October 10, 2026
By Michele Miller
What’s What New Port Richey
“If the sun refused to shine,” as Robert Plant croons on the old Led Zeppelin song “Thank You”, I’d clearly be going out of my mind.
“Enough!” was the thought that ran through my head with the steady rain pelting the metal Florida room roof adjacent to my home office as Hurricane Isaias stirred up the Gulf of Mexico, putting me off-kilter with my outdoor lap swimming and neighborhood walking routines.
A Jiminy Cricket nudge of the conscience and a reminder of the hurricanes that blew this way in the autumn of 2024 get you to countig blessings
Could be worse.
The dreary weather made for a busy news week on a few fronts and several new posts that the website is getting some traffic on. The 20th Annual Cotee River Bike Fest was postponed until January 2027, a good call on the part of organizers who exercised their concern about the safety & well-being of attendees, vendors, and bands and might be considering moving the event to January permanently considering fall weather patterns.
There was the opening of self-serve sandbag stations in Pasco County and the City of NPR. And a flood alert was issued by the National Weather Service warning that the Anclote River, which snakes around my little community and has a history of encroaching on neighbors’ backyards, was predicted to cause some minor flooding on Saturday morning. (File photo, October 2024).
Good to know.
The rain was looking to let up; the old man was telling me in his Progressive commercial voice, meaning the roads should look pretty good just in time for our mid-Sunday afternoon trek to the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center to see Buena Vista Social Club.
Thank You.
Yep, we’re at that time of our lives. Hate driving in the rain. And at night.
As the forecast goes, it looks like we’re in for some brighter days.
On to that…..
The coming week brings a few highlights to mention, including the much-anticipated return of the ADULTS ONLY Rocky Horror Picture Show, which will run over two weekends (October 16-18 & 23-25) at the Richey Suncoast Theatre. The 1975 musical comedy horror film, featuring the late Tim Curry (August 2026), Susan Sarandon, and Barry Bostwick, is a campy, cult classic that’s traditionally shown in October in theatres throughout the country.
The Richey Suncoast production features a shadow cast and loosely guided audience participation that includes a bag full of props and encouragement to hurl cued, colorful insults and some obscenities at the characters on the screen and stage.
The City of New Port Richey hosts the second installment of the free Concert in the Park series with T.L. Jentgens (Oct. 17), and a self/community-guided Drum Circle held in the Sims Park beforehand. Check out other local live music gigs listed on the Live Music Calendar in the Things To Do section.
For the altruistic sort, there are a couple of local non-profits seeking help and funds now for Veterans Day events planned in November. Volunteers are also needed for Pack the Park for Pack-a-Sack (October 24 in Sims Park), an annual fest and fundraiser that fuels One Community Now’s mission to feed children in need who go hungry over weekends and school breaks when school meals are not available. The Helping Hands Calendar also has some options for those needing help or looking for a local organization to support.
On a last note, this week brings the second installment of “This Band for Hire” featuring single artists, duos, trios, and bands from the area who are creating their own original music or making cover songs their own with original arrangements.
Our October spotlight goes on Julie Black & Her Band.
There’s another very talented artist in the pipeline for November, and if This Band for Hire gets some traction, What’s What NPR will be putting more original area artists front and center on a monthly basis.
Know of any? Drop me a line at mmiller@whatswhatnewportrichey.com
Catch you up next week. Now onward. M.
Michele Miller is the creator, editor, and content creator for the What’s What New Port Richey community website and biweekly newsletter, which has been up and running since June of 2020. Prior to that, she wrote “good news” stories, features, and columns while working as a reporter and photographer for the St. Petersburg Times/Tampa Bay Times. She resides in New Port Richey. Contact her at mmiller@whatswhatnewportrichey.com. To read more of her essays, click here.
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