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Letter to the editor

Grand Central hopes pirates lure revelers

By CRISTINA SILVA
Published June 20, 2007

Nothing screams "yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me" more than a free ride on a red pirate ship landcruiser.

Every fourth Friday, residents of the Grand Central District make their way out for a sometimes wild, sometimes casual, street party. This Friday the theme is pirates.

The ship, what most will recognize as a stretch limo, will go back and forth from 21st to 30th streets on Central Avenue from 6 to 8 p.m.

The Swing Shifters jazz trio will perform outside Gillie's Bar-B-Que at 2401 Central, and there will be prizes for the best pirate costumes.

Steve Graves, executive director of the Grand Central District Association, swears it will be fun for all.

What do pirates have to do with the Grand Central District? Are you all just pandering to the whole "Pirates of the Caribbean" craze?

Well, we really wanted a trolley. ... The black and red ship that is docked at the Pier, that company, Pirate Ship Adventure Cruise, has a 14-passenger vessel that is actually classified as a limo. So it will be like a trolley, taking everyone up and down Central Avenue.

So it actually has nothing at all to do with pirates? Are you even going to dress up?

I'll be in a pirates costume. We encouraged the shop owners to dress up, too. I think a lot of people have things, and pirates are always good for Halloween so people have that at home. And, of course, kids will love it.

Grand Central District has come a long way in recent years.

Almost every month or two, someone opens a new professional office. Hopefully, as more people come, it will make more sense to eat and shop here.

Cristina Silva can be reached at 727 893-8846 or csilva@sptimes.com.

[Last modified June 20, 2007, 01:39:50]