The taming of Guavaween

Organizers didn't want the party to lose its distinct flavor, but say something had to be done to calm things down.

By MICHAEL PATRICK WELCH

© St. Petersburg Times, published October 29, 1999

TAMPA -- Guavaween is intended as an outlet for self-expression.

And while it is up to you to think of original ways to express yourself in Ybor City Saturday night, there are a few things you definitely don't want to do if your aim is originality:

1. Don't go to Guavaween dressed as Austin Powers, Chef from South Park, or any Star Wars character. Tampa costume shops report these costumes are this year's hottest sellers.

2. Don't get in to a fight. Fights are the main thing people get in trouble for at Guavaween. You should avoid getting arrested at all, as it is perhaps the quickest way to end your evening.

3. Don't puke. It's so New Orleans.

4. Don't drink. At least, don't drink enough to cause you to violate Nos. 2 and 3.

Back in the day, the eccentrics of Tampa saw Guavaween evening as a chance to show off their creativity. But now, many of those people won't even go to the festival, which is marking its 16th year.

Guavaween stands accused -- by those who've lived in Tampa long enough to see the festival grow out of all proportion to its humble roots -- of losing its originality. They say it's just another excuse for young professionals (and not-so-professionals) to drink themselves silly.

The crowd at Guavaween was decidedly different in the '80s, when the festival featured an artists and writers ball, much more local music, and was run by Playmakers, a local theater company.

In the same way that your favorite little local band becomes somehow less special when everybody loves them, some residents have lost their affection for poor Guavaween.

"People just want to get drunk, pee on the streets, break s-t, and leave," opines Mike Kennedy, bartender at Seventh Avenue's Atomic Age Cafe, who worked at last year's festival and has attended the event many previous years. "It just doesn't have the soul it used to."

A few years ago, things got completely out of control. The professionals moved in to try and straighten things up. So now the diehards are complaining the event has been overly sanitized.

It's the same old Ybor City story.

Terry Cox Hickey, president of CC Event Productions Inc., the company that is organizing Guavaween for the sixth time, is not ignoring the festival's personality crisis.

"We were concerned that the parade in particular might not be what it used to be," says Hickey. "People aren't as energetic as 16 years ago."

So, for the first time, the company has taken charge of Guavaween's parade, the Mama Guava Stumble. It has given the parade a theme: political satire.

CC has even attached a list of suggested float themes to the application one must fill out to participate: "Glazers Go to the Bank, Property Tax Citizens Go to the Poor House," "Jeb's Wife Goes to Paris," and "The Kennedy Klan," to name a few.

Even before seeing the fruits of these labors, the traditionalists are saying it's unfortunate that the festival needs that kind of artificial resuscitation. They also complain that the fence CC has put up to confine the event, and the police's practice of telling observers to "move along," will only dampen the festival's spirit.

But if Guavaween's rogue charm is being sacrificed, it is in the name of safety, says Hickey. "Before we took over, (Guavaween) was unchecked, dangerous," she said, referring to the likes of Guavaween 1991 when there were more than 100 arrests, 40 rescue calls and a shooting.

By last year, Tampa Tribune columnist Steve Otto stepped down from his role as Papa Guava, Mama Guava's escort, saying the festival was "aimed directly at the crotch." A professional wrestler, Edward Leslie, a k a "The Disciple," took over. (There's no Papa Guava again this year, but drag queens will serve as grand marshals.)

Organizers were thrilled with the record-setting crowds (more than 100,000 people attended), few arrests and the pile of money raised for the Chamber of Commerce in 1998. But some business owners, who said business was lighter than on a typical Saturday, demanded changes.

Responded Tampa Mayor Dick Greco: "Ybor's a passionate place. That's what we all like about it."

Police seem pretty pleased with the changes. "It's been pretty mellow the last few years," says Tampa Police Maj. Casey Newcomb, who has served as event commander at Guavaween for the past several years and worked at the festival in some capacity since its inception. Newcomb says, "Skimpy and see-through costumes," are the wildest thing he sees while working.

But despite the purported safe atmosphere of Guavaween, attendees are still encouraged to take their children home before the nighttime revelry begins.

Seems there a limit to how much one can tame Guavaween.

Scare up some fun We've searched for the scariest, most fun-filled events of the season. Take a look -- if you dare. Family fun by day, grown-ups howl at night Here is Saturday's schedule of Guavaween events for families in the daytime, and adults in the evening. The Ghosts of Guavaween past It's been arty, irreverent, drunken, unprofitable, rowdy, and sometimes violent. What will Mama Guava bring in 1999? Ybor stumbled upon Guavaween Modeled upon Mardi Gras, Guavaween's roots run deep in Ybor. So much fun, it's frightening Visit 600 rooms and a winding maze in a spooktacular five-acre haunted house.

Music on tap

Check out the following acts, especially those hot on the charts such as Lou Bega, the man behind the smash hit Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit of . . .), rockers 311, teen sensation Mandy Moore and funky female trio Blaque.

98 ROCK STAGE

• 5 to 5:45 p.m. Silver
• 6:10 to 7:10 p.m. Neurotica
• 7:30 to 8:20 p.m. Dope
• 8:45 to 9:55 p.m. 311
• 10:20 to 11:30 p.m. Days of the New

THUNDER-FM 103.5 STAGE

• 6 to 7 p.m. Cheeky Monkey
• 7:25 to 8:25 p.m. Diamond Gray
• 9:40 to 11 p.m. Molly Hatchet

WFLZ-FM 93.3 STAGE

• 5 p.m. Stone Ginger
• 8 p.m. Mandy Moore 9:15 p.m.
• Blaque 10:15 p.m. Lou Bega

STAR-FM 95.7 STAGE

• 8 p.m. Jude
• 9:15 p.m. Fleming and John
• 10:45 p.m. Splendor