If you ask anybody what their favorite Tampa tradition is, it’s bound to be Gaspy, or as it’s better known, Gasparilla. And, one of our many beloved traditions as Seniors is the Kids Gasparilla float. As a tradition, the Senior Class rides in the float passing beads and cheering to the families gathered. As a senior, I had a great day filled with celebration, singing, and class bonding time.
To begin the day, we created a plan: go to my friend, Senior Mady Chung‘s, house, and we would drive together. The float was just above Chapin Street, and we were told to arrive around 3 P.M. because whoever came first had first pick of spots for the float. As soon as we arrived, we checked in and were conversing with each other as we were waiting to get on. It was a little warm but not too hot so we weren’t sweating all that much.
4:50 P.M. rolled around, and it was time for us to board the float. Everyone kept rushing to claim their spots, and I ended up right next to the speaker, which was so loud, but so fun. We were waiting for about another hour on the float just talking and taking pictures with our friends, when all of a sudden the float started to move. Since we were so far back and weren’t allowed to throw until we reached Bay to Bay, it felt like hours before we could throw, so we just put music on the loudspeakers.
As we were doing so, there was a woman promoting Alani Nu Energy drinks rolling a wagon filled with cans, and everyone got an Alani, if not two. We sipped on them until we reached the Academy and saw our very own photographer, Justin Johnson, on top of the Bayshore wall, taking photos of us. At the same time, the Gasparilla Pirate ship was headed for Bayshore. All the girls were taking photos of the ship, and it just so happened to be in time for sunset, so the pictures were extra pretty.
We hit Bay to Bay, and I got on top of the speaker storage box with Senior Heidi Skinner, and we started throwing beads while singing along to the music. I may have gotten a little too excited because I ran out of beads around Howard Avenue, and being on top of that giant speaker box made me a little nervous to get down since our driver would randomly step on the brakes at some points.
Nevertheless, I got four bags of beads for Skinner and me to share, and we were good for about half a mile.
Senior Luisa Boyle said, “I love just throwing beads while listening to bops, and the thrill of the crowd just makes it even better.”
Then all the beads ran out, and we were just singing and dancing while the crowd was screaming at us for the beads we didn’t have. Around South Boulevard, we were let out, and we all went our separate ways.
Chung and I were meeting my parents at the Publix on Platt Street, which was about a mile and a 36-minute walk away. On the walk, we were debriefing about our fun time and our Gasparilla Day Parade plans. Then, the conversation quickly turned into how long the walk was and how our feet were pretty much numb. We were famished to say the least. At last, we got to the Publix where my dad was waiting for us with water, and my mom was stuck in traffic on the crosstown. 20 minutes went by, and she finally arrived. We dropped Mady back at her house and then went to dinner at Noble Crust with some friends to finish off the night. It was a highly successful day!
After returning back to school, Clara Napoles (‘26) said, “I would recommend this experience for future seniors. It was so much fun!”What a fun way to celebrate Gasparilla, Academy style!
