From Veterans Day through Epiphany, the Craig Park calendar has five events scheduled around Spring Bayou. This season, they'll be held along a shoreline that's at two different heights. On the eastern stretch of the park, crews are setting new seawall and sidewalk at about 5 feet, which is 2 to 3 feet higher than the walkway it replaces. As of early October, the observation deck is closed and being rebuilt. The city has also published three different dates for when all of this will be finished.
So this season's crowds will see the bayou halfway through a change. City photos show the old sidewalk underwater, and failing sections of it were frequently closed for safety. On the west side, the new berm system is designed to hold back a 10-year flood. Which edge you get depends on where you stand and which week you show up.
Two Heights Around One Bayou
The City of Tarpon Springs project page describes the starting point plainly. Most of the old sidewalk sat about 2 feet above mean sea level. The observation deck sat at about 3 feet, rested on a shallow seawall, and was "structurally failing." Failing sidewalk sections had been patched for years and were "intermittently and frequently" closed to pedestrians.
Tampa Bay Beacons reported that the project is split into two sections, and the city treats each one differently.
| Section | Length | What's being built | Status in the latest city report |
|---|---|---|---|
| West: boat ramp to the Beekman parking lot | 800 feet | New concrete cap about 2 inches higher on average; grassy berm behind the wall built to 5.8 feet; existing sidewalk kept because it already sits above the wall | Cap complete; berm about 95% complete as of Sept. 18 |
| East: Beekman lot to the observation deck | 1,200 feet | New seawall and new sidewalk at about 5 feet, plus drainage and check valves | Panels about half installed as of Sept. 18 |
| Observation deck | n/a | Full replacement at the new height | Closed; reconstruction started |
The project also adds drainage inlets, manatee protection grates and stormwater check valves to keep tidal water from backing into the park, plus extra drainage to protect the War Memorial. The boat ramp and its parking area aren't changing.
The berm on the west side is the piece most people will notice first. The city's September status summary says some low spots in the berm will stay until drainage structures arrive and are installed, so that rainwater doesn't pond behind it. The page last updated Oct. 2 shows Zone 3 complete, and Zones 1 and 2 with cap and berm work done but drainage pipes still to come. The street-level sidewalk stays open next to the active Zone 4 work area.
Three Finish Dates for the Same Wall
The city's own documents don't agree on when the work wraps up. Here they are in the order they appeared:
- Early December 2026. In written answers to Tampa Bay Beacons, published Aug. 31, the city said the contractor expected substantial completion by early December, "in time for the Epiphany celebration."
- Dec. 31, 2026. The Project Administration Department's Active Project Status Summary, last updated Sept. 18, lists an estimated completion "by Dec 31, 2026."
- Spring 2027. The timeline on the Connect Tarpon Springs project page says construction "is expected to be completed in spring of 2027."
These dates may not truly conflict. "Substantial completion" usually comes before final punch-list work. Still, the city hasn't spelled out how the three dates relate, and the eastern panels were only about half installed in mid-September. Two of the three dates fall after the city's first December event at the park.
The Calendar That Has to Fit Around It
The project page states that "Events will NOT be affected by any construction activities" and lists five dates. Some have 2026 details posted. Others only have details from earlier years so far, and the table marks which is which.
| Date | Event | What's confirmed for this season | Most recent published details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov. 11, 2026 | Veterans Day Ceremony & Lunch | Date only | No times or program posted yet |
| Dec. 4, 2026 | Snow Place Like Tarpon Springs & Boat Parade | 5 to 10 p.m., East Tarpon Avenue and Pinellas Avenue | In 2025: tree lighting at 6 p.m.; boats left Tarpon Landing Marina at 7 p.m. and reached Spring Bayou around 8 p.m. |
| Dec. 12, 2026 | Tarpon Springs Christmas Parade | Date only | In 2024: 10 to 11:30 a.m. on downtown Tarpon Avenue, organized by the Tarpon Springs Chamber of Commerce |
| Dec. 24, 2026 | Light Up the Bayou | Date only | In 2025: more than 3,000 luminary bags at Craig Park, set out by 6 p.m. |
| Jan. 6, 2027 | Annual Epiphany Celebration | Date only | In 2026: cross dive between 1 and 2 p.m. |
The boat parade is the event that leans hardest on the water's edge. Last year's listing on Explore Tarpon Springs had decorated boats heading down the Anclote River into the bayous, with viewing at Whitcomb Bayou, Craig Park and Spring Bayou. The Tarpon Springs Merchants Association listing for Dec. 4, 2026 gives the downtown hours but no separate start time or route for the boats yet. If the 2025 timing holds, people watching from Craig Park will be lining a shoreline that may still have active work zones on its eastern stretch, especially if the spring 2027 date turns out to be the accurate one.
