Tampa's quirky tradition is built on an event that never took place.
By SHANNON BREEN
Published February 5, 2004
[Photos: Burgert Brothers photo collection]
Trolleys, minarets, Tampa: As a crowd looks on, the pirate ship sails into the city for the 1922 festival.
The first Gasparilla royal court.
Gasparilla pirates strike a pose at the 1935 festivities.
A float in the 1936 Gasparilla parade; this year, there are 90.
[Times photo: Kathleen Flynn 2003]
Laura Dawson of Clearwater dances while throwing beads during last year’s Gasparilla parade.
TAMPA - For seasoned Tampa Bay area residents, Gasparilla arrives each year as an anticipated ritual.
But for newcomers and out-of-towners, the raucous affair might come off as a tad bizarre.
A big ship "invades," and Tampa's mayor "surrenders" the city to a band of "pirates": doctors, lawyers, politicians, captains of industry dressed up in eye patches and fake scars. Riding elaborate floats or just walking along Bayshore Boulevard, the merry marauders snarl menacingly at enormous crowds, many of whom have awaited the spectacle for hours.
Crowds begging for plastic beads line the 4-mile parade route while women, and some men, raise their tops as if auditioning for a Girls Gone Wild video.
Children perch on their parents' shoulders, trying to catch the action through a sea of undulating arms, while dodging airborne objects.
And all this celebrates . . . something that never happened.
Welcome to the Gasparilla Pirate Fest, which this year marks the 100th anniversary of the city's mythical invasion by Jose Gaspar and his gang of seafaring pillagers. It's billed as one of the largest events of its kind in the country: about a half-million revelers are expected to converge downtown on Saturday.
Paradegoers can anticipate the usual invasion by sea, beginning at 11:30 a.m. with the appearance of Ye Mystic Krewe's Jose Gasparilla ship, accompanied by a flotilla.
Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio will hand over the city's key to Jose Gaspar and his band of pirates at 1 p.m.
The parade starts at 1:45 p.m. and lasts more than three hours. It begins on Bayshore and Bay to Bay boulevards and winds through downtown to the Channelside district, capping off at Marion Street.
This year's 4-mile route features 90 floats, 14 high school bands and 30 participating krewes.
Added to Gasparilla in 1985, the Pirate Fest Street Festival continues with daylong entertainment on three stages throughout downtown. The street festival (10 a.m. to 11 p.m.) is along Franklin Street between Whiting and Brorein streets.
Musical entertainment for the Gasparilla Invasion Stage (at the corner of Platt Street and Bayshore) includes the Trunk Band, 11 a.m. to noon; the John Gaar Band, 12:30 to 2 p.m.; Nation, 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.
And musical entertainment for the Gasparilla Parade Stage (at Florida Avenue and Kennedy Boulevard) includes the Loft, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; Alex Bach, 1 to 2:30 p.m.; and Disco Inferno, 5:30 to 7 p.m.
The Midway (Franklin Street from Whiting and Brorein streets) is seasoned with carnival-like games, rides and amusements for all ages.
Want to avoid traffic snarls?
HARTline is operating a shuttle between 9 a.m and midnight, which will run continuously from Raymond James Stadium to Jefferson and Whiting streets in downtown, or Hyde Park Avenue and DeLeon Street, near Bayshore.
A second option is to ride the TECO Line Streetcar from Centro Ybor to the Southern Transportation Plaza, across from the Tampa Convention Center, 333 Franklin St.
Parking enforcement in the area of festivities and the neighborhoods bordering the parade route will begin today at 4 p.m. Parking tickets will be issued for illegal parking until 7 p.m. on Friday. Then the penalty gets more severe: vehicles will be towed until the end of the event.
Disabled parking and parade viewing will be underneath the Crosstown Expressway at Morgan Street. Entry into disabled parking will be on Morgan, south of Brorein. Viewing will be on the east side of Florida between Brorein and Channelside Drive.
Here's when streets will begin closing:
Friday at 6 p.m.: northbound lanes of Franklin from Whiting to Brorein streets
Saturday at midnight: Bayshore Boulevard from Gandy Boulevard to Platt Street/Channelside Drive.
Saturday at 9:30 a.m.: Jackson from Tampa to Morgan streets.
Saturday at 6 a.m.: Willow Street from Swann Avenue to Platt Street, southbound Willow/Crosstown Expressway exit closed.
Saturday at 2 p.m.: Whiting from Tampa to Morgan streets.
Can't make it to the parade? Then watch a live broadcast at 2:30 p.m. on WFLA-Ch.8.
