Dozens of other Krewes have joined the festivities over the years, which has grown into of one of the largest parades in the United States. Williams Jr. & Queen Mary Harman Dunn, King Norman Stallings & Queen Lita J. Cannon, King A. Clewis Howell & Queen Rosemary L. Sparkman, King Jerry E. Fogarty & Queen Belva Marie Toland, King Chester H. Ferguson & Queen Billie Elizabeth Dunn, King William A. Gillen & Queen Mary Nell Ward, King Richard F. Pittman Jr. & Queen Brenda A. Williams, King Currie B. Witt & Queen Lesley Quinby Williams, King J. Rex Farrior Jr. & Queen Wynette B. Howell, King H.L. Title. [23] However, during the 1880 US census, Gmez claimed to have been born in France in 1785. Thus, Gasparilla was born. Ye Loyal Krewe of Grace O'Malley formed in 1992 and was first all-female group. On Saturday, pirates will once again storm downtown Tampa during the annual Gasparilla invasion. One of the first was the Gasparilla Open, a PGA Tour stop which was sponsored by Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla (YMKG) from 1932 to 1935. [59], When Tampa next hosted a Super Bowl in 2001, the parade was held on the Saturday before the game, and an integrated Krewe of Gasparilla was joined by over 30 other diverse krewes before a record crowd of 750,000. On Gasparilla Day, members of YMKG don pirate regalia and sail across Tampa Bay aboard the Jose Gasparilla II, a 165-foot-long (50m) "pirate ship" which is actually a steel barge converted to look like a large West Indiaman. Community Outreach. Activating the 25-acre Julian B. [52] However, in 2018, the city did not change the regularly scheduled date of the parade to avoid the NHL All-Star Game and related activities, which were held at Amalie Arena in downtown Tampa over the same weekend. Firing loud mini-canons and accompanied by hundreds of private boats, the pirates make their way to the Tampa Convention Center, where they demand that the mayor surrender the key to the city in a playful ceremony. [3][15][5][2] Despite claims that he was the most feared pirate in the Gulf of Mexico for several decades, searches of contemporary American newspapers have found no mention of the name "Gaspar" or "Gasparilla" or of a pirate ship called Floriblanca, and searches of U.S. Navy archives have found no mention of Gaspar in ships' logs or in official court records of the hundreds of piracy trials held during the era. 'Red' Pittman & Queen Anderson Lee Smith, King Richard A. The award-winning Raymond James Gasparilla Festival of the Arts returns for its 53rd year on March 4th and 5th. [46] The first "pirate invasion" was held on May 4, 1904, and the dates of Gasparilla ranged from February to May over the next few occurrences. [7][3][11], Most versions of the legend agree that Jos Gaspar met his end in late 1821, soon after Spain transferred control of the Florida Territory to the United States. [31], The Sant'Yago Illuminated Knight Parade (sometimes referred to as the "Gasparilla Night Parade") has been organized since 1972 by the Krewe of the Knights of Sant'Yago. The History of Gasparilla Legend has it that a Spanish pirate named Jos Gaspar terrorized his way up and down the west coast of Florida in the late 18th and 19th centuries. More than a century. To learn more about ChatGPT and how we can inspire students, we sat down with BestReviews book expert, Ciera Pasturel. Most importantly, if at the end of day, when I talk to the Tampa Police Department and the mayors office, (and they tell me) everybody got home safely, there werent significant numbers of incidents, people had a fun day and we showcased the rich, diverse culture of TampaI am just as happy as I could possibly be that we were able to pull off such an amazing event and that were able to do it year after year without significant incidents.". It returned in 1956 as the Gasparilla Invitational Tournament, an amateur competition which has been held annually ever since. Here's where to find them", "Hundreds of volunteers with Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful clean up Gasparilla litter", "Think Gasparilla is rowdy now? [8] Archives in Spain make no mention of Gaspar as a member of the Spanish court or an officer in the Spanish navy, the U.S. Navy has no documentation indicating that any of its vessels ever encountered a pirate named Gaspar or a ship named Floriblanca, and neither Gaspar nor anyone claiming to be a member of his crew are mentioned in the records of hundreds of piracy trials from the era, which was well after the "Golden Age of Piracy". The disappearance of a Tampa Bay blue blood rattles the skeletons in his family's closet. There are 65 different krewes, a lot of family-style krewes, mixed krewes as far as male-female, cultural I think that we have everything you could possibly imagine and if we dont, well find room for it, he said. For men, getting the chance to don a pirate costume and join the invasion could be a very valuable opportunity. King CVIII Richard McKinley Chapman III & Queen CVIII Caroline Grace . [26] Meanwhile, various contemporary letters and news articles report that Gmez claimed