The 55th Annual Raymond James Gasparilla Festival of the Arts Featured Image: The Fight, by Ashli Harper

Introducing GFA's 2025 Featured Image:

The Fight

by Ashli Harper

The Raymond James Gasparilla Festival of the Arts is pleased to introduce our Featured Image for  GFA55: “The Fight,” by Ashli Harper. Ashli was an Emerging Artist in the 54th Annual Festival. Check out more of her work here.

SAVE THE DATE: March 1–2, 2025

The Raymond James Gasparilla Festival of the Arts is coming to Julian B. Lane Riverside park, Tampa, Florida, March 1–2, 2025. We’ll see you there!

2024 Festival Recap

Thank you to the artists, sponsors, volunteers and visitors who made the 54th Annual Raymond James Gasparilla Festival of the Arts a success. We look forward to seeing you in 2025!

Click here to view the full list of 2024 Festival Sponsors page.

Click here to view the 2024 participating artists.

Supporting the Arts in Tampa Bay Year-round

2024 Festival Highlights

Award winning art. Amazing live entertainment. Hands-on activities. See what our visitors were buzzing is about.

Community Outreach

Growing a community of the arts from the grassroots: Supporting our student artists, differently-abled artists and local artists.

Volunteers

At GFA, we're grateful to our many volunteers who make the festival possible. Join us for the weekend, or join us for the year! We'd love to have you on the team!

Join us in Supporting the Arts

Creating a vibrant arts community is a team effort! There are many ways you can help GFA support our community and the Festival.

ARTS CALENDAR

Juneteenth Cultural Celebration
Tampa Museum of Art
10:00 am
FREE
Gasparilla Festival of the Arts joins the Tampa Museum of Art for its annual Juneteenth Cultural Celebration. Join us from 10am–5pm for family-friendly activities and demos by local artists in on-site studios. For information, visit tampamuseum.org/event/juneteenth-cultural-celebration-2024/
15
JUN
2024
Artists Salon Series
705 W. Swann Avenue, Tampa FL, 33606
11/08/2024
11/08/2024
Free

The Path to Getting Established: for Emerging Artists

Hosted from 5:30-7:00pm at Tampa Regional Artists in Hyde Park, Tampa, this is a discussion between emerging and established artists.

08
NOV
2024
Temple Terrace Arts Council
Historic Woodmont Park
11/09/2024
11/10/2024
Free

Arts & Crafts Festival
With over one hundred artists and crafters, Tasty food, Free parking and great free entertainment! This November at historic Woodmont Park.

10 AM to 4 PM, Saturday and Sunday,
9-10 November 2024

09
NOV
2024
St Pete Artwalk: ANYTHING GOES @ Five Deuces Galleria
2101 3rd Ave S, St. Petersburg, FL 33712
11/09/2024
Free

November ANYTHING GOES art exhibit featuring 100+ original works by over 60 local artists. Meet the artists and become a collector of square-shaped art. This special exhibit will run for the month of November, showcasing the creativity and talent of artists who embrace the unique challenge of working within a square format.

Nov 09, 2024, 5:00pm – 9:00pm

White Building @ Five Deuces Galleria

09
NOV
2024
Dunedin Fine Arts Center - Creative stART A-M Opening Reception
1143 Michigan Blvd. Dunedin, FL 34698
11/21/2024
11/21/2024
Free

The Dunedin Fine Art Center, in conjunction with Pinellas County Schools is thrilled to be able to display this selection of art representing the excellent work being done in Pinellas County Elementary School art classes. Schools from across the county are represented in this two-part exhibition.

Reception: Thursday, November 21st from 6:00pm-7:30pm

21
NOV
2024
Arts Annual Hurricane Relief Fundraiser
The Gallery at Creative Pinellas Archive 12211 Walsingham Road Largo, FL 33778
12/07/2024
12/07/2024
$100-$250

Join the Gallery at Creative Pinellas from 6:00pm-9:00pm for the Arts Annual Hurricane Relief Fundraiser and experience the joy of supporting your arts community!

Our beloved arts community, which has weathered budget vetoes and now two historic hurricanes, is in need of your support now more than ever.

With the money raised through ticket sales, sponsorships, donations, and art sales, Creative Pinellas will distribute 80% of the net proceeds to Pinellas County artists and arts organizations.

