Rock AIDS: Benefit for Metro Wellness and Community Centers

November 13, 2013

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by: Mike Halterman

Metro Wellness and Community Centers will be hosting an event called “Rock AIDS!” This event, preceding World AIDS Day, hopes to bring about heightened awareness of HIV/AIDS and of World AIDS Day, which is observed throughout the world every December 1. The “Rock AIDS!” event will be held on November 23 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park on North Ashley Drive in Tampa, and will be presented by Metro in conjunction with Mail-Meds Clinical Pharmacy.

This event, which promises to be fun for all ages, will feature musical performances by various bands, including headliners The Black Honkeys, Karmic Tattoo, and the John Q Band. For your dining pleasure, there will be a number of food trucks, many of which boast festive “rock” names, such as I Wanna Wok, Betty Rocker Bakery, Piled High Roast Beef Sandwiches, and Shark Bites. There will also be vendors on-site, an area for children to play, and rapid HIV testing available at the Metro Wellness recreational vehicle.

Metro Wellness and Community Centers serves people infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS in four counties in the Tampa Bay area, and also educates people on how to prevent HIV transmission. Metro Wellness’s Hillsborough County offices are located in Ybor City, Tampa; with Pinellas County’s offices adjacent to the I-275/375 interchange in St. Petersburg; and the Pasco and Hernando County offices located in New Port Richey. Metro Wellness also operates a thrift shop on Central Avenue in St. Petersburg. Metro Wellness serves nearly 9,000 people each year, and continues to grow 20 years after its inception.

If you’d like to buy tickets to this event, they are $5 in advance or $10 at the park. You can purchase your advance tickets by going to metrotampabay.org/event/rock-aids, by calling (727) 321-3854, or by stopping by the Metro Wellness Centers in St. Petersburg (3251 3rd Ave. N.) and in Tampa (1315 E. 7th Ave.).