Attention Tampa’s Downtown! TODAY in Lykes Gaslight Park, Mayor Jane Castor will be defending the City of Tampa from pirates:

• 11:45am: Pirates will noisily arrive in Tampa’s Downtown via float on the west side (Tampa Street) of Lykes Gaslight Park!

• Noon: Pirates will meet with Mayor Jane Castor to negotiate the city’s surrender.

Please keep this in mind as there will be loud and jarring noises that can be heard throughout Downtown.

Voting has OFFICIALLY begun for our 2025 People’s Choice Award! Each year at our Urban Excellence Awards, we honor a business, organization, or individual that YOU get to help select.

Voting begins today and ends on Friday, February 7! Be sure to vote here, and join us on Thursday, February 27 at Hotel Flor for the 2025 Urban Excellence Awards.

To view the nominees for the rest of the award categories, head here! Interested in sponsoring this event? Contact Lindsey Parks today!

Congratulations to this year’s People’s Choice Award nominees:

• 101 Meridian
• AER Tampa Apartment Open
• AMALIE Arena Enhancements
• Arts Club Reimagined – The EDITION
• Black English Bookstore
• Central Ave Live – Instruments4Life /Tampa Bay History Center/Tampa Housing Authority
• Craft, Tampa’s First Dining River Cruise
• Element Tampa Apartment Renovations
• Emoto Supply Co
• Fred Hearns, Tampa Bay History Center
• Friends of the Riverwalk Trick or Treat: Community Resilience
• Gasparilla Music Festival moves to Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park
• Gateway Subs Opening in Tampa’s Downtown
• Give Me My Flowers Mural – Gasparilla Festival of the Arts/City of Tampa
• Gold’s Gym Gas Worx Opening
• Green Up Channelside
• Hey Market at Café Hey
• John D. Couris, Tampa General Hospital
• Late Start Brewing
• Learn & Play Tampa Bay at the Glazer Children’s Museum
• Lizbeth Strother, Thousand & One
• Margaritaville at Sea Brings New Ways to Float Into Island Time from Port Tampa Bay with Islander
• Micro Mobility Stations – City of Tampa Mobility Department
• Mimosa Land and R&B Festival at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park
• Planet Smoothie
• Rialto Theatre Turns 100
• Sacred Heart Catholic Church’s Preservation Project
• Stephanie Ferrell, FAIA, Ferrell Development
• Sweating Together For A Cause
• Tampa Bay Developer Podcast
• Tampa Bay Food Tours
• Tampa Pickleball Crew Pop-Up Event at Sparkman Wharf
• Tampa Bay Sun Football Club’s Inaugural Season
• Tampa CRA Rebranding Efforts
• Tampa’s Inaugural Kidical Mass Bike Ride
• Tampa Theatre’s Black Love Classic Movie Series
• The City of Tampa’s 2024 eBike Voucher Program
• The City of Tampa’s Non-Motorized Count Program
• The Genshaft & Greenbaum BOLD Building at Tampa Preparatory School
• The John T. Taylor Screening Room at the Tampa Theatre
• The Spiral Staircase
• Top Shelf Live Music Nights
• University of Tampa – The Grand Center Building
• UPS Store #4639
• USF College of Nursing unveils Port Seafarers Clinic
• USF Health Taneja College of Pharmacy moves to Tampa’s Downtown
• Walk and Roll / University of Tampa’s Bicycle Friendly University Program
• YuleTides at the Florida Aquarium

Vote

Purchase Tickets

Tampa’s Downtown is in for deliciousness TONIGHT at our monthly event, Central Park Eats: A Food Truck Rally.

Forget cooking tonight and head to the TRIO in ENCORE! from 5:00pm – 8:00pm to enjoy tasty bites from Phlavor’s Food Truck and Salsa My Love!

Whip out your pirate hats, eye patches, peg legs, and hooks for the biggest day in our city!