Light Up the Bayou, also called Lambatha, needs the whole perimeter. The 2025 event description says the Sunset Hills Elementary PTA organized a Christmas Eve display of more than 3,000 luminary bags at Craig Park, with volunteers starting at 10 a.m. and the bags in place by 6 p.m. A display that size follows the same walkway now being rebuilt, so this year it will trace whatever mix of new and old edge exists on Dec. 24.
Epiphany Is the Deadline Everyone Cites
Every finish date gets measured against Jan. 6. In its Aug. 31 story, Tampa Bay Beacons reported that at the Aug. 3 commission meeting, a city commissioner questioned whether the work matched the approved plans and whether it would be done before Epiphany, "when international attention turns to Spring Bayou for the cross dive." The city answered that the western wall was sound except for about 20 linear feet of damaged panel, so that section only needed a new cap. It said the berm behind the wall, not a higher wall, is what protects that side from tides.
St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral describes the day as a church service followed by a procession to Spring Bayou, the blessing of the waters, a dove release and the cross dive. The cathedral hasn't posted a 2027 timetable yet. The published schedule for Jan. 6, 2026 ran like this:
- 8 a.m. Orthros and Divine Liturgy
- 9 a.m. Procession after the liturgy
- 1 to 2 p.m. Blessing of the waters, dove release and cross dive
- 2 to 6 p.m. Glendi festival
Jan. 6, 2027 is a Wednesday. If the city's spring 2027 timeline is accurate, the cross dive will happen with Phase 1 still technically open, whatever the shoreline looks like that afternoon. The city's position is that Epiphany "will not be affected by construction."
A Proposed Sidewalk Rule Covers the Same Park
A proposed sidewalk rule could also apply to this season's crowds. On Aug. 25, commissioners gave first-reading approval to Ordinance 2026-15. As passed on first reading, it would bar bicycles, e-bikes, motorized scooters and similar devices from designated sidewalks, and riders would have to walk them through. Medically necessary devices such as motorized wheelchairs are exempt. According to Tampa Bay Beacons, the designated sidewalks are:
- East Tarpon Avenue between Pinellas Avenue and Ring Street
- Dodecanese Boulevard between Pinellas Avenue and Roosevelt Boulevard
- Craig Park
As reported, violations would be noncriminal civil infractions. A first offense would bring a written warning or a citation of up to $50, a second within 12 months $100, and a third $250. Assistant Police Chief Taurean Mathis told the Beacons the focus would be "downtown, our Sponge Docks area, and Craig Park." The Sept. 8 commission agenda listed the ordinance for second reading. Sources available as of this writing don't confirm whether it passed or when it takes effect. Pinellas County held a work session on e-bikes on Aug. 19, and the city has said it will wait for county action before going further.
Craig Park is the one spot that appears in both stories this fall. The same perimeter walk that's being raised is one of three sidewalk areas named in the proposed riding ban, and it carries the biggest crowds of the season, from the Dec. 4 boat parade to the Jan. 6 procession. This post is general information and not legal advice. Before relying on the ordinance's terms, check its final status with the City of Tarpon Springs.
What Stays Unfinished After January 6
Even if Phase 1 finishes on its earliest date, it covers only part of Spring Bayou. The $2 million federal grant, secured through the efforts of Representative Gus Bilirakis, pays for the waterfront from the boat ramp through the observation deck. The rest of the waterfront, on the north side of the bayou, is set for a later second phase, and the city hasn't published a schedule for it.
After Epiphany, then, the bayou will have a raised southern and eastern edge, a new observation deck, and a northern shoreline still at its old height. The city sends updates through the Connect Tarpon Springs page, Facebook and opt-in text messages. Those are the places to watch for the observation deck reopening and for any 2026 times still missing from the calendar above.
Maria Azuaje and her team follow Tarpon Springs projects like this one street by street, including what the Craig Park work and the second phase on the north side could mean for the homes around the bayou. If you're thinking about your own plans near the water, schedule a consultation with Maria.
