attracting 10's of thousands to a music festival. Part of the reasoning was the roots of the event stemmed for the ideas of the Artists and Writers Ball. The event now changed from an outdoor activity to indoor music at selected locations throughout Ybor. Ticket prices now were $20 the day of the event and $85 for VIP tickets. It also morphed to a strictly adult event since all venues served alcohol preventing anyone under 21 from attending which hurt attendance even more since in the past many of the attendees were local college students and other young adults. at this point attendance had dropped below 5,000. The contract signed with the event company was for 3 years, finishing in 2017. In 2018 the official Guavaween website is available for purchase. The last Facebook update was in 2016. Events The celebration attracted over 100,000 people from all over the world and not only featured the stumble parade, costume contest and live national and local concerts, but had become a full day of fun for folks of all ages. Guavaween Family FunFest filled the streets between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. offering exciting activities for the young and old alike. Activities included a scavenger hunt, safe trick-or-treating, live music, food, rides, contests and the Children's Costume Contest and Parade. For twenty years, the ornately decorated Mama Guava led her loyal band of followers and revelers in the Mama Guava Stumble Parade. Mama Guava claimed stake to "taking the 'bore' out of Ybor." After 4:00 p.m., Mama Guava welcomed her adult revelers and the evening party got under way. Guavaween was a party that acted as the primary fundraiser for the Ybor City Chamber of Commerce. Guavaween served to preserve Tampa's oldest city. It was quite common for both adults and children to attend Guavaween in costume. Things tended to become more risqué during the evening hours. Parking could be extremely difficult in Ybor during Guavaween. Shuttle buses ran from Florida State Fairgrounds, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa Port Authority, and University of South Florida Sun Dome. References Photos of day activities Guavaween Kids Day Activities External links Official Guavaween Site Festivals in Tampa, Florida Halloween events in the United States