TAMPA, Fla. — With Gasparilla comes pirates, parades, celebrations, and a big boost to business in Tampa Bay.
“Right now on social media I’m seeing stores in other states post about how quiet it is and how January is like the worst month," said Allison Bernardi, owner of Hazel + Dot. "We are so lucky here to go right from Christmas into another busy month.”
As soon as you step into Bernardi’s shop, you’ll see many Gasparilla-themed items.
“We like to cover everything you could possibly need for Gasparilla. Whether you’re hosting a party and need cups and napkins, to if you’re attending the parade and need something to wear, hostess gifts, decor for your door. We try to kind of cover everything you could need," she said.
Bernardi is not the only person getting more business from Tampa’s favorite holiday.
“The organizers of Gasparilla estimate a more than $40 million economic impact to our community, which is fantastic. A big part of that comes from the events that surround Gasparilla, the race and the other events that happen before, during, and after parade weekend," said Kelly Flannery, president & CEO of the South Tampa Chamber of Commerce.
About 300,000 visitors are anticipated to come to our area on parade weekend.
“Both the people who live here as well as the visitors coming in are going to be dining in our restaurants, staying in our hotels, shopping in our stores, and utilizing all the things that make Tampa such a special place to be,” said Flannery.
Bernardi is thankful for this boost at Hazel + Dot after a rough few months.
“It’s great to have Gasparilla. It was a tough year last year, especially in Tampa here for us with the hurricanes and everything,” said Bernardi.
So many of our local shops have been struggling and this Gasparilla will give them the chance to start to bounce back. They’re all depending on community support to do it.
“Not only are you supporting us in this local business but we sell so many locally made goods so you’re also supporting all of those people who make things for us and that’s so important because all of us combined are putting our resources back into this community. I know it’s easy to order online and get it delivered the next morning, but that money is not going back into your community. So shopping local is really so helpful to everyone in our community,” said Bernardi.
“So many of our small businesses especially were impacted from the recent storms, whether through loss of product, power outages, physical damage to their properties. Then going into this past holiday season shopping was very different this year because many of our residents and local citizens may have not been able to do the same type of shopping and purchasing that they’ve done in the past. Going into Gasparilla season, it's a great opportunity for these businesses to have a good bump,” said Flannery.
Gasparilla Pirate Fest brings an invasion of pirates and a big boost to the local economy in a typically down month in business.
