TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – The City of Tampa’s new tradition for New Year’s Eve attracted large crowds to Curtis Hixon Park.
Starting at 9 p.m., the city projected images on the side of the Sykes Building ahead of the main attraction at midnight during the first-ever New Yarrgh’s Eve Booty Drop.
“I saw that they’re gonna project a 320-foot treasure chest and I was like absolutely, that’s something we have to check out,” Louis Boestfleisch told 8 On Your Side.
Boestfleisch and his family are visiting from Atlanta after a cruise.
“I literally googled “family-friendly New Year’s events” and this is the first that came up,” he said.
The Boestfleisch family joined the large crowd gathered in the park next to the centerpiece of the celebration, the Riverfront Tower.
8 On Your Side met friends Laurie Norden and Shannon Southard dressed in festive accessories for New Year’s Eve.
“Seriously, we’re natives and we’ve never been down here first year down here,” they said, adding they were excited about the city’s new tradition.
“Something different, and I love Gasparilla so yeah it’s awesome,” they said.
2019 treated Boestfleisch and his wife well, but along with their girls, they have a lot to look forward to in 2020.
“We got married,” Daysi Boestfleisch said, “now we’re gonna have a new baby next year so that’s even more exciting.”