at different times to have been born in 1778, 1781 or 1795 in Honduras, Portugal, or Mauritius. The event was a hit, and the following year, the Krewe organized a parade in which all 60 of Tampa's cars rode through downtown. We interviewed our tech expert, Jaime Vazquez, to learn more about accessible smart home devices. Various activities and events for children are held in and around downtown Tampa in the hours before the Children's Parade, including the Preschooler's Stroll, which is a short, informal parade of small children riding pirate-themed wagons, strollers, bicycles, and scooters that runs for a few blocks along Bayshore Boulevard. Since then, the ship has sailed into the Garrison Channel on the southern side of downtown, and since the 1990s, it has docked along the Tampa Riverwalk behind the Tampa Convention Center, where the pirates are greeted by thousands of revelers before the parade. [15][36], Tampa now hosts many community events during its "Gasparilla Season", which runs approximately from January to March. [43][41]. 50 years ago, guns were everywhere", "Gasparilla Pirates Try to Shed Old Image", "Ybor Naval invasion begins Gasparilla festivities", "Ybor Naval Battle Clears Way For Gasparilla Invasion", "Bob Buckhorn makes his last stand against Gasparilla pirates", "Gasparilla Pirate Fest - Tampa, Florida", "Gasparilla Children's Parade 2023 | What You Need to Know Before You Go - Tampa Bay Parenting Magazine", "2018 Children's Gasparilla Parade: Guide and insider tips", "The Krewe of the Knights of Sant'Yago historical marker", "The Krewe of the Knights of Sant'Yago official website", "Ybor's Knight parade, once Gasparilla's wild child, cleans up image", "Palma Ceia Country Club hosts long-time event rich in tradition", "Ye Mystic Krewe does not own the name 'Gasparilla.' 9400 Little Gasparilla Is Unit E2 is located in Placida, the 33946 zipcode, and the Charlotte. Since 2005, it has been held on the last Saturday in January. [39] In 2019, YMKG began an effort to legally to trademark the name Gasparilla to "protect" it for use by "appropriate community events", drawing complaints and counterclaims from others who have used the name or own the trademark for other, more narrow uses. A look ahead at the legislative session, Barbara Bryant, the first woman to head the U.S. census, has died at 96, Scientists find signs of horse riding in ancient human remains, A man dies of a brain-eating amoeba, possibly from rinsing his sinuses with tap water, Garland supports effort to hold Russia accountable for war crimes. Gasparilla spans generations for their families and for others. The parade has always been held along Tampa's waterfront near downtown Tampa, and since 2011, it has ended along the Tampa Riverwalk, where festivities continue into the nighttime hours.[4][1]. On Sanibel Island a conference was held by all the pirates, and with the exception of Gasparilla, Baker, Caesar, and Old King John, all sailed away to be heard of no more. Each of these Krewes is organized for specific charitable and community . On Saturday, pirates will once again storm downtown Tampa during the annual Gasparilla invasion. Bill Before Florida Senate Would Put Local Ordinances on Hold if Challenged, Legislation would make it illegal for doctors to provide gender-affirming care to transgender youths, Florida Republicans are taking on the media. The story of Jos Gaspar's life and career vary in different tellings, especially regarding his origin. In Johnson's first novel, it's the summer of 1972, and Daniel Westcott, 68, has been named king of the pirates, to be crowned at the annual Gasparilla Queen's Party. 9400 Little Gasparilla Is Unit E2 is a 946 square foot property with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. It was freely distributed to guests at the Inn and in northern markets to draw attention to the recently opened tourist destination. [1] (For comparison, Spain had just agreed to transfer all of Florida to the United States for $5 million. [7][27][22], Between his propensity for telling entertaining stories and his real skills as a boat pilot and outdoorsman, Gmez became a popular fishing and hunting guide along Florida's west coast, leading to his being mentioned in several issues of Forest and Stream, an early conservationist magazine. On Saturday, several hundred thousand people will line Bayshore Boulevard and the streets of downtown Tampa for the invasion and parade. Here's how to map out your day! Sometimes the ships they found werent in great shape, so they would run aground, he said. Most agree that Gaspar was born in Spain about 1756, served in the Spanish Navy until turning to piracy about 1783, and met his end in southwest Florida during a battle against the United States Navy in late 1821. However, while pirates on foot are no longer allowed to use firearms during the parade, trained members of YMKG still fire loud mini-canons from several specialized floats and during the cross-bay voyage of the Jose Gasparilla II.