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Krewe Adds Family Zone To New Route For Ybor's Knight Parade

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By VALERIE KALFRIN

vkalfrin@tampatrib.com

Published: December 18, 2008

TAMPA - The Krewe of the Knights of Sant' Yago on Wednesday outlined a new route for the Illuminated Knight Parade in February that includes a family-friendly area with better parking.

The Feb. 14 parade will begin at 7 p.m. at Centro Asturiano de Tampa, the Krewe's meeting place at North Nebraska and West Palm avenues. It ends on North 15th Street about a block away from an after-party at the Cuban Club, organizers said.

New to the event are tents along Seventh Avenue for corporate and VIP guests, similar to the tented areas at the Gasparilla parade, and a family-friendly zone along Palm Avenue between North 20th and North 15th streets.

This is the fifth time in five years organizers have changed the route, said Mark Valenti, co-chairman of the parade. The Krewe will solidify the route once it finds one "we can all buy into," he said.

The 2008 route created several headaches, Valenti said. The family area at the train station at Nuccio Parkway did not have enough parking and staging the floats downtown on Meridian Avenue created traffic problems, he said.

The new route culminates in the family area, near a daylong "Family Fiesta" at Centennial Park, said John Madiedo, baron of the Krewe. It provides better access to parking and, with the Ybor City focus, should keep the crowds more continuous instead of clustered. It also should allow police to reduce the number of street closures.

Reporter Valerie Kalfrin can be reached at (813) 259-7800.

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