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Guavaween revelers let loose in patriotic hues
By SUSAN THURSTON
© St. Petersburg Times,
Tens of thousands of people packed the streets Saturday to celebrate Ybor City's 18th annual Halloween festival. Early in the day, families paraded and competed for costume prizes. After dark, the revelers took over, dancing in the streets, diving for beads and snapping pictures of the best costumes. Many festivalgoers saw Guavaween as a chance to let loose after the Sept. 11 attacks in New York City, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. For a night, they could forget about the nation's troubles. "I don't think terrorists are going to target Guavaween in Ybor City," said Jack Hickman of St. Petersburg, who, with his wife, Karen, and 14-month-old daughter, Rylee, won a prize for their cow costumes. "You can't let them win," said Lisa Sterling, 38, of Largo, who dressed as the Statue of Liberty. "You've got to have fun." This year's Guavaween was heavy on patriotism, although fewer came as rescue workers and firefighters than the costume shops had anticipated. Many recycled last year's ghoulish garb. Mama Guava, the queen of the event, wore red, white and blue as she rode in a backhoe during the parade down Seventh Avenue. One of her subjects walked next to her, gathering donations for the relief efforts. Uncle Sam and George Bush also made appearances, carrying the heads of terrorists on sticks. The rock band, Stereomud shouted "God bless America" between songs. Vendors sold American flags. But make no mistake. Guavaween was still about guzzling beer and getting a little wild. It appeared, however, that the low temperatures kept many people from exposing more of their bodies. "It's great. There's so many people out," said Wesley Sims, 18, of St. Petersburg. "You can get (costume) ideas for next year." Organizers added extra security this year. All bags were searched at the entrances and costume props such as plastic swords were banned. Bouncers at the Pleasuredome wore military fatigues. Some got the thumbs up from people walking down the street who mistook them for National Guardsmen. In all, about 100,000 people were expected to attend the event over the course of the day. Earlier, thousands had shown up for the children's FunFest, which ended at 4 p.m. Children and parents marched to The Monster Mash, Flying Purple People-Eater and Thriller in the Guavaween children's costume contest. For the most part, fantasy ruled. Cowboys, superheroes, witches, princesses, angels and elves mixed with a hippie, a geisha and a gladiator. The only signs of recent events were three contestants dressed as soldiers in fatigues and camouflage face paint, and a tyke in a firefighter's outfit. Five-year-old Sandra Zabala and her 9-month-old brother, Diego, won a prize for their black cat suits and the "Free kittens" sign on the front of Diego's stroller. Their parents, LeeAnn and Jose Zabala, drive over from Clearwater every year for the children's events on Guavaween. Tampa resident Abby Oakes, 8, won a prize for her handmade SpongeBob SquarePants costume, mimicking the Nickelodeon cartoon character. Other winning costumes included a toddler dressed as a rhinestone caballero character from the movie, Three Amigos; an infant in a soft, fuzzy chicken suit with enormous orange feet; a "headless" boy and three siblings dressed as the Three Little Pigs. "Sooooie!" commented the mistress of the annual madness. Even Mama Guava wears red, white and blue as she rides a backhoe during the parade down Seventh.
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