Initially designed as a fundraiser to support Creative Pinellas, we are changing our focus to meet our community’s very real needs.

Art makes a difference, and so do you!

How will my support help our arts community?

  • Help an artist return to their studio: Not only have many artists lost their homes, they have lost their studios.
  • Support housing stability for artists: Many artists are now scrambling for places to live; your support will help pay rent or help them find new places to live
  • Help our cultural community regain their livelihood: Your donations will help artists and arts organizations continue their creative work, speeding up the cycle of recovery.

Purchase your Arts Annual Hurricane Relief Fundraiser Tickets at: https://creativepinellas.org/event

07
DEC
2024

THE LATEST

Festival-Committee-Meetings
Read More
Miriam Simms
Read More
Ribbons
Read More
Gasparilla Festival of the Arts Emerging Artist Program
Read More

SUPPORT

THE FESTIVAL

SPONSORSHIPS

Show your support for our esteemed Festival and our mission to support artists do what they do best – inspire us all.

COLLECTORS KREWE

Add to your art collection and support local artists by pre-purchasing art bucks to spend at the festival.

VIP EXPERIENCE

Your shady oasis in the middle of a world-class art festival. Reserve your space—purchase tickets today.

PROSPECTUS

Support opportunities are available for different activities and at many price levels. The Prospectus lists them all.

Ajeva

Ajeva is a funk/rock band from St. Petersburg, FL. The band started in 2013 and features Reed Skahill (vocals), Taylor Gilchrist (bass), Mike Nivens (guitar), and Lyndon Thacker (keys). They’ve carved out a sound of their own with epic melodies and distinctive vocals that pair perfectly with their deep grooves. Each Ajeva show is a one of a kind experience with the band taking their songs to different places and new heights every night.

Light the Wire

Light the Wire makes heartfelt, indie-folk rock that with powerful vocal harmonies, thoughtful lyrics, and powered by driving bass and drums.  The quintet is based out of Tampa, FL, and released its self-produced, debut EP – “Someday Is Coming” on all streaming platforms on November 1, 2023.

Giorgi

Rock musician that refuses to find a niche

GA & FL

FFO: Foo Fighters, Jimmy Eat World

Mwiza

Biggest influences are church, his mother, Coheed & Cambria, Acceptance, James Morrison, Bombay Bicycle Club, Disturbed, Arctic Monkeys, Young The Giant, Chevelle, Rusko, Chief and Matt Corby. Most of the music he listens to has a darker sound to it so he in turn makes darker, melodic music.

Datagram

Datagram has been the moniker of shapeshifting Tampa musician Scott Olson for the better part of the last decade.

In that time, the sound and styles of this project have shifted and morphed, painting with shades of glitch, downtempo, techno, and all that lurks in between.

Shevonne and the Force

A multi-hyphenate, genre-bending artist, Shevonne Philidor is a singer-songwriter, producer, and actress who epitomizes her dynamic background in music and performing arts. A military brat born in Philadelphia, PA, she experienced living in multiple cities – including a stint in Italy – before landing in Tampa, Fl, where she nurtured her musical ability throughout her childhood. She’s a scion of a musical family stemming from her half-Haitian descent and taught herself to play the guitar at an early age, inspired by the likes of Prince, Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Lauryn Hill, Bob Marley, and M83. In 2003, she made her first TV debut on America’s Most Talented Kids, and in 2010, she made an appearance on America’s Got Talent Wild Card. A recipient of the prestigious NFAA scholarship, she also made American Idol’s top 40 twice in 2016 and 2019, the same year she performed at Austin City Limits with five-time Grammy award-winning artist Gary Clark jr. In 2021, she performed alongside CeeLo Green at a Superbowl party for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and was tapped to sing for ABC’s Juneteenth celebration with T.I. and Domani. Working with Grand Hustle Records, she’s a Luna Guitar-endorsed artist who was also selected to perform in Just Blaze’s SXSW showcase in 2022. A theatre kid at heart, she’s flexed her acting skills on a national tour for Todrick Hall’s musical, Oz The Musical, and she was also recently casted in Life’s Rewards, an upcoming Amazon Prime TV show.

