Gasparilla Shout Out

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.

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