the same name, The Christmas Sweater is described as a compelling piece of theater, filed with warmth and humor. It tells the story of real people as they come to terms with tragedy, family, redemption, love and the power of faith. Presented as a “living movie,” the show will include cinematic animation projections and a vibrant musical score.

Tickets range from $45 to $85. Call 727-791-7400.

Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo recently welcomed the birth of two white tiger cubs.

The seven-week old cubs have already begun exploring their surroundings in the zoo’s Asian Gardens exhibit area. The cubs, along with their mother Nikki, spent the first weeks together off exhibit for their safety and privacy in boding.

According to Lowry Park Zoo staff, this is the second litter for Nikki while living at the facility. The newest cubs, a boy and a girl, were born the morning of Oct. 4 weighing about 3.6 and 2.5 pounds respectively on their first veterinary check-up. The zoo’s adult white male tiger, Yala, is Nikki’s mate and sired the new cubs.

The zoo’s Asia keepers have monitored mother and the newborn cubs closely since birth, and report that Nikki is very attentive.

White tigers originate from Bengal tigers, according to Lowry Park Zoo. They are not albinos and they are not a separate subspecies of tiger. They have blue eyes, a pink nose and white fur covered with chocolate-colored stripes. White tigers are born to tigers that carry the unusual gene needed for white coloring. Wild white tigers are very rare, because their white coats provide poor camouflage, making them easily spotted by prey.

Public viewing of the zoo’s newest white wonders will be limited to morning initially as the cubs continue to grow and mature. Mother and cubs will rotate on exhibit with their white tiger father, Yala.

Dixie Longate will throw Dixie’s Tupperware Party, a hilarious show which turned Off Broadway into a Tupperware-mania celebration. Eight performances are planned, beginning Tuesday, Nov. 25, in the Murray Studio theatre at Ruth Eckerd Hall, 1111 McMullen Booth Road, Clearwater.

Performances will be Tuesday through Thursday, 8 p.m.; Friday, 2 and 8 p.m.; and Saturday, 2, 5 and 8 p.m. Tickets are $35.

Dixie’s Tupperware Party features Dixie Longate, a fast-talking Tupperware lady who has packed up her catalogues and left her children in an Alabama trailer park to journey across America.

Designed as an actual Tupperware Party, the show is filled with humorous tales and anecdotes, heartfelt accounts, giveaways, audience participation opportunities and the most fabulous assortment of Tupperware ever sold on a theater stage.

Written by Kris Anderson, the production is playing Clearwater as part of a 20-city national tour.

For tickets, call 727-791-7400.

Tampa plans to enforce the tightened water use restrictions for the establishment of turfgrass and low volume irrigation in response to extreme water shortage conditions in the city and surrounding communities.

The additional restrictions will be enforced in response to the modified Phase III Water Shortage declaration issued recently by the Southwest Florida Water Management District under Executive Order SWF 08-044. According to a city press release, Tampa will begin issuing citations for observed violations of the new restrictions on Friday, Nov. 28.

Tampa residents are asked to review their irrigation practices and to check any timers they may have controlling irrigation on their properties. The new restrictions place a first-time restriction on the use of micro-irrigation and low-volume irrigation. Inside Tampa city limits, no irrigation of any type is permitted between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. unless it is with reclaimed water. Locations using any water source other than reclaimed water may irrigate only on this schedule:

• Addresses ending in an even number and addresses ending A-M may irrigate during permitted hours on Tuesdays
• Addresses ending in an odd number and addresses ending N-Z may irrigate during permitted hours on Sundays
• Locations with no addresses, such as medians and common areas, may irrigate during permitted hours on Sundays

Once-a-week watering and other water use restrictions have been in place in Tampa since May 2006.

Tampa’s water use restrictions are enforced inside Tampa city limits seven days a week, 24 hours a day and extend to all water sources, including well and surface water. Citations are issued on first observance of a violation; no warnings are issued. Violations of the water use restrictions may result in fines of up to $450 and mandatory court appearances.

