Grand Prix Race Celebration Kicks Off Thursday for a Long Weekend of Activities

ST. PETERSBURG - The countdown festivities are about to begin for this year's Grand Prix Race through downtown St. Petersburg.

For many locals and visitors, the action gets under way well before Grand Prix race time on Sunday, March 27. In addition to the Grand Prix, race fans can watch professional drivers from the IZOD Indy Car Series, Indy Lights and three other top classes navigate hairpin turns on a 1.8 mile street course.

The Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg gets under way downtown Sunday, March 27, from noon-3:30 p.m. Hear race Grand Marshal Vinny Lecavalier give the call as Mayor Bill Foster waves the green flag to start St. Petersburg's largest annual motorsports event, featuring 21 world-class drivers and their aerodynamically engineered machines. Tickets are $40, general admission.  

But the long weekend is not just about racing. Outdoor activities abound. Here are the highlights:

On Thursday, March 24, the Honda Grand Prix Illuminated Night Parade, produced by the Suncoasters of St. Petersburg, steps off from Central Avenue and Fifth Street at 7 p.m.

The parade includes floats, clowns, marching bands, the Budweiser Clydesdales and race drivers. The parade travels east on Central Avenue, north on Second Street North, east on First Avenue North, and north on Beach Drive before ending in North Straub Park (Fifth Ave. N.E.).

After the parade, fans can celebrate with a driver autograph party, live music from the Second Time Arounders and the Barracudas, and fireworks off the waterfront

On Friday, March 25, the second annual Racing to Recovery Sam Schmidt Foundation 5K Run starts at 6 p.m., with folks meeting in Vinoy Park, 701 Bayshore Dr., to run, walk or wheel along the waterfront and on the Grand Prix to support local paralysis/spinal cord injury research.

From Friday-Sunday, the Red Bull Air Show will include  breathtaking stunts by planes, helicopters and a sky diving team inside the track.

• Jump Team performs Fri. - 2:45 to 3 p.m.; Sat. - 2:10 to 2:30 p.m.; Sun. 4:15 to 4:30 p.m.
• Helicopter Shows are Fri. - 4 to 4:20 p.m.; Sat. - 3:50 to 4:10 p.m.; Sun. 10:25 to 10:35 a.m.
• Stunt Plane Demonstrations: Fri. - 4:50 to 5:10 p.m.; Sat. - 5:10 to 5:20 p.m.; Sun. - 11:55 a.m. to 12:05 p.m.