[Newbeginnings]

Hi- Would like to know if anyone goes to Gasparilla Festival in Tampa or has gone to it? I am interested to hear what it is like and worth the drive to Tampa?

[skip0358]

Originally Posted by djohnson

Hi- Would like to know if anyone goes to Gasparilla Festival in Tampa or has gone to it? I am interested to hear what it is like and worth the drive to Tampa?

This will be our 3rd year going. The parade is great lasts for over 2 hours. The floats and costumes are well done. The crowds are tremendous at least 500k from one end to the other. We go with the Parrothead Club and have bleacher seats at the very beginning after the parade ends the bus picks us up and we follow the parade route to Spaghetti Warehouse in Tampa. When you get down closer to the middle the parties, crowds, people on Yachts etc. watching this Parade are unbelievable.

[Mudder]

It's all that the above poster said, but there's another side to it too. There are many drunk kids and young adults who are roaming all over, there's much encouragement for the females on the floats and the ones on the parade route to bare body parts to get more beads and some even go so far as to say it encourages demeaning women and the notion of robbing and pillaging is a sport like activity. We lived in Tampa , went a few times, but then the crowds and noise were too much. If you do go the onle way to go to have seats in the bleachers which you have to purchase ahead of time. I would think going with an organized group would be a good idea. It's almost impossible to just decide to drive down and expect to finf parking anywhere here Bayshore where the parade is, altho they do have shuttles from various parts of the city.

[perrjojo]

We went last year and had the brunch at the Convention Center where the pirates landed and took over the city. We stayed over night and our hotel was on the parade route. The parade and reenactment were great. A large majority of spectators were in pirate dress. It's not for the faint of heart. The crowds are overwhelming and open containers are allowed. Think Mardi Gras environment. We enjoyed it but once was probably enough.

[LndLocked]

I have been to Gasparilla many times and always enjoy it ..... but it is a MAJOR party scene. NOT Mardi Gras major, but it is a party.

However, I went to the Gasparilla Kids Parade yesterday and it is fun and very family friendly. Much more confined down as it is just down Bayshore Boulevard and lots of family fun.

[Bucco]

We just left in Dec. a partime residence in a highrise condo right on the parade route (at the end of the route...downtown) and have been to many of these parades.

LNDLOCKED nailed it. The childrens event is really nice, but the up coming event, while the floats are amazing, is one loud party scene and more is allowed than normal in Tampa during the festival. Many natives get out of town for the event, and on Bayshore, they spent lots of money fencing themselves in to prevent damage to their property.

It is loud and it is a party scene !