Gasparilla Children’s Parade

On Saturday, I went to the Gasparilla Children’s Parade on Bayshore Drive. While I have to kick my own butt for not bringing an extra camera battery (I only got about 850 pictures) and my telephoto lens, it was still a decent time.

This parade, being for the children, didn’t feature any of the booze or debauchery that I usually associate with Gasparilla. This is my second trip to the piratefest since I moved here, in 2005. I went to the 2006 drunken half-naked adult parade previously.

As expected, the event was packed. We ended up parking in one of the parking garages in Hyde Park and then walking the mile or so to the event. I definitely should have worn my Nike’s, as the Converse All-Stars I usually sport are not meant for distance, even at walking speeds. When we get there (Around 3:00), we’re told the parade will start in a few minutes. Finally, at after 4:00, it finally starts.

First, you get the cavalcade of police that come through. Then the Girl Scouts. Some of the girls dressed as my favorite cookies.

Then the Boy Scouts walked through. This portion of children walking took almost an hour in an of itself before we ever saw a float. Finally, some floats!

An example of one of the many pirate ship floats to follow. It amazes me how much time that goes into some of these. They’re obviously very well crafted.

Fox News’s John Wilson throwing beads to an awaiting crowd.

The Cigar City Float. Lots of people walking along with it smoking cigars. The whole place smelled like my house within minutes.

The Krewe of the Pair O’ Dice Float. I love the old world New Orleans styling here.

The Geico Gecko makes an appearance.

A fun Romanesque Float.

A very large and coordinated band followed. Probably 100+ members, this band was very good.

For more photos, see my complete Flickr Set:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/denisbaldwin/sets/72157612911917021/

I’ll be going to the night parade in Ybor in 2 weeks, this time with an extra battery, my telephoto lens, a pint of Rum and a dirty mind.

Uncategorized children's parade, gasparilla