Water use restrictions for Tampa Water Department customers residing in unincorporated Hillsborough County are established and enforced by Hillsborough County Water Resource Services. Information on Hillsborough County restrictions is available by calling 813-275-7094.

Information about city of Tampa restrictions is available by calling 813-274-8121.

Carrie Sue Ayvar, a bilingual storyteller, will present special programs on Saturday, Nov. 22, at two Pasco County libraries.

Ayvar’s schedule will include the following presentations:

• Hugh Embry Library - 14215 Fourth St., Dade City, at 10:30 a.m.
• Hudson Regional Library - 8012 Library Road, Hudson, at 2:30 p.m.

Ayvar will usher her audience on a multicultural journey of the imagination with her vast repertoire of tales. An accomplished storyteller, she flows seamlessly between Spanish and English as she blends traditional, international and personal stories.

Ayvar is very involved in Florida storytelling guilds and is the Florida State liaison to the National Storytelling Network. She also participates in Florida Humanities Council Prime Time Family Reading program as a Bilingual storyteller.

The program is free and open to the public. Call 727-861-3020.

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board recently tightened water restrictions for all of Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties.

According to a SWFWMD press release, the board has enacted additional measures at the request of Tampa Bay Water, the region’s wholesale water supplier. Tampa Bay Water requested the district’s assistance because its water supplies have not returned to pre-drought conditions.

In addition to continuing to restrict lawn watering to one day a week, the new water shortage order calls for local governments to strictly enforce the rules. Additional restrictions include:

• Restricting the time for hand-watering or micro-irrigation for non-lawn landscaping to before 8 a.m. or after 6 p.m.
• Postponing turfgrass renovation, such as replacing lawns, and taking other appropriate steps to avoid an increase in lawn or landscape water use.
• Reducing the 60-day allowance for new plant establishment. During days 31-60, only every-other-day watering is allowed. Some cities or counties continue to have stricter allowances for new plant material.
• Reducing the time aesthetic fountains and waterfalls may operate from eight hours to four hours per day.
• Limiting the use of unattended line flushing by water utilities.
• Requiring water utilities and other local enforcement officials to increase their enforcement efforts, including requirements to respond to citizen complaints and issue citations without having first issued a warning.

According to SWFWMD, the district is still impacted from two years of drought and the region still has a 16-inch rainfall deficit for the past 24 months. All of the water resources have declined rapidly during the first month of the dry season and the U.S. Drought Monitor shows the region in abnormally dry to moderate drought conditions. While groundwater levels are at the bottom of normal ranges, all major rivers in the district are below normal and lakes continue to be one to four feet below normal. Moreover, forecasts are calling for drier than normal conditions through next spring.

Tampa Bay Water estimates that if the region does not receive above average rainfall January through March, the reservoir will be depleted by early May 2009. Tampa Bay Water’s service area includes Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties, as well as the cities of New Port Richey, St. Petersburg and Tampa.

For more information about water restrictions, visit SWFWMD or call 1-800-423-1476, extension 4498, during normal business hours. SWFWMD also offers tips on what you can do to conserve water.

The Dalí & Beyond Film Series will present Las Doce Sillas (The Twelve Chairs) on Thursday, Nov. 20, 6 p.m., at the Salvador Dalí Museum, 1000 Third St. S., St. Petersburg.

Before Mel Brook's adaptation of The Twelve Chairs, Tomas Gutierrez Alea directed this 1962 version of the classic story set during the aftermath of Cuba's revolution, a time when the property of the rich was being confiscated by the state. On her deathbed, a wealthy woman reveals to her son-in-law, Hipolito, that one of the 12 family chairs taken from her villa by the authorities hides her fortune in jewelry. Hipolito embarks on a hilarious journey to track down the treasure.

The film is in Spanish with English subtitles. Running time is 90 minutes. Admission is free with museum admission which is only $5 after 5 p.m. on Thursday.

Upcoming films to be presented as part of the series include:

• Who the Hell Is Juliette? - Thursday, Dec. 11, 6 p.m.
• Vampires in Havana - Thursday, Dec. 18, 6 p.m.