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And visions of beads danced in their heads

Both tossers and catchers are warming up for the children's Gasparilla procession Saturday along Bayshore.

By ELISABETH DYER
Published January 20, 2006

	[Times photo: Chris Zuppa]
	Pirate Ross Elsberry of Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla greets Shivani Patel, 12, of Tampa at All Children's Hospital Thursday. Photos: Gearing up for Gasparilla

BAYSHORE BOULEVARD - Eight-year-old Danielle Tringali has seen both sides of the Children's Gasparilla Parade. For years, she screamed for beads from the sidelines. Then last year, she tossed green, purple and blue strands along the parade route, saving pink ones (her favorite) for last.

She says giving is better than receiving.

"Sometimes you get to keep some, but sometimes you just want to share with others," said the second-grader at Dale Mabry Elementary. "It makes you feel good."

Danielle and more than 200 other Mabry students will walk in Saturday's annual children's parade on Bayshore Boulevard, the tamer version of the main event Jan. 28. They earned the honor by completing a language arts assignment every month from September to December. The PTA will pay for 100 strands of beads for each student.

The children's parade has been part of Tampa's Gasparilla celebration since 1947, and early on bounced from weekend to weekend, usually after the adult event. Organizers set the permanent date, a week before the Gasparilla Parade of the Pirates, as they began preparing for Gasparilla's centennial in 2004.

They also moved the route from downtown to Bayshore Boulevard, added a fireworks display and signed corporate sponsors.

This year's parade participants include Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Red Cross volunteers, Miss Teen USA and, of course, krewes with their children.

More than 125,000 people are expected to attend, said Erin Wetzel of Eventmakers, which organizes several Gasparilla-related events. New this year is reserved bleacher seating.

"Now the demand is high enough, folks actually want to prepay to know that they're going to have seats out there," Wetzel said.

The event starts at 12:30 p.m., but Wetzel advises people without reserved seats to arrive by 11 a.m.

First up is the Pre-Schoolers Stroll for pint-sized pirates in wagons and strollers and on bicycles.

Next, the Red Baron Squadron's World War II Stearman biplanes will dip and dive overhead, and the U.S. Central Command Parachute Team will land on a target at Howard Avenue and Bayshore.

The 100-unit parade will start at 3:30 p.m. Among the participants will be 9-year-old Vincent Saladino of North Tampa, who will ride a float that looks like a brick two-story building in Ybor City. He will wear black pants and a red shirt emblazoned with the Krewe of Ybor, his father's krewe.

Vincent has tossed baubles for years.

"When everybody screams "beads! beads!,' you don't know who to throw to so you just pick someone."

Here's his method.

"You grab one off your arm, curl it up in your hand and throw it underhand," he says. Throwing overhand can hurt, he says, but "if you throw really high, that's the way to get to the people in the back who don't have many."

Eight-year-old Abigail Keating will walk again with the Krewe of the Knights of Sant' Yago. Her great-grandfather, Bob Anderson (also known as Cracker Bob), helped organize the children's parade for many years. About 60 kids of Sant' Yago krewe members will ride and walk with three floats.

Abigail looks forward to tossing the beads.

"The cool thing last year," she said, "was I threw beads and it landed around someone's neck."

- Elisabeth Dyer can be reached at edyer@sptimes.com or 813 226-3321.

Here is a schedule of events for the Children's Gasparilla Parade on Saturday. The forecast calls for mostly cloudy skies with a 20 percent chance of rain, highs in the upper 70s and lows in the lower 60s. Reserved bleacher seats may still be available for $12. Call 353-8108 or go to gasparillaextravaganza.com/home.htm for more information.

- The Pre-Schoolers Stroll starts at 12:30 p.m. along Bayshore Boulevard from Barcelona Street to Howard Avenue.

- Air invasions are at 2 and 6 p.m., featuring performances from the Red Baron Squadron Aerobatic and U.S. Special Operations Command Parachute Team.

- The parade starts at 3:30 p.m. along Bayshore from Bay to Bay Boulevard to Rome Avenue.

- Fireworks re-creating the imaginary sea battle between the pirates of Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla and the city of Tampa are from 6:30 to 7 p.m.

[Last modified January 19, 2006, 08:43:07]