Event Marketing: Gasparilla Music Festival 5th Annual Event

The 5th annual Gasparilla Music Festival was the biggest yet. A multi-stage event along the Tampa riverwalk with a lineup that stretched from Erykah Badu and Talib Kweli to Houndmouth and MS MR, alongside a strong showing of local and regional talent. With growth came complexity, and the creative had to scale with it.

As Festival Coordinator, I was embedded in the full operation, managing community outreach, coordinating more than 500 volunteers, supporting sponsorship relationships, and helping maintain creative consistency across every piece of marketing the festival touched. Digital graphics, print collateral, promotional materials, on-site signage. Everything needed to feel like it came from the same place, even as the event expanded in scope and ambition.

What I took from this experience was an understanding of how creative work functions under real pressure. Not the pressure of a client revision cycle, but the pressure of a live event with thousands of people and no ability to undo anything once doors open. Every decision has a deadline, every deadline is a gate, and the work still has to be good. That combination of creative thinking and operational reality is something I've carried into every project since.

The event was supported by a festival promotional video created by Roundhouse Creative and photography by Dan Schuman.