{"id":225149,"date":"2026-04-09T18:13:56","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T18:13:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/225149\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T18:13:56","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T18:13:56","slug":"carmageddon-returns-to-downtown-tampa-this-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/225149\/","title":{"rendered":"Carmageddon returns to downtown Tampa this weekend\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img data-perfmatters-preload=\"\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"780\" height=\"519\" data-attachment-id=\"356927\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.cltampa.com\/news\/carmageddon-returns-to-downtown-tampa-this-weekend\/attachment\/beautifulaerialviewofthetampabaycityitsskyscrapers-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cltampa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/shutterstock_2477922495-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1706&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1706\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Shutterstock&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;Copyright (c) 2024 Gianfranco Vivi\/Shutterstock.  No use without permission.&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Beautiful,Aerial,View,Of,The,Tampa,Bay,City,,It's,Skyscrapers&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Beautiful,Aerial,View,Of,The,Tampa,Bay,City,,It\u2019s,Skyscrapers\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;City of Tampa&lt;\/p&gt;&#10;\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cltampa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/shutterstock_2477922495-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C519&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/shutterstock_2477922495.jpg\" alt=\"Aerial drone view of downtown Tampa skyline featuring skyscrapers, the Hillsborough River, and the Selmon Expressway interchange under a blue sky\" class=\"wp-image-356927\"  \/>City of Tampa Credit: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/beautiful-aerial-view-tampa-bay-city-2477922495?trackingId=f3d2ea74-a569-4784-9b94-d764d920cd06&amp;listId=searchResults\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Gianfranco Vivi\/Shutterstock<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Tampa traffic is normally pretty awful, but with multiple giant events all happening downtown at roughly the same time, it will likely be an absolute carmageddon this weekend.<\/p>\n<p>Sensing the incoming road rage, the City of Tampa issued a traffic advisory Wednesday afternoon, warning potential drivers to \u201cplan accordingly for heavier traffic, more pedestrians, and a crowded downtown\u201d beginning Friday, April 10 through Sunday, April 12.<\/p>\n<p>As a reminder, downtown does have a multiple cheap (and even free) ways to get around, like the free-to-use TECO Line Streetcar, the $2 per-person DASH service, HART buses, e-scooters and more. The City of Tampa also offers free shaded bicycle parking at all downtown garages, and Benchmark International Arena has a free bike valet.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s what to expect in downtown Tampa this weekend:<\/p>\n<p>Friday, April 10<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Tampa Bay Poker Run @ Tampa Convention Center \u2013 7 a.m.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Tampa Bay Condo &amp; HOA Expo @ Tampa Convention Center \u2013 7:30 a.m.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Gasparilla Music Festival @ Meridian Fields \u2013 3 p.m.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Tampa Wine &amp; Food Festival @ Curtis Hixon Park \u2013 6:30 p.m.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Straz shows @ 7:30 PM &amp; 8 p.m.<\/p>\n<p>Saturday, April 11<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Tampa Bay Poker Run @ Tampa Convention Center \u2013 7 a.m.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Breakthrough T1D Walk @ Benchmark International Arena \/ Bayshore \u2013 9 a.m.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 African Arts in the Park Festival @ Perry Harvey Park \u2013 11 a.m.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Tampa Wine &amp; Food Festival @ Curtis Hixon Park \u2013 1 p.m.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Gasparilla Music Festival @ Meridian Fields \u2013 3 p.m<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Straz shows @ 4 PM &amp; 8 p.m.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Tampa Bay Sun game @ Suncoast Credit Union Field \u2013 7:30 p.m<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Eric Church @ Benchmark International Arena \u2013 7:30 p.m.<\/p>\n<p>Sunday, April 12<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Tampa Bay Poker Run @ Tampa Convention Center \u2013 7 a.m.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 IUCX 2026 (move-in) @ Tampa Convention Center \u2013 7 a.m.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Summer Vibes @ Ybor \u2013 11 a.m.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Gasparilla Music Festival @ Meridian Fields \u2013 3 p.m.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Straz show @ 5 p.m.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 B2K Reunion: Boys 4 Life Tour @ Benchmark International Arena \u2013 7 p.m.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/altnewsfoundation.org\/cl-tampa\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Pitch in to help make the Tampa Bay Journalism Project a success.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-normal-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cltampa.com\/tampa-newslettersignup-page\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Subscribe to Creative Loafing newsletters.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Follow us:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAiECLjru3gB6BLYKOKFLfkVZsqFAgKIhAi467t4AegS2CjihS35FWb\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Google News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsbreak.com\/@c\/1599764?s=01\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NewsBreak<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/CreativeLoafingTampa\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Reddit<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/cltampabay\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Instagram<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cltampabay\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook\u00a0<\/a>|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/cltampabay.bsky.social\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">BlueSky<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"collection-link has-small-font-size\">This article appears in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cltampa.com\/collections\/apr-02-08-2026\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Apr. 02 \u2013 08, 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n<p>\t<script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"City of Tampa Credit: Gianfranco Vivi\/Shutterstock Tampa traffic is normally pretty awful, but with multiple giant events all&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":225150,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[11284,101713,135,137,136],"class_list":["post-225149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-city-of-tampa","tag-gmf","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=225149"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225149\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/225150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=225149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=225149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=225149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}