Fears of thousands of people taking over St. Pete Beach were not met during Sunday's Blue Wave Float Party.

  • Rapper Forgiato Blow's video invite to his blue wave float party went viral
  • City officials expected 10,000 - 20,000 people on the beach for the event

At most, a couple of hundred people made their way down to St. Pete Beach to join in the Float Party, organized by local rapper Forgiato Blow. The crowds mimicked a holiday weekend, and deputies who patrolled the event say the crowd remained calm and cordial.

“Everyone has been great,” Blow said. “The sheriffs have been good, everybody’s talking and having a good day so far.”

Blow and St. Pete Beach Mayor Maria Lowe have been at odds over the proposed party for the past week. Forgiato didn’t get a permit for the party because he said when he started out, he didn’t expect many people to come. The city requires events with 200 people or more to have a permit.

The mayor expressed concerns about safety and keeping the beach clean. She asked Forgiato to cancel the event. When he wouldn’t, she asked people not to come.

Forgiato said he expected up to 18,000 people to show up to the event, but the crowd numbers didn’t come close. Still, many people at the beach did hear about Forgiato’s party through social media and came to check it out for themselves.

Photo: Angie at Dronehookup.com

Alex Persechino came with his girlfriend Kelsie Gibson and said the he understands why the mayor was worried.

“The concerns are definitely justifiable,” he said. “I wouldn’t want my city trashed or anything like that, but everybody looks pretty respectful out here.”

Derek Shemavonian was on vacation with his family from Canada. They had no idea about the float party when they came to spend the day at St. Pete Beach, but Shemavonian said the group didn’t bother him.

“Everyone is getting along and having a good time,” he said. “It looks like a lot of fun.”

The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office added extra deputies to patrol the area, and some people said an increased police presence may have kept things calm.

“The police are out here,” Gibson said. “They seem to be taking control of that. I don’t see anyone drinking alcohol or trashing the beach.”