[22]. Im passionate about highlighting community efforts to improve the quality of care in our state and make it more accessible to all Floridians. Subject. Rodney Kite-Powell said the first invasion was a huge success. The annual Gasparilla celebration is one of Tampa Bay's biggest social events, . For decades, many members of YMKG walked the parade route armed with six-shooters or other handguns loaded with blanks which they frequently fired in the air. According to family stories, the wooden box contained a pile of Spanish and Portuguese coins, a severed hand wearing a ring engraved with the name "Gaspar", and a "treasure map" indicating that Gaspar's treasure was hidden near the Hillsborough River in Tampa. Members of Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla, accompanied by a flotilla of hundreds of private boats, sail across Tampa Bay to downtown Tampa on the Jos Gasparilla, a 165' long "pirate" ship which was specially built for this purpose in 1954. & Queen Anne Lawson Kelley, King William L. (Larry) Smith & Queen India Powell Stallings, King J. Rex Farrior, III & Queen Laura Elizabeth Straske, King Gary W. Harrod & Queen Margo Hall Ennis, King Christopher C. Lykes & Queen Courtney Laurens Farrior, King CVII James A. Turner III & Queen CVII Martha Davis Straske, King CVIII Richard McKinley Chapman III & Queen CVIII Caroline Grace Dearing Lackman, Copyright @ 2023 Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla - All Rights Reserved |. Though there were plenty of boats in Tampas bustling port, pirates needed to find ships that were empty, which was difficult. Pirates. [27][22][23] His tall tales were usually shared in very informal settings during fishing trips and hunting expeditions and are only documented in a few personal accounts in newspapers and magazines and in his obituary. Since then organizers have worked to diversify the festival and include more krewes for all races and genders. "Taking the best of everything when a capture was made, he chose the best of the islands in Charlotte Harbor, for his own secret haunts," declared the leaflet. Barnes isnt one of the lucky men who gets to dress up in pirate costume and ride on the Jose Gasparilla II. The Tampa Bay area's annual pirate festival, Gasparilla, first began in 1904 when the Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla (YMKG) planned a surprise "mock pirate attack" on Tampa. A few days before the Parade of Pirates, members of Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla in full pirate regalia "kidnap" the mayor of Tampa at city hall, take them to a downtown park before assembled local media and onlookers, and demand that the city surrender to Jose Gaspar or suffer the consequences. Over 300,000 spectators are expected to line the streets to watch the Ashley Children's Gasparilla Parade presented by Chick-fil-A on January 21, 2023 and the Seminole Hard Rock Gasparilla Pirate Fest on January 28, 2023. [2] The centerpiece of the festivities is the Parade of Pirates (often referred to as the Gasparilla Parade), which is a friendly invasion by the mythical pirate Jos Gaspar (also known as Gasparilla), who is a popular figure in Florida folklore despite the fact that he did not exist. In 2004, YMKG published a new centennial history of the organization. [14][3] In addition, few pirates of any age based their operations along Florida's west coast. Captiva Island was said to be where his captives were held, Sanibel Island was named after Gaspar's love interest, and his home was on Gasparilla Island - "Taking the best of everything when a capture was made, he chose the best of the islands in Charlotte Harbor for his own secret haunts," it declared. Courtesy of the Florida Archives. He talks about what goes into putting on the massive event and how it has expanded over the years. The fast-food . "I used to watch it from the rooftops,". To learn more, read this article. The pirate ship needs to be moved into place to begin the invasion at 11:30 a.m. Tugboats help move the ship, which leads a flotilla of over 1500 smaller boats. In the decades after another hiatus during World War II, it was set for the second Monday in February. Also, they saw pretty early on that this could be a neat attraction and a neat tourist draw to a city that didnt really have much of a tourist industry aside from the Tampa Bay Hotel and the fact that the railroad did come here. [17], Currently, over fifty krewes march in the Gasparilla Parade of Pirates, with smaller krewes participating on a rotating basis due to the limited number of available slots. [3] His book repeated claims that a "burying ground" containing the "bleached bones" of Gaspar's many victims had recently been discovered on Gasparilla Island, that a tall "burial mound" built by a "prehistoric race" had been excavated and found to be full of gold and silver artifacts along with "hundreds of human skeletons", and that a dying John Gmez had confessed to witnessing the murder of the "Little Spanish princess" and sketched a map that led searchers to her body. So, let's get to it! The history concludes with this statement: Whether Gasparilla, the pirate, actually existed or not is a moot point. [11], The old wooden ship was in serious need of repairs and renovation by the early 1950s, so with financial assistance from the city of Tampa, YMKG commissioned the $100,000 Jose Gasparilla II, which was constructed from a 165-foot-long (50m) steel barge to which masts and other elements were added so that it resembles an 18th-century West Indiaman. Boca Grande [was then] the principal town of Gasparilla Island, and . [3][2], There is also no physical evidence to support Gaspar's existence. Letsgetstarted. But city leaders have made a lot of changes over the past decade to keep drinking under control. [14], Many of the events of Tampa's Gasparilla season are organized by "krewes", which are social and charitable organizations modeled on the krewes that participate in the Mardi Gras festivities of New Orleans. [58] The city of Tampa hastily put together a replacement parade called "Bamboleo", which was billed as a "multicultural festival" and did not include pirates. However, African-Americans and others among Tampa's diverse population felt left out of the planning and organization of the events, with some observers questioning the tradition of local elites dressing as pirates and pretending to plunder the city. It centers on a fictional pirate, Jose Gaspar, and a prominent bunch of Tampa citizens who. [3][18][22], Despite his obvious lack of fact-checking, Bradlee's book was used as a source for later works such as Philip Gosse's Pirates' Who's Who and Frederick W. Dau's Florida Old and New, the authors of which also took Gaspar's authenticity for granted. Scheduling varied from May to February before World War 2, after which the parade was usually held on a Monday in late January or early February. He said Gasparilla organizers have worked hard to combat that with efforts like ramping up police presence along the parade route, doing educational outreach and limiting the amount of alcohol people can bring and buy. Unjustly facing arrest, he commandeered a ship and fled, vowing to exact revenge on his country. The Story of Gasparilla, booklet, 1946. FL lawmaker wants political bloggers to be registered, Man accused of dumping 30 mattresses in Key West:, Spirit flight makes emergency landing in FL due to, FL man wins lottery, state claims he owes them money, Jack in the Box coming to Florida, seeking franchisees, Disney Worlds Typhoon Lagoon water park set to reopen, Universal Orlando adds vegan Butterbeer to menus, 4 new things to check out at the FL Strawberry Festival, Co-workers win $50K after buying ticket during lunch. Don Barnes, Executive Officer of Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla said a lot has changed since then. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. [18], As the scheduling of the Parade of Pirates has shifted over the years, the dates of the other two large parades of the season have generally shifted as well, with the Children's Parade held one week before and the Krewe of San'Yago Illuminated Knight Parade held two weeks after the main Gasparilla Parade. From March 4-5, event-goers can come out to Julian B. Nashville to Tampa: Hey, nice Riverwalk you got there. Events kick-off at 9 am and continue through 10 pm. [3], In the 1930s, construction worker Ernesto Lopez showed his family a mysterious box he claimed to have found while working with a repair crew on the Cass Street Bridge in downtown Tampa. Beard III & Queen Courtney Clewis Howell, King Stephen W. Swindal & Queen Mallory Cason Howell, King John A. Brabson Jr. & Queen Caroline Elizabeth Annis, King O.Fred Dobbins & Queen Kelly Clewis Davis, King Michael D. Annis & Queen Katherine Bagwell Dobbins, King Harold W. Mullis Jr. & Queen Rosemary Elizabeth Williams, King J. Thomas Touchton & Queen Jennifer Louise Tuttle, King Preston L. Farrior & Queen Mary Ellen Buell, King Michael L. Carrere & Queen Kerry Lynn Carson, King R. James Robbins Jr. &Queen Merrin Baldwin Jenkins, King David A. Straz Jr. & Queen Elizabeth Lykes Carrere, King Philip R. Carroll & Queen Colleen Paige Pizzo, King Joseph W. Taggart & Queen Sara Katherine Ennis, King James C. Von Thron M.D. [1], The cover of the brochure featured a blood-dripping color illustration of Gaspar, and the introduction claimed that the tale of the pirate contained therein was gleaned from stories told by the recently deceased John Gmez, who was described as the longest-lived member the crew. [19] So many beads are thrown that in recent years, the city has organized post-parade volunteer cleanup efforts which annually collect thousands of pounds of plastic from the parade route and nearby Tampa Bay. Instead he said he spends most of his Gasparilla in a police car making sure that all the complex chess pieces move at the right time.. Attendees are welcome to drink openly along the parade route on Tampas Bayshore Boulevard and surrounding bars and restaurants are packed with people drinking from morning to night. 