Thanks for buying tickets to the Countdown Improv Festival! Here are a few things to know before you go!
Getting there
The festival takes place at the HCC Ybor Performing Arts Building, on the campus of the Ybor City branch of Hillsborough Community College, in the Ybor City neighborhood of Tampa, Florida. It is located on the corner of E. Palm Ave. and N. 15th St. If you plan to use GPS to locate the building, the best address to use is 1411 E. 11th Avenue.
Parking
Paid parking is available after 6:30 PM on Thursday, after 5:00 PM on Friday, and all day and night Saturday in the HCC lots directly to the north and the west of the Performing Arts Building. Parking is not expensive, but be forewarned: Some of the lots require use of the City of Tampa’s official parking smartphone app. For more information on the app, click here.
A limited amount of free street parking is also available on E. 11th Avenue and N. 14th Street. Finally, you can always find parking at the Fernando Noriega Jr. Garage on E. Palm Avenue between N. 12th and N. 13th Streets, a two-block walk from the venue.
Checking in
When you arrive, please check in at the festival box office, located on the ground floor of the HCC Ybor Performing Arts Building.
Ticket types and seating
All festival seating is general admission, meaning that there is no reserved seating for any festival shows! If you are intent on sitting in a specific seat, please arrive early.
For any given block of shows, we will seat audience members in this order: 1) People who have purchased tickets to a specific block of shows. 2) People who have purchased tickets to a specific festival stage. 3) Weekend and nightly passholders. 4) Festival performers and stand-by ticketholders.
All festival shows will start within 5 minutes of the posted start times. Latecomers will be seated at the discretion of management.
Ticket upgrades
If you wish to upgrade your tickets to a nightly or a weekend pass, please inquire at the box office and we will be happy to assist!
Festival stages
The HCC Mainstage is on the second floor of the HCC Ybor Performing Arts building, and is elevator-accessible. The HCC Studio Theatre and the Commodore Stage are located on the ground floor of the HCC Ybor Performing Arts Building. We’ll have ample signage to direct you, but if you still can’t find the stage you’re looking for, please inquire at the box office or at one of the official merch tables.
Set length and intermissions
Each block of shows will run between 70-90 minutes. There will be a 10-15 minute break between each block of shows.
Restrooms
There are restrooms available on the first and second floors of the HCC Ybor Performing Arts Building.
Food and beverage
Bottled water is the only food or beverage item allowed inside the theaters, and, thus, is the only food or beverage item that we’ll have available at the festival! If you’re looking for something other than bottled water, please inquire with a festival staffer and we’ll be happy to provide some local recommendations
COVID-19
We encourage mask usage within all festival venues, but cannot compel mask usage within festival venues. Masks will be available free of charge to anyone who wants one. Hand sanitizer will also be made available.