TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The 2024 Krewe of the Knights of Sant’ Yago Knight Parade kicked off in Ybor City Saturday evening.
The parade began at 7 p.m. along Seventh Avenue and traveled east on Seventh Avenue from Nuccio Parkway to 22nd Street until the parade ended around 9 p.m.
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“We go nonstop all year. We go every weekend, nonstop. We go to different states. We are at all parades. We are renaissance fairs, pirate invasions,” a couple from the Black Pearl float said.
The parade’s Grand Marshal this year was WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair. Steve Wilkos from MOR-TV also made an appearance as a special guest, along with the Krewe of Sant’ Yago’s new El Rey (King), Chris Cubero and La Reina (Queen) Quinn Erickson.
Since 1974, this parade has raised money for higher education and funded more than $5 million in scholarships since 1994 for local students to pursue a higher education at local colleges and universities.
“When people walk by, and they catch a mermaid out of the corner of their eye and even if they weren’t intending to smile, you see that being because mermaids make people happy,” a visitor wearing a mermaid costume at the parade said.