Each year, Gulfport celebrates the end of summer with its largest festival of the year, dedicated to the town’s unofficial mascot and favorite reptile. Geckofest has grown to become one of Tampa Bay’s most anticipated events of the year. Live music and vendors throughout the village are all part of the fun. Strolling and stationary street performers are now also a hallmark of the Geckofest tradition.
Gulfport’s 15th Annual Geckofest brings entertainment to streets and stages during a daylong spectacle on Saturday, September 5th. The theme for this year’s Gecko events is “Gecko Gras.”
Expect to experience over-the-top revelry and costumes, including outrageous headdresses, masks, beads and baubles, kings and queens, clowns, jesters, geckos and a host of other fantasy-inspired creatures. Attendees are encouraged to develop costumes relating to Mardi Gras, or geckos, or a creative combination of the two!
Show off your costume or just your Gecko spirit by joining the traditional afternoon Geckofest Walking Parade, the “Zyde-Geck-O Second Line!” Bring your parasols and wave your white hankies in the air led by the Gecko Queen and her Court. We’ll be taking off at 6PM from the Casino! A costume contest immediately following the parade will offer an opportunity to win prizes for some of the day’s best ensembles for adults and for kids.
Amid the thousands of festival-goers, hundreds of vendors and dozens of live musicians, expect to come face to face with acrobats, aerialists, break dancers, escape artists, magicians, jugglers, fire performers and more, creating an interactive circus atmosphere throughout the waterfront village. All festivities take place on Beach Boulevard in Gulfport from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Geckofest is free and family-friendly.
This year’s street performers bring more fun and thrills to the streets than ever before, allowing visitors get close to the action. Many of the performances include interaction and audience participation with festival-goers of all ages. A full slate of other circus and magic performers, costumed characters (including pirates and superheroes), balloon artists, living statues, dancers and more will be spread throughout the village, offering free entertainment for the whole family throughout the day. DJ and Live music will entertain the Geckofest throngs all day long and the famous Geckofest street dance will close out the day with a party in the streets.
Parking for GeckoFest is free. Free shuttles also offer visitors an opportunity to park in off-site locations for transportation to and from their vehicle and the festival site.
Like the Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/GeckoFest.
Geckofest offers a fun-filled opportunity to explore Gulfport, a wonderful slice of “Old Florida” on one of its most colorful days of the year. The event is hosted by the Gulfport Merchants Association and is sponsored by the following supporters: The City of Gulfport, Bright House Networks, Cox Media (The Eagle 107.3 & wduv 105.5), GEICO, Beachlife, Paradise News, The Gabber, Jim’s Harley Davidson, Key West Express, Dole Dippers, and Smokin’ J’s BBQ. A portion of proceeds from all three Gecko events will once again benefit four local non-profit groups, CASA (Community Action Stops Abuse), the Circle of Friends of the Gulfport Public Library, Daystar Life Center, and the Sonia Plotnick Health Fund, as well as the commission of a public art installation.