Gasparilla! The Day The Pirates Invade

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Tampa Bay hosts many events throughout the year, but possibly the most notable is Gasparilla. Gasp is a event that runs from the end of January to the start of March. Its filled with many parades including the children’s parade, the day parade, the Knight parade, and finally the Saint Patrick’s Day parade. During this event people tend to dress up like pirates and there’s even a fake invasion of Tampa Bay.

Gasparilla is actually based off of old Florida folklore. The name “Gasparilla” comes from Jose Gaspar, a pirate who terrorized the coastal waters of west Florida in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Most knew him by the name of Gasparilla. Jose was fond of stealing from merchant ships off the gulf coast but, one day Jose’s krewe ran into trouble when they tried stealing from a Navy ship. A bloody battle ensued where the Navy krewe reigned supreme and Jose’s stealing days were done. Around 1904, civic officials decided to celebrate their victory by faking a pirate invasion and residents found this so fun that they decided to make it a tradition. This was the start of the famous pirate invasions of Tampa.

Today’s pirate invasion involves the world’s only fully-rigged pirate ship, manned by Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla, which creeps into the bay at the beginning of the festival to “attack” Tampa Bay.  A number of pleasure crafts intent on defending the city from Gaspar’s mock pirate ship make their way out to the pirate before realizing they’re in way over their heads and joining the ship in an all-out invasion.  They all dock at the Tampa Convention Center to meet the mayor, whose only choice is to surrender the key to the city to this massive pirate crew. With the key in hand, the pirate krewe takes over the city with the celebratory Gasparilla Festival and Knight Parade we all enjoy today.

Surprisingly, most Non-Florida residents don’t even know what Gasparilla is. For example, freshmen Gabby Wallace, who is from Brooklyn, New York, thought Gasp was “A holiday when Floridians hunt for gators.” Considering that it comes from Florida lore it makes sense that most people from out of state don’t know about one of Florida’s biggest events.

Now, a lot of people own krewe’s that do the Gasp floats. For example, the Knights Of Saint John are a krewe that does every parade in the Gasp season. The Knights Of Saint John is filled with Hillsborough County firefighters. They have a fire truck float with a castle on the back and a second floor. Member Joe Laney, who helped create the wonderful float, stated, “This season, we are debuting our new float, which was built from a base frame by the membership. A lot of planning and hard work went into the float, and it has strengthened the bonds of brotherhood for our Krewe. Brotherhood is one of our core values, and knowing that we have created something together that will last a long time gives us all a sense of pride in ourselves, and helps us to continue the legacy set forth by our founders.” There are many other krewe’s that do the parades as well.

In conclusion Gasparilla Pirate Fest is a local event that everyone should experience. The Children’s parade is the most family friendly but you may go to any of them. The full pirate invasion is during the day parade.