Up until a few years ago, excessive levels of drunken partygoers, backyard urination, and property destruction in Hyde Park were de rigueur at Tampa's Gasparilla Festival in late January.
But two and a half years ago, local residents along the parade route said they'd finally had enough, and came together with local business owners, city officials and organizers to try to keep the party under control. Changes to the parade route and doubling the number of portable toilets (from 800 to 1600) have made a distinct difference since then.
With 400,000 or so expected to invade downtown Tampa on Saturday for this year's Gasparilla event, Police Chief Jane Castor, Mayor Bob Buckhorn and other officials involved with the annual bacchanal on Monday announced a new city ordinance that will enforce a zero tolerance policy regarding underage drinkers — but will also give a break to adults busted for open container violations at the all-day party.
The new ordinance will allow officers to issue citations for open containers instead of arresting those drinking alcohol outside the designated zones.
"We want everybody to go home with a neck full of beads and not a pair of handcuffs," Chief Castor said at a news conference at the TPD headquarters in downtown Tampa. "Our intent is to make no arrests on Gasparilla weekend."
