Good morning, East of Tampa.
This is one of my favorite weekends of the year out here, and it is packed.
Tonight is the last regular-season Friday of high school football. For a lot of seniors, it is the last regular-season game they will ever play. Go. Cheer for somebody else's kid too.
Saturday is Halloween, and it lands on a weekend this year, so the trick-or-treat run can start before dinner. Sunday we all get an extra hour of sleep. My four boys will not be using it for sleep.
86 and partly sunny today with about a 1-in-5 shot at an afternoon shower, then a warm, dry night for football. Saturday is a repeat at 85, and trick or treat stays in the low 70s with a small chance of a stray storm. Sunday is the wet one: a 70% chance of storms.
Below: tonight's games, eight things to do this weekend, what is new around town, and the local businesses that keep this newsletter free. Let's go.
John
FRIDAY NIGHT
Game of the Week: Robinson at Brandon, 7:30. Robinson beat Chamberlain 46-7 last week, and Brandon closes the regular season at home at E.F. McLane Stadium. Tonight is the final regular-season Friday. Regional playoffs open Nov. 13. Get there early. Scores and schedules
THIS WEEKEND
Photo: Hillsborough County
FRIDAY
Halloween Last Friday in downtown Plant City. 5 to 9 p.m. tonight at McCall Park. Costumes encouraged, a Jeep show, a kids zone, food trucks and local makers. Free, rain or shine. Details
Free trunk or treats tonight. Mango Park in Seffner and Ruskin Park both run 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Ruskin adds a trunk contest, a costume contest and a haunted trail that opens at 8. Free, no registration. Full county list
SATURDAY
One more Harvest Day at Keel Farms. Keel added Halloween as a bonus day: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thonotosassa Rd in Plant City, with trick or treating through the whole market. Free admission, $10 parking. Keel Farms
Paws in the Park, Saturday morning. Free dog costume contest at the Apollo Beach Dog Park, 10 a.m. to noon, prizes for the top three. Six-foot leash, no retractables. Details
Halloween Skate Jam, Saturday night. Apollo Beach Skate Park, registration at 6, skating 6:30 to 8:30. Free food and drinks, a best-trick contest and prizes. Details
Light the Night, Saturday night. Life Church in Apollo Beach opens its whole campus 7 to 9 p.m. for glow games, food and family activities. Free. Details
SUNDAY
Flyer: Brandon Riverview Chamber of Commerce
Free health fair at the Brandon Sunday Market. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Oh So Rustic, 788 W Lumsden Rd. Free health screenings, food trucks and live entertainment, from the Brandon Riverview Chamber with AdventHealth. Details
Circle it: Hillsborough County Fair, Nov. 5 to 15. Carnival rides, exhibits and fair food at the fairgrounds in Dover. Weekday gates open at 5 p.m., weekends at noon. Our full weekend page
HALLOWEEN PIZZA, HANDLED
Photo: Stoner's Pizza Joint
Stoner's Pizza Joint in Bloomingdale is the one at 3428 Lithia Pinecrest Rd in Valrico. It is locally owned and operated, and the crew there feeds Valrico, Brandon, Riverview and FishHawk. They call themselves your game-day pizza headquarters, and with the last regular-season Friday tonight and trick or treat tomorrow, this is their weekend.
The one to try before it is gone: a limited-edition Pumpkin Pizza, running through Saturday, Oct. 31 only. After that it is back to the regular lineup, including the Cheeseburger Pizza they added in September, plus specialty pies, smoked wings, salads and dessert, all on house-made dough. Their rewards app adds points on every order.
Follow the store, not the national brand. @stonerspizzajointbloomingdale is where the crew posts the costumes, the pumpkin carving and the occasional flour fight.
Order ahead for the walk home from the stadium or the trick-or-treat run: 813-436-0016.
NEED TO KNOW
Last weekend of early voting. 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Sunday at any of 27 sites. Election Day is Tuesday at your assigned precinct. Find yours
Clocks fall back at 2 a.m. Sunday. Set them back an hour before bed Saturday.
Fight the Blight, Nov. 2 to 6. Free curbside pickup of furniture, junk, metal, electronics and up to five tires in parts of Seffner and Plant City's Oakview Estates. No yard waste. Check your street
AROUND TOWN
Photo: Osprey Observer
A new furniture showroom on Brandon Blvd. Nova Furniture just opened at 225 W. Brandon Blvd., its fourth Florida store after Cape Coral, Fort Myers and Stuart. Living room, bedroom, dining and mattresses, open seven days. The Osprey Observer has the story
NEW ON THE PODCAST
Episode 2 is out this morning. Ken Sjoberg spent 16 years at AIG, much of it as a fraud investigator. His biggest case was about $3 million, and it came apart because of one file on the guy's laptop named "Passwords."
Now Ken runs Harbor Trust Accounting in Valrico and Brandon, doing taxes and bookkeeping for families and small businesses out here. We get into what to do when an IRS letter shows up, the shoebox-of-receipts problem, why a write-off is not free, the homestead exemption new Floridians miss, and why November beats April for calling your accountant. Reach Ken at (813) 642-4647.
Listen free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or YouTube. Every episode lives at eastoftampa.com/podcast.
REAL ESTATE CORNER
Listing before the holidays? Know your number first. Madison Patron of Foundation Realty Group will run a free home value report for homes in Valrico, Brandon and Bloomingdale, so you know what your house is worth before you decide anything. She also holds Bloomingdale on our Local Sports page, so go Bulls at Freedom tonight. Call Madison at (813) 955-9092.
OUR PARTNERS
PARTNER SPOTLIGHT
Photo: The #1 Meat Guy
Hosting Thanksgiving? The #1 Meat Guy delivers to your home or office around Tampa Bay: prime beef, pork, whole birds, seafood, and ready-to-bake appetizers like Wellingtons and bacon-wrapped scallops, plus a new fresh pasta line with lobster and brisket ravioli. The 27-pound box is $225. Thirty years in the trade and a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Order at thenumber1meatguy.com.
Photo: MVP Orthodontics
After the candy, a smile check. MVP Orthodontics in Riverview offers a free exam for braces and Invisalign, ages 7 to adult. Dr. Mayuri Patel, 11573 US Hwy 301 S. (813) 640-0220.
Photo: Little Fins Pediatric Dentistry
Little Fins Pediatric Dentistry is a dental office built for kids, and they are accepting new patients. Get the post-Halloween checkup on the calendar: (813) 454-0821.
Osprey Observer has been covering our neighborhoods for 25 years, free. Before kickoff tonight, read their 2026 varsity football preview, and the current issue of every edition is online.
Brandon Crossroads Bowl (813) 621-2363 and The Alley at SouthShore (813) 672-8353: Midnight Cosmic Friday and Saturday at Crossroads, Late Night Cosmic until 1:30 a.m. at The Alley.
55 Rides: holiday airport runs, and nobody has to drive. 813-545-6058.
Parkerson's Heating and Air: family owned in Brandon since 1989. $20 off maintenance for non-plan customers through Dec. 31. (813) 759-1535.
PattiCakes Custom Cakes: custom logo cookies for school and office holiday parties. (352) 942-3455.
SEND IT IN
Running something this weekend or next? A fundraiser, a market, a league signup, a kid who did something great? Reply to this email or send it here. If it is open to the public out here, we list it free.
That's the weekend. Be safe out there tomorrow night, slow down in the neighborhoods, and check the candy. I'll see you at a game, and I'll see you back here Sunday.
Happy Halloween. Reply with your best costume photo, kids, dogs or grown-ups, and we will share a few favorites next week.
