Guavaween ranks right up there with Gasparilla as Tampa's supreme excuse to party.
Sure, the organizers have added family activities during the day in Ybor City, but the evening bacchanal remains the highlight. The grownup party starts after 4 p.m. Saturday and continues into the wee hours.
The musical entertainment includes national acts such as Ryan Cabrera, Kimberley Locke, Christina Millian, Saliva and Collective Soul, along with local artists. The "Guava Love It!" cooking contest begins at 4 p.m. and the "Mama Guava Stumble" parade steps off at 6:30 p.m. at Seventh Avenue and 20th Street. The costume contest is at 9.
Admission is $12. Shuttle service is available from the Florida State Fairgrounds, Raymond James Stadium and the USF Sun Dome in Tampa and from the Wagon Wheel Flea Market in Pinellas Park. Shuttle service costs $7 round trip, or a combination ticket for admission and shuttle is $17. 813 242-4828; or www.cc-events.org
GOTHIC GRAVEYARD WALK
Halloween is a good excuse to walk among the dead and maybe even learn something.
The Tampa Historical Society is sponsoring a tour of the Victorian-era Oaklawn Cemetery, led by actor-historian Maureen Patrick as Miss Prudence Fipwhistle (1855-1899).
The cemetery was founded in 1850 and is the final resting place of 13 Tampa mayors, veterans of seven wars and victims of five yellow fever epidemics. Among the highlights: a look at the touching, sublime and silly epitaphs.
The tour is from 4 to 5 p.m. Sunday. The cemetery is at Morgana and Harrison streets in downtown Tampa. A $5 donation is requested. (813) 831-5214.
GUPPYWEEN: CREATURES OF THE DARK PARTY
Both the Florida Aquarium in Tampa and Great Explorations: The Children's Museum in St. Petersburg plan parties for children on Sunday, but parents can join the fun, too.
At Great Explorations, the Creatures of the Dark party features the creepy, crawly animals that have been on display all month, plus costume contests for adults and children, refreshments and entertainment. Admission to the museum's regular exhibits also is included in the $5 fee. The party is from 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday at the museum, 1925 Fourth St. N, St. Petersburg. (727) 821-8992. At Guppyween at the aquarium, kids can trick-or-treat among the sea animals amid lots of entertainment. Children in costume (ages 10 and younger) get in free. Adults are $7. Before and after Guppyween (3 to 9 p.m.) at nearby Channelside, costumed tots can eat for free at Hooters, Margarita Mamas, Splitsville or Stump's Supper Club with a paying adult.
The aquarium is 701 Channelside Drive, Tampa. (813) 273-4000.
HALLOWEEN AT THE BILTMORE
Belleview Biltmore Resort & Spa hosts several events for the public: Ghost Tours, with guides in period costume escorting visitors through halls and tunnels of historic hotel and sharing "ghost" stories with historic detail; tour ends at fourth-floor haunted house, 5-9 p.m. Fri.-Sun., $5. Also family activities, including trick-or-treat stations (5:30-9 p.m. Sat.), free; and kids' pumpkin painting and pizza party, 4-8 p.m. Sat., $10 per child. All at resort, 25 Belleview Blvd., Belleair. (727) 373-3000.
