This past Saturday, I learned a few things about Gasparilla that are quite a bit different than my preconceived notions. I had never been before, and the reputation of the party is, well, you know what it is. But – for future first-timers, let me share my day with you.
My wife and I got there at 9am. There was no traffic, no lines (for anything!), no security guards checking coolers for illicit alcohol. We parked at Wilson Middle school for $20. The lot was attended, and they made sure no one was blocked in.
We first walked down to Dakota and – thanks to passes from my wife’s boss - crossed over onto the reserved side of Bayshore. None of her coworkers were there yet, so we were able to chill out of the way and enjoy the view of the bay for awhile. After a while, we heard from the rest of her family. Seven of them had arrived and didn’t know where to go next. Since they didn’t have passes we crossed back to the “public” side of Bayshore and met them.
After hooking up with them at Edison and Bayshore we found a clear spot on the parade route a couple of blocks further south. Initially the police had stopped the family with their coolers as they came towards Bayshore. I believe this was during the period when the police were not sure how to deal with coolers and the orders were that none were to be allowed on the parade route.
They returned to the car, dropped off the coolers, and loaded the beer into bags. They emptied a number of the bottled waters and refilled them with liqour. It turns out that none of this was necessary. By the time they headed back to the parade route, police were not even looking into coolers. At that point, we were able to take anything out and drink at our own leisure. Apparently, if you get it in and don’t cause a problem the police won’t hassle you.
While waiting for the parade to begin, we ate the cuban sandwiches and deviled crabs supplied by my mother-in-law. As time went on, the crowd began to build, so we packed up the food to get ready for the parade.
During the parade itself I saw no wild drunkenness, or nudity, or children being trampled. There was no lack of alcohol; one guy actually had a keg on the parade route (covered with a blanket) and several others had commandeered grocery carts, filling them with liquor bottles.
Even leaving was a snap. We left paradeside at 5:00PM, and were back in the truck ten minutes later. We made it home to St. Pete at 5:30. The brother-in-law reports he had a longer trip going to Brandon, and mom-in-law got stuck began a convoy of empty parade floats being driven back to the empty parade float storage area (wherever that is).
That was my first Gasparilla. I loved it and will definitely be back next year!
But there are a couple of things that I will do differently next time.
If you have helpful hints on how to survive parade day, leave ‘em in comments. But either way, I’ll see you next year!
Smitty
4 years ago
This was my first Gasparilla, too. I live in downtown and did the whole thing on my bike. I would’ve put my kayak in but there’s a strict policy against non-motorized boats (though, to be honest, I’m pretty sure that would be easy to circumvent).
I didn’t drink much all day; the sun and wind and bike riding would’ve made that a grotesque misadventure. But being on a bike was actually a great way to see the parade. I rode down toward Bay to Bay at one point and, like you, noticed the crowds were much thinner there. But nowhere were the crowds all that bad.
Being on a bike I could ride up the parade route with the parade, and I did. The worst viewing was from the area around the Davis Islands bridges over Bayshore; people were crammed in there and had set up whole party pads complete with thumping speakers in the backs of pickup trucks. No need to go there. You could watch from the bridges themselves, but this didn’t seem to be that popular.
I rode my bike through the gate around One Bayshore and up the parking garage. There was a security guard there with the thickest neck I’ve ever seen on a human; I’ve found, however, that if you like you belong there, everyone assumes you do. This is true whether you’re swimming in a hotel pool or sneaking past security in a private condo.
From the second and fourth floors of the parking garage I had a terrific view of the parade, although nobody threw any beads my way.
Later I rode into downtown and saw more of the parade, but had more fun riding some of the cheap carnival rides and eating funnel cakes. Incidentally, there was a “Pennsylvania Dutch Funnel Cake” stand. Has anyone ever heard of this? How exactly would the Amish make funnel cakes? A wood fired stove and a metal funnel? I mean, really. I didn’t try them. I will next year.