For more than a century the City of Tampa has celebrated Gasparilla, a celebration of the city’s pirate heritage. Parades, a yearly “attack” and revelry have turned the last weekend of January into one of the city’s largest party weekends.
Now, that weekend is about to get a whole lot gayer, thanks to four Ybor City residents introducing a “circuit party light” weekend of events.
The main event, featuring DJ Abel, is the El Gancho Party on Saturday, Jan., 29 from 10 p.m.-3 a.m. at the Historic Ritz Ybor Theater. But the night before, on Friday Jan. 28, Gancho Tampa takes over the Castle in Ybor with a fetish-themed party dubbed “Whips & Chains.” That party also runs 10 p.m. to 3 a.m.
“This is something we’ve thought about doing for awhile,” said Tony LaColla, one of the organizers.
LaColla said that pairing the event with Gasparilla Weekend was not an accident.
“Because of the large number of people coming to the Tampa Bay area already, we decided the timing was perfect,” LaColla said.
So far there has been no resistance to “gaying up” the festive weekend and LaColla said that the City of Tampa and the Ybor City District Coalition has provided assistance where it can. Most pre-sold tickets are from the Orlando area and Atlanta, according to LaColla.
“Atlanta has been our biggest market,” LaColla said. “I know we’ll have a lot of locals and the Orlando community seems very interested as well, based on early numbers.
Friday’s Whips & Chains Party at the castle, he says, could sell out at 1,000 tickets. He expects the El Gancho party Saturday at The Ritz Ybor to pack nearly 800 people into the newly renovated theater.
“It makes sense to hold that party at The Ritz Ybor,” LaColla said. “There’s such good energy there and it’s a spectacular building. You don’t need decorations to improve it and once you walk through the doors you know you’re in a special place.”
A portion of the ticket sales to Saturday’s party will benefit the Metro Wellness and Community Centers, which are based in Tampa and St. Petersburg.
Tickets are $20 for the Fetish Party on Friday and $45 for Saturday’s El Gancho Party when purchased online at GanchoTampa.com. Tickets are $10 more at the door.
