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And that’s it.
The parade is over. But for those who still have their sea legs, the Pirate Fest Street Festival continues until 11 p.m. on the streets of downtown. There’s music, entertainment, food and a midway. Admission is free.
Thanks for hanging.
These are very cool shots taken from the Eagle 8 helicopter earlier today.
The Gasparilla invasion force was slowed a bit today, in part because it needed to avoid a large group manatees swimming in the area. According to channel 8, none of the lovable, slow moving mammals were injured.
From Michael Spooneybarger:
Parade floats and pirates pass out beads along Bayshore Blvd. in Tampa during Saturday’s annual Gasparilla celebration.
A pirate tosses beads to parade watchers along Bayshore Blvd. in Tampa during Saturday’s annual Gasparilla celebration
Describing himself as a Jewish believer in Jesus, Steve Kaplan of Atlanta handed out pamphlets asking, “Do You Know the Messiah?”
Kaplan, 45, an ordained Baptist minister, said he has passed out such tracts at past Gasparillas, as well as at Mardi Gras in New Orleans and several Olympic cities.
Most people walked by without taking the pamphlets from Kaplan, who wore a white T-shirt emblazoned with the Star of David and the words, “Jesus Loves You.” Others accepted a pamphlet, gave it quick look and then let it flutter to the ground.
“The believers love that we are here,” he said. “The nonbelievers say they hate Jesus, or Jesus doesn’t love them.”
4:35 p.m.:
More cannons and more beads. But all of it was new to Erik Hansson.
With his friends Loren Smith and Dave Denison in tow, Hansson collected his beads for the first time.
A native of Atlanta, Ga., Hansson relocated to Tampa six months ago and decided to check out the Bayshore happenings after Smith, who lives in Tampa, sold him on the idea.
“I told him it was Mardi Gras with family,” says Smith. “And that he might get to see some skin.”
The friends woke up at 6 and got things started at 7, and then made their way to the parade. Despite the lack of bikinis due to the chilly weather, Hansson says he was pleasantly surprised.
“I thought this was just going to be a small festival, but this is huge. I had no idea,” says Hansson. “I love it.”
Meanwhile, the parade went on as helicopters circled overhead as crowds held their ground. Those doing the throwing made eye contact and egged the onlookers on.
While some necks were drowning in beads others weren’t so lucky. Still, spirits were high. The sounds of pop star Chris Brown and rapper Flo Rida playing over the float speakers got the greatest reactions as crowds dipped low for beads or had mini dance-offs for attention.
The floats were packed with plenty of wenches and pirates, and even Captain Morgan, of the rum fame, made an appearance.
Mock cannon sounds had folks jumping and people chucked empty cups and broken bead strands at floats they didn’t like. While some hoofed their way through the streets others tried to ride bikes and a motorized cooler was spotted weaving through the traffic.
By the time the last float passed Carolina Street and mass exodus ensured down the neighboring streets and the crowds pushed north.
From Mark Holan:
When he was younger and more nimble, Bob Pease of Brooksville used to operate rides at the Pirate Fest in downtown.
“Scrambler, Octopus, Rock O’ Plane. I worked them all for about 15 years,” said Pease, 70.
On Saturday, Pease seemed to spend a lot of time with his hands stuffed in his pockets as he worked a vending cart for the first time with Jackie Weaver of Gibsonton. They set up shop on Bayshore near West Arden Place.
“People aren’t really spending,” Weaver said. “I don’t know if it’s the economy, the weather, politics, or what, but people are holding onto their money. It’s an election year, maybe people are waiting to see what happens.”
Here are some nice shots taken from the Davis Islands bridge, looking down on Bayshore Blvd.
And from the department of random, on our live video stream, I just heard some band belting out the INXS song “What You Need.” Someone else must be a child of the 80s.
Think this venerable scallywag got a hug for his beads?
Channel 8 reported earlier that a young couple got engaged during Saturday’s parade after the groom, Devin, propsed via very public sign to his girlfriend Lindsay.
Good for them.
They told Channel 8’s Jennifer Leigh that last year’s Gasparilla was their first date. Altogether now, awwwwww.
Tim Hawk shows off his bead collection prior to the start of the Gasparilla Invasion Saturday.
From Sarah Hoye:
With the parade is officially underway, the gray skies have broken, it’s drizzling and a tad chilly.
Although the drops have sent some folks packing, parade crowds are still hanging tough.
Music is blasting from the passing floats and beads are still flying as onlookers continue to jockey for positions along Bayshore.
It’s also beginning to get a bit rowdy as the crowds continue to swell. There’s longer lines at the portable bathrooms, more beer is flowing and plenty of screaming for beads.
The parade started about five minutes late. A man died of a heart attack at a restaurant nearby. A woman in the procession fell off her horse and broke her ankle.
Beyond that, it’s been a fairly normal Gasparilla, said Tampa police Lt. Jack Diaz.
“Nothing out of the ordinary for a Gasparilla, yet,” Diaz said. “We’ve got a long way to go.”
Diaz said the death happened about 10:30 a.m. and involved a 73-year-old man who had a heart attack while at Jackson’s restaurant on Harbor Island. He had no further details.
The woman who fell from the horse on Bayshore was with a group attending the event on horseback.
She was taken to a hospital.
Four people had been arrested as of 2:30 p.m., most for disorderly conduct, Diaz said.
“I think in year’s past, by the end of the night, we’re up to around 20.”
From photographer Chris Urso: Tampa mayor Pam Iorio hands over the key to the city to Preston Farrior, the captain of Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla.
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