Guavaween shifts focus to live music

Guavaween this year will look and sound much different than in years past.  The popular parade is out, and it its place will be a music festival featuring more than 20 local, regional and national bands.

"This is an opportunity for us to promote our late night venues," said Ybor Chamber CEO Tom Keating.

Venues all across Ybor will play host, including Crowbar.

"I'm excited for my business. More importantly, I'm excited for Ybor as a whole. I think it was time to do something different," said co-owner Tom DeGeorge. 

Also new this year, the fencing will be down. In years past, it walled off some businesses.  Now anyone can walk freely from bar to bar, though drinking won't be allowed in the streets. 

"Without the fence, we can showcase the great venues, the cigar bars, all the great restaurants and bars here. I think it'll be exciting," DeGeorge said.

The costume contest is sticking around, and in the future, organizers hope to bring back the parade. But even without it, they believe this year's Guavaween is the start of something big.

"Bring some more people that have never been before and keep the people that have been to Guavaween," said Sean O'Brien, with Broken Mold Entertainment.

"If we keep on working this, now that we can have a head start, we can make it even bigger next year, and in the next five years, make it bigger for the live music community," DeGeorge said.

For more information: http://www.ybor.org/