Free2Rock Academy
Voice, guitar, drums and bass, then songwriting and audio and video production. The house band, Solar Flair, plays area events.
Free2Rock details
ProjectFREE: a stage, a studio and a band for adults with diverse abilities in Gulfport, Florida.
A registered not-for-profit on 51st Street South since 2009. Members learn every weekday, rehearse, make art, perform around Tampa Bay, and keep every dollar their work sells for.
The line-up
Ten programs, one building, and the members get top billing.
ProjectFREE started in 2009 as a full adult day training program built around the arts. It still runs that way: music, theater and fine art are how the day is taught, and the work that comes out of it gets performed, shown and sold.
See every programfeaturing Solar Flair
RisingSTARZGalleryCulinary & food truck
Life Skills 3Adult Day TrainingIndependent LivingFree2GrowSupported LivingTransportation
2026 51st St S, Gulfport, Florida. Admission is by application: call (727) 603-0595 to talk about a place.
Freedom ★ Respect ★ Education ★ Employment ★
Since 2009
It started as a TV show in Connecticut.
Kim Costanzo founded ProjectFREE as a family venture, inspired by her niece Lauren. From 2009 to 2013 it ran a public access program out of Waterford, New England's got Special Talent, that put musicians with diverse abilities on air. The stage moved to Gulfport. The idea did not change.
Monday to Friday
- 9:00Academics
- 10:00Art
- 12:00Lunch
- 12:30Music
The running order
Same set every weekday, so everyone knows what comes next.
The weekly schedule is the same Monday to Friday: academics at nine, the art studios at ten, lunch together at noon and music at half past twelve. A day that runs to a known order leaves room for the hard part, which is learning something new in front of your friends.
Fitness, community service, rehearsals and outings fit around it: fishing, bowling, nature hikes, movies and local festivals. Transportation runs to and from program. Read how the Adult Day Training day works.
Admit onePlaces are by application. Families, members and support coordinators welcome.Call (727) 603-0595
Programs
Learn it, rehearse it, then take it out in front of people.
Every program ends somewhere public: a gig, a curtain call, an art market table, a food truck window. That is the point of the place.
RisingSTARZ Theater GroupThe theater troupe. Last year it staged Our Wicked Truth, an original musical based on Wicked. A holiday show is in rehearsal now.RisingSTARZ
Gallery & StudiosCeramics and sculpture, glass fusion, painting, drawing, mixed media, decoupage and upcycled furniture. Artists keep 100% of their sales.Gallery
Culinary Program & Food TruckLife Skills 4: a commercial kitchen on site and a working food truck, with paid vocational training and certifications. Being built for 2026.Culinary & food truck
Life Skills 3Music and the performing arts as the way in to competency and people skills, with fitness, academics, community service and outings.Life Skills 3
Independent LivingStructured, lively homes with shared meals, weekend outings, YMCA membership and in-home support staff. Now accepting applications.Independent Living
Artists keep 100% of what their work sells for.
Ceramics, glass fusion, painting, drawing, mixed media, decoupage and upcycled furniture come out of the Gallery & Studios every week. Next is the culinary program: a kitchen on site and a working food truck, built so members get paid to train. The target is 2026, and donations are what get it there.
From the people who walk in the door
“I am a volunteer there They offer great teachers to the adults that are disabled, they have some of the students art projects for sale. Helpful staff.”
5.0
Google rating from 13 reviews
Solar Flair, runner-up, Best of the Bay
Creative Loafing Tampa Bay readers’ poll, as Kim Costanzo tells it
“Dedicated warm friendly people who are making a difference in many ways”
Amysway Barton, on Google
“Great place nice people”
Evelyn Pettiford, on Google
Questions
What families ask first.
Anything not here, ask Kim and the team directly on (727) 603-0595, or send a note from the contact page.
ProjectFREE is a registered not-for-profit in Gulfport, Florida, that runs performing arts, fine art and day-training programs for adults with diverse abilities. Kim Costanzo founded it in 2009 with Tony Costanzo, Sharon Vanderlinde and the late Rosemary Dempsey.
The weekly schedule runs Monday to Friday with the same running order every day: academics at 9:00, art at 10:00, lunch at 12:00 and music at 12:30. Outings, fitness and rehearsals for shows fit around it.
Call (727) 603-0595 to talk it through, or use the online application. Independent living has its own application, and the homes are accepting applications now.
Ask on the phone. ProjectFREE's Life Skills programs sit within the services of Florida's Agency for Persons with Disabilities, so how a place is funded depends on your situation. Call (727) 603-0595 to talk it through.
Artists keep 100% of what their work sells for. The culinary program and food truck are being built so members can get paid to train and earn certifications, with the goal of opening in 2026.
Yes. ProjectFREE provides transportation to and from programs and to events.
Your ticket in
Come and see a weekday at 51st Street South.
Book a visit, ask about a place in a program, tour the independent living homes or talk through how funding works for your family. The independent living homes are accepting applications now, and ProjectFREE is hiring companion and personal support staff.