Localtopia celebration returns to St.Pete for 10th straight year

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The 10th annual Localtopia celebration was in full swing Saturday as Williams Park and the surrounding streets were filled with more than 300 St. Pete based vendors and non-profits showcasing their best work, food, or simply out to network in a place where small-owned businesses make up the heart of the city.

Localtopia welcome manager, Les Lloyd, said each year, this is different from other festivals.

"People come out here to support the merchants," Lloyd added. "In 2021 and 2022 what impressed me most was during the tough pandemic years, people came out in droves, more than normal, they spent more than normal, and more than half the businesses told us they wouldn't have survived if it weren't for Localtopia because it's the biggest day of the year."

Kristijian Jankovic can attest to that. His La Strada mobile kitchen, where he now sells out of his fresh oven baked pizzas and calzones in a matter of hours, was how he changed the dynamic of his business after the pandemic forced him to shut down his restaurant.

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"We figured, what would be the most future-proof concept for us long-term- would be this kind of food truck, because we can be flexible, we can serve people and go anywhere we wanted to, we weren't confined to one location - so it worked out for us."

It's not just locals supporting locals. It's tourists too. Representatives with presenting sponsor Visit St. Pete/Clearwater, like Brandee Bolden, were out chatting with visitors about what brought them to the area and their favorite things to do.

"I'm a local so everything about it just makes me smile," Bolden added. "Not only the support for local businesses, but I get to talk about the beaches and I love to talk about the value of tourism to our locals."

Each year, Brandee and her team conduct a Localtopia study to see how the event plays a role in boosting the economy.

In 2022, their research calculated a total economic impact of over $6.9 million after the event drew in more than 40,000 attendees.

Given the county’s transient occupancy tax, sales tax and property taxes, they estimated that the 2022 Localtopia generated more than $301,000 in tax revenues for the St. Pete/Clearwater area.