The Florida Orchestra to offer free Instrument Petting Zoos

Not all children like soccer games and baseball tournaments, but they might love creating music for you and your family to enjoy! For the musical genius in your family, The Florida Orchestra is putting something on this summer just for you. Even if your child has never played an instrument in their life, the Instrument Petting Zoo offers a wonderful way for them to become acquainted with the music and learn more about what they could enjoy in the future.

This summer, The Florida Orchestra is offering free events across three counties – Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas  ̶  during the summer months. They have partnered with public libraries and various organizations to allow your children to play with instruments and decide which one might be the right one for them. I know that when I joined middle school band, there was a lot of pressure put on the kids to decide what instrument they wanted to play for the duration of their middle school career when most of them had not even seen an instrument before. This type of event would have been tremendously helpful for me and most of the other kids in my class to discover if we wanted to play the flute or the trumpet or even the clarinet.

Allow TFO to give your child access to some of the wonderful instruments in the world, so they can hold and test out several different instruments before they might begin a new hobby. Some of the instruments your child will be able to get their hands on are the violin, cello, trombone, trumpet, flute and more! Don’t let your kids get into the summer rut when they are out of school; give them something that could challenge their creativity and abilities while having a wonderful time. Make sure to also ask the volunteers about TFO’s new concert coming up in October all about the 50^th anniversary of the moon landing when you are there! It should be out of this world!

TFO’s Instrument Petting Zoo Schedule for Summer 2019

• Tuesday, June 11, 10 am: Hugh Embry Library, 14215 Fourth St., Dade City
• Tuesday, June 11, 2 pm: New River Branch Library, 34043 SR 54, Wesley Chapel
• Thursday, June 13, 2 pm: Bloomingdale Regional Library, 1906 Bloomingdale Ave., Valrico
• Saturday, June 15, 4:30 pm: Uptown Music Festival, UACDC, 14013 N 22nd St., Tampa
• Saturday, June 22, 10 am: Healthy Living Community event at SouthShore Community Resource Center, 201 14th Ave. SE, Ruskin
• Wednesday, July 10, 2 pm: Brandon Regional Library, 619 Vonderburg Drive, Brandon
• Thursday, July 18, 10 am: Regency Park Branch Library, 9701 Little Road, New Port Richey
• Thursday, July 18, 2 pm: Hudson Regional Library, 8012 Library Road, Hudson
• Saturday, July 20, 10 am: Healthy Living Community event at Plant City Community Resource Center, 307 N Michigan Ave., Plant City
• Wednesday, July 24, 2 pm: Arthenia L. Joyner University Area Community Library, 13619 N 22nd St.,Tampa
• Tuesday, July 30, 11 am: Lutz Branch Library, 101 W Lutz Lake Fern Road, Lutz
• Wednesday, July 31, 11 am: South Holiday Library, 4649 Mile Stretch Drive, Holiday
• Wednesday, July 31, 2 pm: Centennial Park Library, 5740 Moog Road, Holiday
• Saturday, August 3, 2 pm: Land O’Lakes Branch Library, 2818 Collier Parkway, Land O’Lakes
• Saturday, August 17, 10 am: Healthy Living Community event at Lee Davis Neighborhood Service, Center, 3402 N 22nd St., Tampa

Check out floridaorchestra.org for more info!