Crowds filled downtown Saturday near Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park for a day of beads, bands and Irish spirit ahead of St. Patrick’s Day.
TAMPA, Fla. — Downtown Tampa was much greener and louder than usual Saturday as thousands gathered for the 31st annual Rough Riders St. Patrick’s Parade near Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, celebrating the holiday with floats, beads and live performances ahead of St. Patrick’s Day on Tuesday.
The parade kicked off with Tampa Mayor Jane Castor throwing beads to the crowd, joined by dozens of first responders from the Tampa Police Department and the Tampa Fire Department. It was all hosted by the U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment the Rough Riders.
Tampa Bay-area families and visitors lined the streets, many dressed in green, gathering beads and enjoying a sunny afternoon. For some attendees, heritage mattered less than the festive atmosphere.
“Are you Irish?” 10 Tampa Bay News reporter Annie Krall asked Plant City native Angel Howard.
“Not at all,” Howard said.
“Does that matter?” Krall asked.
“Not at all,” Howard responded.
Transplants who used to live in Canada said the weather made the celebration even more appealing.
“How is it different? Compare Toronto to here, to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day,” Krall asked Trudy Hunter walking in the parade.
“The big bright thing in the sky, warm, fantastic, no snow,” Hunter, who now calls St. Petersburg home, said. “The only thing I ever want to shovel again from now on is sand.”
Others highlighted the comfort of celebrating outdoors without winter conditions.
“We don’t have to bundle up. We can wear our shorts and T-shirts. We don’t have to worry about cold. It’s not raining. We’re right here in the shade. You get to watch bands from all over. I have a girlfriend who is on one of the floats. You get to watch bands. You get to watch the dancers. So there is a variety of different things you get to see,” Crystal Christensen said alongside her husband and two children on the parade route.
Members of various Tampa Krewes tossed signature beads into the crowd, often choosing recipients carefully.
“I try to give these beads to children or veterans. Anyone I can spot out in the crowd,” said Sue Nunez, a member of Ye Krewe of Sir Henry Morgan.
The event drew longtime locals, students and first-time visitors alike.
“I just think it’s unlike anywhere else honestly,” Carson Cooper, a University of Tampa student, said.
“It’s super, super windy in Wyoming. This winter is the warmest winter they’ve had,” said his younger sister Cadence Cooper, a visitor from Wyoming.
For 25-year-old Tampa native Bella Suarez, the parade carries a more personal meaning. Her father, William Suarez, is a member of the Rough Riders regiment, and she was born on St. Patrick’s Day in 2001.
“He told me my entire life that this parade was for me,” Bella Suarez said while catching items thrown from a float.
The family tradition runs deep. Her father missed only one parade — the year she was born.
“He told me my entire life that this parade was for me. It wasn’t until I was about eight years old where I said, ‘Dad, why isn’t the parade happening today?’ Because it was a weekday. I had to go to school. He was like, ‘Bella, I was joking.’ I was like, ‘How the heck was I supposed to know?’ But now it’s my favorite tradition. I love doing it,” Suarez said.
Many people said they have to work on actual St. Patrick’s Day. So, Saturday was the day to live it up and feel Irish, even if you aren’t.