St. Petersburg City Council member Leslie Curran is sitting outside her art store at 110 Central Ave., taking miniature cowbells from a box and putting them on a table. Each one is painted blue with “Rays ‘08” and a yellow sunburst on the front.

“I painted 24 dozen of them last night,” she said. ” I had a meeting at 7 o’clock.  At five minutes before, I finally put them down. I went to the meeting with yellow paint on my hands.”

She figures the game-day foot traffic should bring some business. “I’m not selling any art, so I might as well do this,” she said.

Curran, one of the first to get behind the effort to build the domed Tropicana Field in the 1980s, was taking in every moment. In a few hours, the entire block will be turned into a party zone with local merchants and fans, a TV projection of the game and a band.

Even more cowbells were hung from light poles, attached to strings for passers-by to ring.

“I’m thrilled,” she said. “I’ve waited for this day forever.”

Meanwhile, somewhere a lot of cows are getting lost.

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