Meet Red Willy

Posted Jan 27, 2007 by Mike Samuels

Updated Jan 27, 2007 at 10:55 AM

10:45 a.m.
We just got off the bus that took us to the krewe staging area. Krewe members are putting their beads in lockers and pouring beers and trading beads.
During the bus ride over, krewe members downed Jell-o shots and krewe president Beth White dropped a couple bombshells on me.
First, the krewe’s float has two bathrooms on it. Each Gasparilla I work, I’m more and more impressed at how cool those floats are.
Next, the krewe has corporate sponsorship this year from Bennigans. The restaurant is providing a keg of beer and a bartender to serve the krewe.
And last, the krewe is premiering a new drink at this year’s parade: Red Willy.
Named after Will Hills, the namesake for the krewe, the ingredients are a secret, White said.
She did reveal that the krewe held a taste test of three different drinks and Red Willy won because it was only made out of two ingredients, was easy to make and tasted good.
The krewe will be giving out stickers proclaiming, “I just got silly with the Krewe of Red Willy” to anyone, including members of other krewes, who have a drink.
“I like it because you can’t taste the alcohol,” White said. “It’ll bite you in the butt if you have enough.”

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The Man Who Knows How To Get Things

Posted Jan 27, 2007 by Mike Samuels

Updated Jan 27, 2007 at 10:48 AM

10:07 a.m.
Charlie Macheski is the guy who gets things done.

A veteran of more than 20 Gasparilla parades, Macheski in charge of taking care of everything “from A to Z” dealing with the parade.

He sets up the buses with PalMar Transportation Management to transport the krewe to the parade, gets the food catered to the staging area and makes sure everything gets done smoothly.

“Nothing would happen with out me,” he said. “I know what to do and who to call.”

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T-Minus Four Hours, And Already A Full House

Posted Jan 27, 2007 by Josh Poltilove

Updated Jan 27, 2007 at 10:11 AM

At 9:45 a.m., more than four hours before the Gasparilla day parade begins, many of the prime spaces to stand closest to the parade route are starting to fill in.

Some businesses near Bayshore and Bay to Bay boulevards are charging $25 to $30 for parking spaces.

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Treasure Bounty

Posted Jan 27, 2007 by Mike Samuels

Updated Jan 27, 2007 at 09:47 AM

9:31 a.m.
Krewe member Jose Suarez just pulled a whole hunk of beads out of the trunk of his car. He’s got two bags full plus many more strands. 888 in all. Not to mention the 720 he’s already got on the float.
How many does he expect to have left when the parade is over?
“Not many,” he said. “Not many.”

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You Know It’s An Invasion When

Posted Jan 27, 2007 by Mike Samuels

Updated Jan 27, 2007 at 09:23 AM

It’s 7:30 in the morning and you wake up to cannons firing. Not exactly where they coming from, but I certainly didn’t get much sleep after that.

9 a.m.

After a quick breakfast myself of Total Raisan Bran cereal, I have found the Krewe of Hillsborough under the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway. They’re with the Thieves of San Lorenzo, who have provided a breakfast of Dunkin Donuts, bagels, cheese, grapes, coffee, bloody mary’s, screwdrivers and a few bottles of water.

This is the second year that Jill Vanderkam has helped the thieves prepare the breakfast.

“Last year we got too much food, so this year we scaled it back,” said Vanderkam, 38, of Temple Terrace. “It’s really just a guess and go.”
As expected, the bloody mary’s are a big hit. The water? At 9 a.m.? Not so much.

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