Guavaween

Guavaween was an annual Latin-flavored Halloween celebration which took place on the last Saturday of October in the historic neighborhood of Ybor City on Tampa, Florida.

The daylight hours were family-oriented and in the past had included such activities as a costume contest, scavenger hunt, safe trick-or-treat at Centro Ybor, food and amusement rides.

Around dusk, the Mama Guava Stumble Parade, Guavaween's most popular attraction, made its way down Seventh Avenue, the main street in Ybor.

The parade, led by Mama Guava, featured floats and costumed individuals who threw candy and beads to the spectators.

In the 1880s, Spanish-born and New York-based Gavino Gutierrez came to the area to search for wild guava trees that might be cultivated commercially.

After leaving the area, Gutierrez stopped by Key West to visit his friend, cigar manufacturer Vicente Martinez-Ybor.

It was a giant success as people from all walks of life joined, sharing tables, eating, drinking and dancing the night away.

Guavaween in its heyday reached an estimated attendance of 120,000 people,[4] but with that brought problems of property damage, arrests and medical emergencies.

In 1992, the Artists and Writers Ball who had co-sponsored the event parted ways with the Ybor Chamber of Commerce, which was the other major sponsor.

[4] The event continued to be strong, with artists such as Rihanna performing in 2005,[4] just a few months after the American release of her first album in August.

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.