From the perspective of someone who lives entirely too close to the Gasparilla Parade route to be amused by rites of pissage and ad hoc vomitoriums, this year’s version was a credit to the city and TPD.
Last year a message was emphatically sent–through schools, the media, and parade-day reinforcement via arrests–that Gasparilla was no longer an ode to anarchy in the alleys and side streets of South Tampa. A longer parade route to Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park and more portable toilets also made a difference. But the inclement weather of 2010 played a part. This year the weather was chamber-of-commerce ideal and the results were even better.
No, it would not be mistaken for the children’s version, but the case can be made that a snaking, 6-figure crowd abutting a residential neighborhood doesn’t have to be an all-call for drunks and punks. Not if the city maintains its commitment of no-tolerance for all that no neighborhood should have to tolerate. A signature parade celebrating Tampa is worth it. Keep up the good work.