Weekend: Guavaween's growing pains

Guavaween's growing pains

By BABITA PERSAUD

Oct. 26, 1985: For the first time, "Guavaween" appears in the name of Ybor City's Halloween street fest.

Before that, the Ybor City Chamber of Commerce and Playmakers theater group held their own Halloween parties in Ybor, as did an artists' group who called themselves El Sama.

The parties combined in 1985 as a fundraiser. The name Guavaween surfaced during a planning meeting. Guava came from "the Big Guava," the city of Tampa's unofficial nickname.

Mama Guava, complete with her own mythology, was created by a Playmakers member. The Mama Guava Stumble parade featured groups in costume lampooning Tampa Bay area life. Mama Guava rode in a convertible with two men dressed as polar bears. It's hard to say why.

1986: Mama Guava rides in on a litter, borne by bare-chested men. At the end, they drop her, splitting her costume.

1987: A squabble over proceeds puts Guavaween in the hands of a for-profit group, Guavaween Inc. Balls are held at the Cuban Club, Ybor Square and the Hillsborough Community College Ybor campus parking lot. Partygoers are allowed to consume alcohol in the roped-off streets as they move from one celebration to the other.

1988: Costume creativity reigns. There's a car powered by the "gas" caused by black beans, singing jars of guava jelly, a man in a tie-dyed T-shirt yelling "Die, yuppie scum!" from a beach buggy.

1989: Guavaween grows. Tampa police estimate a crowd of 100,000. One man, dressed as a mugger, commits an armed robbery, taking $40 and a rented Freddy Krueger costume. Police arrest an 18-year-old later.

1990: Crowd is 120,000, not counting a squad of state beverage control agents dressed in civilian clothes. The youngest person arrested is 12.

1991: The crowd is estimated at 250,000. One man is shot in the back as he walks to his car. He survives. There are more than 100 arrests and nearly 40 rescue calls.

City officials question whether Guavaween is worth the risk to public safety.

1992: Mama Guava tells a reporter: "I'm a little bit of everybody."

1993: Heavy rain pelts Guavaween, sending the "voyeurs" under the store awnings, while the "exhibitionists" laugh at the rain.

1994: Trying to cure Guavaween's image problems, the Ybor City Chamber of Commerce turns it over to a professional promoter, CC Event Productions. Budweiser becomes the main sponsor and, for the first time, people are charged $5 admission.

To offset the racy nighttime festivities, Guavaween Family Fun Fest is added.

1995: After years of drunken mayhem and bad press, Guavaween features the lowest number of arrests for years.

1996: Ybor merchants and the Tampa City Council worry that the band Butthole Surfers, along with Type O Negative, who have been known to expose themselves on stage, might cause crowd control problems. The event is held, under tight security. Both bands perform to large crowds. No problems.

1997: Classic rocker Edgar Winter and the country-western band Buffalo Club are stars of the show.

1998: Steve Otto, a columnist for the Tampa Tribune who reigned alongside Mama as Papa Guava, says Guavaween is "too raunchy" and bows out. Edward Leslie, a wrestler and friend of Hulk Hogan, steps in, wearing leather chaps instead of traditional purple guava costume.

1999: Grand marshals are Mama Guava and drag queens from Pleasuredome.