By Kate Quesada
Residents interested in down-sizing or living more economically, will not want to miss the Tampa Bay Tiny Homes Show in Ruskin this month.
The show, which is taking place at Hillsborough Community College’s (HCC) SouthShore Campus in Ruskin on November 11 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m., is hosted by Circle Pond Tiny Home Community and Tampa Bay Tiny Homes, in collaboration with HCC’s Sustainability Department and will offer a large variety of information for anyone interested in the Tiny Home lifestyle.
Ruskin resident Debbie Caneen, director of admissions at Sun Towers in Sun City Center, is chairing the event to help residents learn more about the concept of tiny houses and to discuss the idea of a tiny home community in the Ruskin area. Attendees will be able to tour a number of different tiny homes and listen to a host of speakers on topics related to the lifestyle.
According to Caneen, the Tiny House lifestyle is a movement where people are trying to downsize the space they live in for many reasons, the most popular of which are environmental and financial concerns and desire for more time and freedom. Tiny Houses come in all shapes, sizes and forms, but they all enable simpler living in a smaller, more efficient space. The typical American Home is around 2,600 sq. ft., whereas the typical Tiny House is between 100 and 400 sq. ft.
“I work at Sun Towers Retirement Community in Sun City Center which is a 55 plus community of about 20,000 seniors,” said Caneen. “On any given day, approximately 3,000 people come into Sun City Center to provide services to the seniors. These people are doing jobs such as dietary, housekeeping, care giving, nursing, sales, meal prep, etc. Their wages are not high enough to find housing nearby due to the cost of the least expensive decent home in our area being around $1,400 per month with an electric bill of approximately $200 per month. Not affordable at all. This idea of the Tiny Home Show is to hopefully inspire a few pocket communities nearby for people to find quality living space at an affordable price.”
Presenters at the show will include John and Fin Kernohan, founders of the United Tiny House Association, who will be speaking of composting for tiny living, Josue Robles of the USF Architecture and Urban Design faculty discussing alternative houses design, Adam Curtis from Freedom Bank who will be speaking on home financing and many more.
Information will also be available on subjects from hydroponics and edible landscaping to solar power and alternative energy.
Tickets to the show are $5 a person, Veterans and HCC students can enter free with valid ID. Organizers are asking residents to purchase tickets in advance at http://bit.ly/tinyhomeshow.
All proceeds benefit the Firehouse Cultural Center and South Shore Coalition for Mental Health and Aging, HCC SouthShore is located at 551 24th St. N.E. in Ruskin. For more information, search Tampa Bay Tiny Home Show on Facebook or call 786-7300.
