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Canceling Parade: 'No-Brainer'

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By KEITH MORELLI, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 22, 2008

Updated: 01/22/2008 01:11 am

TAMPA - Of all the disappointed people 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, he never has seen one 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 hit 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 letdown for children and parents alike.

"There is a lot that goes into it," Stefany said. "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."

Although the parade was canceled, the six-figure fireworks display was only postponed.

Sunday 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.

During the days leading up to the children's parade, organizers watched the weather.

"We were monitoring the weather continuously all day on Saturday," Stefany 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 tempted 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 on Sunday and Monday was supportive, he said. "We really have received nothing but praise and thanks."

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 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.

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