TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Canceling Children's Parade 'Was A No-Brainer'

Tribune photo by MICHAEL SPOONEYBARGER

From left, Crystal Lunsford, Lauren Fox, 5, Athena Chlapowski, 4, and Miranda Chlapowski leave after the Gasparilla children's parade was canceled.

ADVERTISEMENT

By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 21, 2008

TAMPA - Of all the dejected faces heading home from Saturday's canceled Children's Gasparilla Parade, maybe the biggest frown was on the face of Darrell Stefany, the event's organizer.

For the 17 years that Stefany, who works with EventMakers Corp., has staged some of the massive Gasparilla goings-on, including the children's parade and fireworks show, he never has seen it canceled after it started.

About 25 percent of the parade's 150 or so floats made it to the parade route before a squall line of storms set its sights on the Tampa Bay area. A public address system set up along the Bayshore Boulevard route announced the approaching weather and the cancellation, Stefany said.

The dispersal was orderly, and there were no problems, other than the discouragement of children and parents alike.

"There is a lot that goes into it," Stefany said of the yearlong parade planning period. "It's a complex matrix here, and there was a lot of disappointment Saturday. But if you're in the outdoor planning business, this happens. You have to keep an eye on safety."

Though the parade was canceled, the six-figure fireworks display was only postponed. Last night the show went on, to the delight of a few thousand people who lined Bayshore from Howard Avenue all the way to Gandy Boulevard, Stefany said.

For the days leading up to the children's parade, organizers were watching the weather, he said.

"We were monitoring the weather continuously all day on Saturday," he said. "We were watching all the computer models, and we knew there was weather coming. We knew there was a line of showers coming, but when it got more severe with thunder and lightning, it was an easy decision. It was a no-brainer at that point."

Rain alone would not have canceled the parade, he said, but high winds and lightning posed a threat to spectators and participants. Many spectators were on metal bleachers, and people perched on floats were tempting fate as human lightning rods.

"It was not an easy call," he said. "But you have to make that call when faced with that information. It was an orderly exodus off Bayshore by both the parade participants and the folks who turned out to watch. It's not a decision you want to make, but you have to let people get to safety."

Feedback Sunday and today were supportive, he said. "We really have received nothing but praise and thanks," he said.

This is the festival season in Florida, he said, and now EventMakers is focusing on Gasparilla doings for the next few weekends. Needless to say, all EventMakers eyes will be on the weather forecasts.

"Weather in Tampa in January always is interesting," Stefany said.

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760 or kmorelli@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT