Krewes okay to dress as they wish

TAMPA - Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla will not insist that it be the only group in the annual parade to wear pirate garb.

The way krewes dress at Tampa's biggest parade became an issue in December, when Ye Mystic Krewe declared that only its members could dress as swashbucklers.

"We fund it," said Fred Dobbins, captain of Ye Mystic Krewe, in December. "We want to remain established as the leader and the reason this parade exists. Therefore, we want to re-establish our identity as a group of pirates storming the city."

In March, Ye Mystic Krewe, the all male club that founded the parade a century ago, began to meet with other krewes at the exclusive University Club. In May, the krewe sent out letters to the 34 other krewes confirming that they can dress as they like.

The Grand Krewe of Libertalia, which commemorates a racially diverse band of pirates that once sailed the Caribbean, was a bit alarmed.

In March, in the wood-paneled confines of the University Club, the two krewes met to discuss the 2004 Gasparilla parade.

"One of the things we brought up in the discussion was that the board of directors of the Grand Krewe of Libertalia decides what we wear, no one else," said Eddie Adams Jr., the krewe's former president. The meeting went well and there were no lingering problems, Adams said.

Dobbins said his krewe's mandate was never to prevent other clubs to dress as pirates.

"The controversy was created in the newspaper," Dobbins said. "We never had an issue with the other krewes. We just wanted to be sure that the other krewes identified their own distinctive look so that we could continue to grow."

The call for distinctive dress wasn't to separate Ye Mystic Krewe from the rest, Dobbins said, but a smart crowd control measure.

"We have a responsibility for the conduct of all the krewes," Dobbins said. "If there is a behavior situation that needs to be addressed, we have a responsibility to identify those people."

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