Farrell: Gasparilla parade hysteria — don’t believe the hype
February 10, 2009 at 12:06 pm by Scott Farrell
By Scott Farrell
PoHo contributor
Scott Farrell is the host of The Scott Farrell Show weeknights from 9 – 11 pm on NewsTalk AM 820 WWBA.
For the past few days we have been bombarded by reports in local print and tv media about the terrible conduct at this past Gasparilla Day Parade. Don’t believe the hype.
The latest numbers available estimate that 350,000 people attended the day parade on the afternoon of Feb. 7. Local police agencies report that 141 arrests were made in connection with the parade. That’s not a lot when you consider more than one-quarter of a million people were jammed into the three-mile parade route. As to the the local residents who spent their past Saturday videotaping various examples of debauchery in their neighborhood – assuming they are not videotaping for their own prurient pursuits – their claims are valid.
The City of Tampa and the event organizer could easily limit much of the “perceived” bad behavior with a few changes to the parade.
The number of restrooms need to be increased by a factor of 10. It’s hard to find fault with parade goers who end up doing their business on the live oaks that populate the yards of Hyde Park. There just aren’t enough bathrooms available to accomodate the crowd.
Second, either the parade route needs to be extended or the corporate tent city need to be downsized. The massive expansion of corporate tents over the past ten years has reduced the amount of space available for the throngs of “regular” parade goers along the parade route. The result – people roaming the streets of Hyde Park.
These two simple changes to the parade should go a long way to improving the parade experience for parade visitors and residents, alike. As for how to clean up this weekend’s upcoming Knight Parade in Ybor, I have no idea — Your guess is as good as mine.
