It’s that time of the year in Florida. The hot, humid days of late summer are just beginning to pass away. There’s the occasional cool front that comes through (we never seem to have real cold fronts). And the festivals begin. A couple weeks ago I went to the Geckofest (geckofest.com) in one of my favorite parts of the St. Petersburg area, Gulfport, Florida. There are several other Inkwatu posts on Gulfport you might want to visit: Gulfport fresh market, Gulfport Florida, and Before TV.
The Geckofest is very much a family and kid friendly event with lots of body painting and fake tattoos as well as inflatables. For the adults, many tents where local craftsmen display their work. And, everywhere: music! Bands, solo artists, and even a belly dancing troupe are scattered through the venue. Of course, many food and drink vendors. A worthwhile experience, especially for families as the pictures in this post show.
The Geckofest is hardly the only fall festival in the area, though. For examples, there are the local Okterberfests I reported on last week (see Oktoberfest). This weekend is the Sunshine City Antiques and Collectibles Show at the Coliseum. November 27-29 the Coliseum hosts a Gem, Jewelry and Bead Show, on January 8-10 another Sunshine City Antiques and Collectibles Show, and on January 16-17 a Buckler’s Craft Show. One not to be missed is the The Florida Antiquarian Booksellers Association’s 29th Annual Florida Antiquarian Book Fair Friday, March 12 through Sunday, March 14, 2010 at the Coliseum. For a complete list of shows at the Coliseum see the Coliseum Events page.
Another St. Pete festival not to be missed is the St. Petersburg International Folk Fair Society (SPIFFS.org) 35th International Folk Festival which has a new date this year: General Public–Saturday November 7, 2009, 10am-10pm and Sunday November 8, 2009, 11am-7pm; School Days–November 5th & 6th, 9am-3pm. Admission is $8.00 children under 12 free w/paid adult.
In progress right now, is the renowned Tampa International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival which runs October 8-18, 2009. One of the most venerable of St. Pete’s festivals is the Festival of the States which dates back to 1896; it features many marching bands and floats. Two of the biggest festivals are the Gasparilla Pirate Festival over in Tampa (its art show is a must see) and the Strawberry Festival over in Plant City, just east of Tampa. The list goes on and on, including the St. Petersburg Cajun Zydeko Crawfish Festival, McDill AirFest, the Bay Area Renaissance Festival, and Creative Clay’s Folkfest which just concluded a couple weeks ago. (See Creative Clay Folkfest for a report on last year’s event.)
Here’s some links you’ll want to bookmark to keep track of the latest information on all area festivals:
If you think all we do down here is party at festivals and eat…you might be right!
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