Fun and merriment along the Gasparilla trail

Scenes from today's Gasparilla children's parade.

7:02 p.m.: Hauling away the prize

TAMPA - The Copher family of Odessa are returning home with a hefty bounty of beads. The Thompsons of east Tampa collected more than they could count.

The small, sparkling beads were as valued as gold along the trail of the Children's Gasparilla Parade on Bayshore Boulevard today.

Deidra Copher, her sons, Justin, 9, and Jacob, 11, and their friends were weighted down by huge rings of multicolored necklaces by 6 p.m. They collected the entire bounty during the 1 1/2 hour parade.

Justin said his method of success was simple: "We were standing on the rail, waving our hands and catching beads," he said.

Douglas Thompson Sr. and his two sons, Douglas Jr., 11, and Jah'Nye, 4, and family friend, Leslie Julius, 6, also were draped in beads as they headed for the car shortly after the parade.

They declined to venture a guess about how many they had.

"It's too numerous to count," Thompson Sr. said, laughing. "I'll wait to we get home to count them. We had a wonderful day."

6:37 p.m.: The parade is over

TAMPA - The little Gasparilla pirates who invaded Tampa today with bounties of beads and coins for the children have returned Bayshore Boulevard to the people, at least for a week.

The Children's Gasparilla Extravaganza & Parade ended at dusk to the screams of "beads, beads, beads" from an enthusiastic throng of children and adults gathered along Tampa's scenic waterfront thoroughfare.

The crowd has thinned. A sprinkling of spectators remain to watch the fireworks show at 7 p.m.

The thunderous booms from a ship anchored in Hillsborough Bay off Bayshore Boulevard echo across parts of South Tampa.

The invading Ye Mystic Krewe pirates come on shore Jan. 30 for a day of plunder and merriment. That Gasparilla parade caters mostly to an adult crowd.

5:30 p.m.: Rain stops

TAMPA - Boys and girls of all ages, hurry to Bayshore Boulevard before the parade passes by.

The Children's Gasparilla Parade rolls on rain-free now.

A light shower that rolled through the area minutes ago has ended, and the crowd is beginning to swell again.

The Tampa Police Department has yet to release a crowd estimate. However, spectators have said based on the crowd they suspect they are among tens of thousands lining the parade route.

5:21 p.m.: Beads and bleachers

Esther Paula of Safety Harbor was seeking bleacher seating and beads, as she and her grandson, Matthew Masson, made their way to the parade.

"We are here for beads, beads, beads," Paula said clutching her grandson's hand as they weaved through waves of parade spectators.

The Children's Gasparilla Parade has become an annual outing for the pair, who had tickets for bleacher seating near Bayshore Boulevard and Rubideaux Street. This year marks Matthew's third time to the parade.

Short on words, Matthew said he was happy to attend and excited about catching beads.

5:14 p.m.: A late-hour shower

A late afternoon shower is scattering the crowd gathered for the 2010 Children's Gasparilla Parade on Bayshore Boulevard.

But die-hard parade-goers are not giving up. They are still screaming for beads as the bands and parade floats glide north on Bayshore Boulevard toward Howard Avenue.

5:10 p.m.: Money, money, money

TAMPA - ATM machines were a new attraction along the Children's Gasparilla Parade route today.

Curious parade-goers were intrigued by the full-size machines supplied by private vendor ATM-Experts.

Aaron Leaf, 24, of Tampa was happy the one he used near Rubideaux Street was there but wished the service fee was more affordable.

"It's convenient, but is charging too much," said Leaf, who attended the parade with his 22-year-old wife, Lori, and their nephew, Stephen, 3.

"It charged me $5 for a $20 withdrawal," Leaf said.

But the Leafs needed the money. Stephen wanted treats.

4:59 p.m.: Persistence

TAMPA - As the crowd grew, so did a look of dread on Mark Williams's face.

The throng standing in the grassy median on Bayshore Boulevard, where parade-goers clamored for beads, stood shoulder-to-shoulder.

Williams and Carmen Robinson brought 3-year-old Jaesha to see the floats, bands and pirates, but at parade time they stood on the sidewalk along southbound Bayshore Boulevard.

Although no crowd estimates were available, thousands of people, young and old, crowded the parade route.

"I don't know where to stand," Williams said in frustration.

"I'm thinking about giving up," Robinson chimed in.

But they stayed, willing to give it another shot for Jaesha, who sat in her stroller, looking at the large crowd.

4:45 p.m.: From the high ground

Robert Carroll, who works at Busch Gardens, has a bird's eye view of the Children's Gasparilla Parade route.

Carroll, a stilts-walker at the amusement park, high-stepped along Bayshore Boulevard shortly before the start of the parade with his left forearm lined with beads.

Wearing a flowing multicolored outfit and his face masked behind gold and rust colored makeup, Carroll and three other Busch Gardens stilts-walkers were crowd favorites shortly before the parade stepped off at 3:30 p.m.

"I'm a bead machine," said Carroll, 23.

He estimated he had tossed more than a thousand beads since 11 a.m.

At parade time, Carroll was full of energy, bouncing around at 8 feet tall.

He crouched as a crowd of young parade-goers approached near Bayshore and Bay-to-Bay bouleavards. Stooping down to appear face-to-face with the young revelers, Carroll peeled beads from his arm one-by-one until they were gone.

"I can do this for hours," Carroll said as he headed back for a new supply of beads. "It's what I do."