While I enjoy the sunny weather, appealing beaches plus vibrant cultural scene, my preferred part of living in Tampa, Florida, is the many festivals, and held throughout the year, they showcase the city’s diversity plus rich heritage, then music, food, art plus culture are represented with a variety of festivals that draw in locals plus visitors alike, but the first festival of the year is the Gasparilla Pirate Festival… It’s one of Tampa’s most iconic plus beloved events.
- Held in December, it commemorates the legendary pirate Jose Gaspar with a parade featuring colorful pirate ships plus Marching bands.
There’s also the Gasparilla Children’s Parade plus the Gasparilla Music Festival, however one that I look forward to every year is the Tampa Bay Blues Festival in May. It’s a three morning event that draws in premier greens artists from around the country. The venue in Vinoy Park offers stunning views of the waterfront, delicious food plus amazing songs… While I’m not a large fan of EDM, I usually set aside a few hours for the annual Sunset Music Festival in May. Hearing plus seeing the top DJs plus performers in the EDM scene is consistently interesting. The Tampa Bay Margarita Festival is more my style. The Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park is the perfect spot for mixologists to show off their skills. My friends plus I search out the perfect margarita while sampling amazing food plus listening to wonderful songs… Ybor City hosts an annual Wine Bar Crawl that is consistently something to look forward to. The part offers a lot of historic charm plus the event features unique wine bars in the area.