Things to Do in Carrollwood Village

"We've got more canoes and kayaks than fingers and toes to count them," Captain Wendy explains. "Also, three sailboats, eleven pontoons––all rentable. The funny thing is, this business came from a big accident." She's referring to the company’s inception in 2002, when a devastating hurricane led a friend to sign his company’s single sailboat over to Wendy and her husband, Bruce. "We were in marketing––then, suddenly, we were in boating." More than 10 years later, Windsong Charters has flourished under the duo’s stewardship. The company now performs 200 weddings each year and equips a wide range of patrons to revel in the breathless joy of cutting through playful zephyrs and out across the water. Wendy and Bruce encourage fishing, drinking, and bringing pets on boating voyages, and the two share stories to delight guests or calm champagne bottles propped next to brand-new yachts. As propellers hum to life and paddles make a gentle kissing sound against the surf, visitors scan the horizon for the variety of wildlife that slips along just below the surf's surface or comes wheeling out of tufts of cumulonimbus. "I wish the animals would give us their schedules,” Wendy says, “but, on a given day, you could see manatees, dolphins, stingrays, and lots of birds."

Tampa Bay Grand Prix puts you behind the wheel of a true European-style electric OTL Pro-Kart. These easy-to-handle, durable, and reliable karts were designed specifically for rental and can reach speeds of up to 45 miles per hour—packing enough excitement to make the family sedan feel like a golf cart tethered to a mountain by a chain made out of iron recovered from a shipwreck. The OTL Pro-Kart's unique steel-tube frame provides security from red koopa shells and banana peels, while the track's state-of-the-art barrier ensures extra safety.

The Bead Boutique puts beauty into the hands of the beholder, leading to a sense of accomplishment rivaling that of a financially successful mime. There are more than 60 different rotating classes, most of which are about two hours long, for aspiring bead buffs of all experience levels. Beginners can learn the tricks of the trade with a class in basic stringing, basic wire wrapping, or basic knotting. Intermediate users can choose from a number of weaving classes, increasing technical proficiency while earning the sophomoric right to put freshmen in lockers. With the basics down pat, third-level mages can try out a class in metalsmithing, PMC, or copper etching, among many other advanced-level courses.

A bastion of family-friendly arts and entertainment since its curtain first rose in 1983, Ruth Eckerd Hall demonstrates its commitment to the community through concerts, movie screenings, and all-ages education at the Marcia P. Hoffman Performing Arts Institute. Graduates of the school go on to star in musical and theater productions on the stage, overlooking 2,180 sloping seats arranged continental style for great sightlines and impeccable acoustics.

Café Kiln offers a variety of ways to cultivate creativity. Paint and glaze a blank piece of pottery, fuse glass, tile your own mosaic, or nurse a tender hunk of clay into form. The all-inclusive art emporium doesn't charge a studio fee, and all supplies (glaze, tools, instruction, paints) are included. Start by selecting your piece of pottery or mosaic shape. Consult stencils and stamps for design direction if you're stumped on the design—with more than 100 colors to choose from, Café Kiln rivals the Crayola Big Box with its wardrobe of hues. Mosaic creations will be ready for you to take home that day. Allow a week for pottery pieces to be fired and glazed.

Captain Larry and his esteemed crew at Tampa Water Taxi Company whisk passengers along the city's historic harbor and through Davis Island Canal so they can spy stunning views of notable architecture and wildlife. During the night tour, sojourners glide past the notable dwellings that speckle Davis Island. Knowledgeable guides color in the background of the historic Plant Hall of the University of Tampa as ghost-ship crews strain to listen in without being seen. Reflections of the city's lights dance in the gentle waterways, and stars overhead twinkle in time with the craft's romantic melodies as passengers snack on refreshments and sip premium complimentary white or zinfandel wine. Daily tours span 75 minutes, and vessels are known to rub shoulders with friendly dolphins, which often approach boats to fish for invitations to human pool parties.