A new year, and a new semester to make memories. Fall was just a warm-up to all of the wonderful holidays and fun times that you will have with your friends and roommates this semester. Here’s a list of some major holidays and events coming up this spring.
Gasparilla
The Gasparilla Pirate Festival is an annual celebration that has been held in Tampa since 1904. It commemorates the legend of Jose Gaspar, a mythical Spanish pirate captain who supposedly operated in Southwest Florida, and at one time landed in the waters of Tampa Bay. So dig out of your treasure chest your best pirate outfit and be prepared to catch glittery beads at the Gasparilla parade on January 30th!
Campus Movie Festival
From February 3rd-11th you can borrow state-of-the-art camera equipment and create your own short film to feature in this year’s Campus Movie Fest! So put together a script, find some friends to be your actors and equipment helpers, and you will instantly have an awesome movie that you can show at the festival, and if you’re feeling it, post it on Facebook as well!
Valentine’s Day
Whether you are in a relationship or not, it’s still fun celebrating this holiday with your girlfriends or that cute boy you have been calling bae for about three months now. So check out some rom-coms on Netflix, buy some chocolate boxes from the store, and you are ready for a night filled with sugar and friends/bae cuddling.
Spring Break
After the spring semester has gone on for a few weeks and we are ready to pull our hair out from all of the homework that we have, we are given one week off (March 5th-13th) to travel around and make some great memories with friends and family. There are so many destinations that a college student could travel to in Florida, but go in a group and be careful whatever you do. Don’t have any plans yet? Consider applying for the Walt Disney World Spring Break Leadership Retreat being offered by the Office of Student Leadership and Engagement. You can find the application on Orgysnc. The beach is cool, but leadership experiences at Disney are even better!
St. Patrick’s Day
Even if you are not Irish, you can still celebrate this fun holiday right here in Tampa on March 17th. They color the Hillsborough River green (the river next to campus) to get you in the spirit of pretending to be Irish. Local pubs and bars usually offer special deals on this holiday as well, and the best part yet.. the beer is green! Remember, unless you are 21+, the only green drink you should be having is the green tea Frappuccino they sell at Starbucks, which is delicious!
Party in the Park
It is always fun going to a free concert with friends, am I right? This year Student Productions is bringing Hunter Hayes to the stage for Party in the Park which will be hosted on March 18th in Plant Park. So come out for a great night of country music, fun with friends, and a chance to see Hunter Hayes up-close in person!
Relay for Life
Find your team at UT and get ready to walk for a great cause this year! On April 23rd you can pull an all-nighter with your team and raise money to help the American Cancer Society continue to help patients affected by cancer and find a cure to end it. So whether your Greek organization, sports team, or other club are getting a group together, please sign up and help your school raise money for this great cause.
Graduation
If you are a senior, this is the day you are counting down towards this semester! May 7th is commencement for all graduating seniors who have it made it through four years at UT! Congratulations, you are almost to the finish line, but do not forget to cherish the memories for the next few months before this chapter ends.