Head to Bay to Bay Boulevard on Saturday at 2:00pm for the beginning of the 101st Gasparilla Parade! The parade begins at Bay to Bay Boulevard and ends at Cass Street and Ashley Drive.

The Gasparilla Parade is FREE to attend, however the best way to secure premium viewing is to reserve a seat. There will also be Gasparilla themed bar crawls, events, and more throughout the day.

We hope you get up, get out, and have a nautical time as you catch as many beads as you can! Feel free to check out other Gasparilla related events happening this week:

• Visit Tampa Bay’s Get Ready for Gasparilla event outside the Unlock Tampa Bay Visitor’s Center
• Rough Riders’ All-Krewe Pre-Invasion Party at the Tampa Convention Center
• 8th Annual Gasparilla Brunch, Bar-Crawl, & VIP Party

View Parade Route

At the Partnership, it is our mission to serve those who live, work, and play in Tampa’s Downtown!

In order to continue to serve our community in the best way possible, we want to hear from residents and workers in Tampa’s Downtown. Please make your voice heard TODAY by completing our 2024 Downtown Resident & Worker Surveys! Complete the survey(s) to win PRIZES!

2024 Downtown Resident Survey

2024 Downtown Worker Survey

If you attend Gasparilla this weekend, you’re bound to catch too many beads to count!

Be sure to take all of your unwanted beads to designated collection sites through the City of Tampa’s Bead-Free Bay initiative!

From Monday, January 27 through May, Gasparilla bead collectors are encouraged to take their beads to the following collection sites:

• Kate Jackson Community Center – 821 S Rome Ave.
• Loretta Ingraham Recreation Complex – 1611 N Hubert Ave.
• Copeland Park Center – 11001 N 15th St.
• MacDonald Training Center – 5420 W Cypress St.

This initiative reminds the public that the discarding of plastic beads and other litter in the water is prohibited. Bead collection diverts beads from being thrown into Tampa’s waste stream. Beads and other objects take thousands of years to breakdown into microplastics, and remain in ecosystems for hundreds of years.

More Info

Do you believe in life after love? Find out by heading to Downtown’s Straz Center for The Cher Show!

Relive the splendor of Cher’s dazzling career by jamming out to 35 smash hits spanning six decades of stardom in this Tony Award-winning musical adaptation of her story!

Get Tickets Today

In Tampa’s Downtown, there is so much to see and learn! Consider taking in the beauty and soaking up the hidden gems of our Downtown by participating in one of a multitude of tours!

From tours on the water, to walking and biking tours, there is a way to explore Downtown for everyone.

Check out all tours

Head to Water Works Park on Sunday, January 26 from 11:00am – 3:00pm for the Healthy Family Fair hosted by the Tampa Bay Moms Group!

This event will include swag bags for the first 100 families in attendance, various food/drink offerings, vendors, exhibits, entertainment, activities, character visits, and so much more!

Learn More

Do you have an idea that has the potential to further beautify Tampa’s Downtown? If so, consider applying for one of our two active grants:

• Neighborhood Enhancement Grant: Tampa’s Downtown Neighborhood Enhancement Grant is a dynamic initiative aimed at fostering vibrant and inclusive neighborhoods. The program offers annual grants of up to $5,000 to each of the seven neighborhoods in Tampa’s Downtown.

• Storefont & Sidewalk Cafe Grant: The Storefront and Sidewalk Cafe Grant serves to create a more attractive pedestrian atmosphere and commercially vibrant environment through street-level storefront improvements and inviting sidewalk cafe settings. The program offers grants of up to $10,000 administered on a reimbursement basis, allowing for up to $5,000 grant funds to be reimbursed every two years.

Apply Today!

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Monday Morning Memo –Monday Morning Memo is a weekly update of “insider downtown information” regarding developments, transportation, special opportunities and other useful information to help you make the most of downtown. Subscribe to receive this weekly newsletter.