Bay area turns out to party hearty

From comfy soirees to boozy chaos, Gasparilla works its magic.

By COLLEEN JENKINS, Times Staff Writer
Published January 27, 2008

From left, Tampa residents Meneisha Benton, 14, Jamarcus Jackson, 10, and Miyana Benton, 10, scream for beads during the Gasparilla Parade along Bayshore Boulevard.
	[Chris Zuppa | Times]

ADVERTISEMENT Gasparilla 2008 A day in the life of a pirate High and dry above Gasparilla Photos: The parade Photos: The invasion [Stephen J. Coddington | Times] The Jose Gasparilla pirate ship moves down the Seddon channel Saturday en route to downtown Tampa during pirate invasion. Paradegoers shrugged off the damp weather to partake of what has been a Tampa rite for more than a century. [Chris Zuppa | Times] Armed with buttons, beads and a load of enthusiasm, David Kelly of Tampa celebrates after the Jose Gasparilla docked at the Tampa Convention Center. [Chris Zuppa | Times] Eva Summerfield, 88, of Sun City Center watches the Gasparilla Parade along Bayshore Boulevard. This is Summerfield's third trip to Gasparilla, but this is her first appearance as a pirate. "I've never dressed up before," Summerfield said.

TAMPA - Down on Bayshore Boulevard, tens of thousands of people ate, drank and stepped on one another's toes Saturday as raindrops and plastic beads fell from the sky.

This was the 104-year-old Gasparilla parade, in all its chaotic glory.

Up on the lawn at 1209 Bayshore, dozens of partygoers mingled, enjoying mixed drinks and a grape and cheese plate.

This was Tedsparilla III, a tempered taste of the krewe-driven craziness.

When you live on the parade route, you've pretty much got two choices: You embrace it, or you get out of town. Dr. Jeffrey Tedder, an orthopedic surgeon with a $3-million pad, opts for the party.

His friends were happy to oblige.

"You don't get a better location than this," Dan Duff, a longtime Tampa resident, said as he took in the merriment.

Here's a sampling of the view from the Tedders' private bleachers:

Underage drinkers getting hauled off in handcuffs by noon.

At the food stand on the end of Willow Avenue, smoking chicken kabobs and the biggest bowl of Greek salad you've ever seen.

A man carrying a sign that quoted a Bible verse about gaining life through Jesus, and asked "Do you believe this?"

Behind him, another guy carried a sign, too.

"Show me your boobs," it read.

On the streets, people pushed and cussed and drank beer from funnels. Lines ran long for the portable toilets. Women let pirates stamp their bosoms with ink. Bottled water cost at least $1, energy drinks, up to $4.

On Tedder's lawn, adults threw a football. Kids played with Tucker Lee, Tedder's pearl-wearing, shaggy-haired dog. Security guards kept strangers out; free drinks kept friends in.

The party's host loomed large, more for his serious height than his ruffled pirate shirt.

Tedder, 49, is no stranger to such fetes. For five years, he threw Christmas parties for hundreds of guests at the Tampa Club on the 41st floor of Bank of America. He called them TedFest.

He started sponsoring a Gasparilla party instead after buying his home at the corner of Bayshore and Willow in 2005.

The decision had practical reasons, allowing him to stay home and "to basically protect the castle."

Of course, it means missing out on riding in the parade with fellow members of the Grand Krewe de Libertalia. But Tedder planned to meet up with them Saturday evening for a party at the University Club. And he'll get his parade kicks at the night parade in Ybor City on Feb. 16.

His party Saturday afternoon made whole families happy.

Carolyn and Campbell Peery drove in from St. Petersburg knowing Tedder had a parking spot saved for them behind his house and a place away from the crowds for them to sit.

"I'd rather be up here than down there," Carolyn Peery said.

But their 24-year-old daughter, Carrie, who traveled from Pensacola for her second Gasparilla parade, giddily ventured into the madness with a college friend from Atlanta.

"We got two!" she yelled to her parents, showing off her new beads.

Her friend, Britni Combs, grinned.

"They're ruthless out there!" she said.

Colleen Jenkins can be reached at cjenkins@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3337.

By the numbers

• 21,000: Bleacher seats
• 48: Corporate tents
• 800: Portable toilets
• 2,500: Law enforcement officers, fire and medical responders, city employees who worked parade.
• 84: Total arrests: 5 felonies, 79 misdemeanors. At least 23 were for possession of alcohol by a minor.
• 1904: Year of the first Gasparilla celebration
• 120: Parade units, including floats, bands, dignitaries in convertibles, police, etc.
• 3.7 miles: Parade route length

[Last modified January 27, 2008, 00:39:13]