Under the direction of Mathieu Stanoch, Ybor City has been transformed into a festive holiday village with sponsorships from the YCDC’s Yes Team, City of Tampa Park’s Department, Radiant Oil, Florida Entertainment Group, The Ritz Ybor, Gaspar’s Grotto and volunteers from GaYBOR District Coalition. A group of over 100 volunteers all enjoyed breakfast together at Gaspar’s Grotto at 11 am on Sunday. A beautiful Southern Comfort holiday decorating committee t-shirt was given to all participants. Many of the volunteers had worked until 6 am the night before, so this was really an impressive commitment to historic Ybor City.
Under the direction of Mathieu Stanoch, Ybor City has been transformed into a festive holiday village with sponsorships from the YCDC’s Yes Team, City of Tampa Park’s Department, Radiant Oil, Florida Entertainment Group, The Ritz Ybor, Gaspar’s Grotto and volunteers from GaYBOR District Coalition. A group of over 100 volunteers all enjoyed breakfast together at Gaspar’s Grotto at 11 am on Sunday. A beautiful Southern Comfort holiday decorating committee t-shirt was given to all participants. Many of the volunteers had worked until 6 am the night before, so this was really an impressive commitment to historic Ybor City. After breakfast and some group photos, we broke into 3 different decorating groups and were off! The historic lamp posts on 7th Avenue, 15th Street, 16th Street, TECO Streetcar Stops and Centennial Park were decorated for the season and an 8 foot lit wreath was hung over the Ybor City gateway entrance on 7th Ave. All the decorations are commercial grade and are guaranteed for 3 years. But wait, there’s more! Every week there are special events planned throughout Ybor City. The lighting of the Christmas tree today (December 2nd) is just the first. Santa is coming and having pictures taken with Santa benefits Tampa’s Children’s Home, there will be community choirs singing, a Centro Ybor Art Festival, horse and carriage rides in the historic district and even real cold snow. Plan on taking a trip to Ybor City this holiday season. Enjoy shopping, dining, theatre, laughter and amazement. A huge thank you to Mathieu, all the volunteers and sponsors!
Miracle on 7th Ave.
Don’t miss the holiday kick-off party! “Miracle on 7th Ave.,” the second annual holiday celebration featuring the hospitality of Ybor, will be held Thursday, December 2nd starting at 6 pm. Enjoy a complimentary cocktail and hors d’oeuvres courtesy of Gaspar’s Grotto, holiday entertainment by VYB Dance Company, 10th Concession, Jeremy Gloff and more.
Don’t miss the GaYBOR District Coalition awards for holiday decorations and don’t forget to vote for your favorite holiday tree at our Annual Tree Decoration Contest! Admission is free and everyone is invited and welcomed. Proceeds will benefit Hope Children’s Home.
This past Friday, Tampa Bay was lucky to host a National NOH8 Campaign stop at Steam Fridays. Up on the 3rd floor a complete photo shop and shoot was set up. Volunteers helped line everybody up then applied tattoos to you faces and duct tape over mouths. We were then escorted to famous photographer Mark Melnick and his crew to work their magic. As one of our friends jokingly pointed out, “Tape over the mouth really cuts down on the drinks per hour ratio!” It was all for a great cause! To learn more about the NOH8 Campaign please visit NoH8campaign.com and look for our photos there!