Kristopher James

Though he’s lived in the Sunshine State, for most of his life, Kristopher’s talent for melody and song (now) extend far past the state’s line. Like his influencers Otis Redding, Amos Lee, and Roberta Flack, Kristopher’s voice is clear, controlled, and full of all-the-feels.  As with all artists, Kristopher’s sound has ebbed and flowed, evolving yet remaining instantly recognizable. With the growth he’s experienced as an artist, Kristopher felt it was time to capture his songs, in their fully-imagined sound!

With his debut album “Kindness Never Quits”, featuring members of Scary Pockets, Kristopher caught the attention of Relix & Glide Magazine, Spotify Playlist curators and continued praise, such as “vocals are so powerful and as the song progresses, he showcases why he is one of the best singers out there. All that soul in one artist is just unbelievable” from Reignland Magazine.

Continuing through the COVID years, Kristopher partnered with musicians to keep the music and community alive. Along with composer and keys player Mike Hicks of Rascal Flatts, The War & Treaty’s Max Brown on guitar, as well as talented artists Kyshona Armstrong, Jonathan Huber, DeMarco Johnson, Kristopher released 3 acclaimed singles: “Never Had to Find Our Way”, “Feelings” and “I Can Only Love You in a Song”

Deaf Company

Three piece Rock n Roll band hailing from St. Petersburg, FL.

Skyler Golden

Musician from St. Pete Florida and Studio Producer for Zen Recording. Brings an eclectic sound of string instruments for the Yoga Classes at GFA 2024

SydLive

From Tampa Florida, SydLive was born to write and sing songs that touch the world. As her mother recalls, her climb to stardom began with getting on top of restaurant tables to sing at the age of two.

By the time she was eleven, she acquired her first guitar and began to teach herself to play by learning Beatles songs. Within four years she found her way to the stage singing in a Carpenters tribute band. Since this time, Syd has amassed over a decade of experience as a professional singer/songwriter and recording/performance artist. Within the industry, she names Aretha Franklin as her idol.

DURRY

The first sound you hear on Durry’s rambunctious and poignant debut album, Suburban Legend, is an old-school Internet dial-up tone. To songwriter Austin Durry, the sound is instantly familiar but his bandmate and sister, Taryn, hadn’t heard it before. The Burnsville, Minnesota-based duo might identify with different age groups — with seven years between them, Austin is a millennial and Taryn is Gen Z — but by joining forces in Durry, they show just how much the neighboring generations have in common.

Between their serendipitous origin story and a crop of dynamic, hook-heavy alt-pop tracks, Durry are doing something few bands can achieve — and they’re doing it entirely on their own terms. As a band, Taryn and Austin’s journey happened both unexpectedly and fortuitously. At the start of the COVID pandemic, Austin and his wife moved back into his parents’ house, where Taryn was also living at the time. In addition to moving back in with his family, COVID forced Austin to cancel an extensive tour with his previous band, Coyote Kid. Faced with nothing but time, he got back to songwriting, regularly asking Taryn for input — or as the two playfully put it, “Gen Z quality control.”

“I’d say, here’s an early concept, what do you think? Then she’ll steer the ship, and then I’ll evolve it from there,” Austin explains. “Taryn is the sounding board and Gen Z vision of the band, where I’m kinda cranking stuff out.”

As they got going, forming what would turn into Durry, the siblings also outlined DIY ideas for branding and promotion, creating all of their own content and imbuing their visuals with nostalgic golden yellow, large fonts, and tactile images that would later make their way into eye-catching merch.

The immediate result of their musical partnership was the pop-punk/alternative anthem “Who’s Laughing Now,” which leads with wry, tongue-in-cheek lyrics about the futility of young adulthood in 2023: “My mama always said I would regret it if I ever got a tattoo,” Austin chants, adding: “She said I’d never get a job like I ever wanted one with that attitude/ My dad said I had to learn to drive a stick shift, but every van I ever had was an automatic/ My friends said that someday I would make it big, but I’m still living in the basement.”

After posting an unfinished version of “Who’s Laughing Now” on TikTok, it swiftly took off, galvanizing thousands of viewers who shared their coming-of-age frustrations. Clearly, the song’s sentiments — which land somewhere between a shrug and a clenched fist — resonated with millions of listeners, and today the song has garnered more than four million Spotify streams. Meanwhile, Durry have recorded a fully fleshed-out version of “Who’s Laughing Now,” which is set to appear on their riveting, perfectly sardonic debut LP, Suburban Legend.