4 things you can do for your health, The State of Black Tampa Bay: An Exclusive Town Hall, Ybor speakeasy honors Madame Fortune Taylor, Ex got a warrant? [1][15] Besides planning Gasparilla and its own private events, YMKG raises money for various charitable causes and annually endows several college scholarships through its community fund. [1] It also sought to connect Gaspar to Charlotte Harbor by claiming that his sprawling home base had encompassed several islands in the area. Some versions of the story claim that one of the escapees was John Gmez, who would tell the tale to subsequent generations. 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Gaspar, Jos, -- 1756-1821. "In 1783, having become a traitor and a pirate, Jos Gaspar gave the name of "Gasparilla" to himself as well as to his ship and the island in Charlotte Harbor, on the west coast of Florida near. In the late 1800s, Gmez lived in a shack with his wife on otherwise uninhabited Panther Key, a small spit of land near Marco Island in the Ten Thousand Islands region of Southwest Florida. [28] It is billed as a "family friendly" event, as unlike during the Parade of Pirates, alcohol is not allowed along the parade route, which runs along Bayshore Boulevard and is about half as long as the main Gasparilla Parade. Because Tampas business community was still relatively small back then, you can look at people who were members of Ye Mystic Krewe and also see they were the heads of different banks in the area, they were the head of TECO, the heads of these big businesses.. "Gasparilla Island" appears on Spanish and English maps made in the early 1700s, and contemporary documents suggest that the barrier island was named for Friar Gaspar, a Spanish missionary who visited the native Calusa in the 1600s. One of the most famous involves a Spanish princess (or Mexican, depending on the version) named Useppa who was a passenger on a captured ship. Look closely and you can spot pirates on the Jose Gasparilla II in 1959 enjoying some adult beverages as they invade the city. The first seaborne "invasion" came in 1911, and YMKG has organized a theatrical pirate invasion and parade almost every year since. Hundreds of thousands will crowd the streets to participate in another day of bead-throwing and debauchery. [Photo by the Burgert Brothers. As of the 2020 edition of the Gasparilla Pirate Fest, the issue was being considered by the United States Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. This document recounts the Gasparilla legend first published in 1936 but adds a coda which concedes that scholarly research conducted in both Spanish and American archives has not uncovered any evidence of Gaspar's existence. The theme and focal point of Gasparilla is a friendly "invasion" by mythical pirate Jos Gaspar and his crew, who are portrayed by members of Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla (YMKG), an organization created for this purpose in 1904. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. [24] In 1885, he told state census takers that he had been born in Corsica,[25] and reported to the 1900 US Census that he was born in Portugal in 1776. His family has been a part of the fun for decades. Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn meets with Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla members in 2019 to "negotiate a peaceful surrender of the city," part of the tradition leading up to the annual Parade of Pirates. [ IVY. A fierce battle ensued in which the Floriblanca was hulled several times below the waterline and began to sink. Ketia Daniel, founder of BHM Cleaning Co., is BestReviews cleaning expert. Reporters and bloggers, alike, Can the Democratic Party regain strength in Florida? [37] The mayor of Tampa then surrenders the key of the city to the "pirate captain", and a "victory parade" ensues down Bayshore Boulevard. Pirates have fired off canons on the Jose Gasparilla II as the ship "invades" Tampa Bay since it was built in 1954. [3][7][5][18], In 1949, a retired Pat Lemoyne gave a history lecture at a Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce function in which he cheerfully admitted that his biography of Jos Gaspar was a "cockeyed lie without a true fact in it" and that he had written the brochure in a dramatic style that "tourists like to hear". The first Gasparilla parade was held in May 1904, after Tampa Tribune society editor Louise Frances Dodge and Tampa's director of customs George Hardee decided to combine elements of New Orleans Mardi Gras with a pirate theme to promote and enliven Tampa's May Day celebration. Courtesy Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System], [Burgert Brothers | Courtesy, Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System], [DAVID KADLUBOWSKI | Tampa Bay Times], [PENDYGRAFT, JOHN | St. Petersburg Times], [ | Tampa Bay Times], Gasparilla Festival of the Arts returns to Tampa. Many of the same krewes - large and small - also participate in the Gasparilla Children's Parade and the Sant'Yago Knight Parade. Pirates gather at the Tampa Yacht Club the morning of to get their costumes and makeup on and do media interviews ahead of the festival. [4], In 1923, Boston historian Francis B. C. Bradlee received a copy of the Gasparilla Inn brochure from Robert Bradley, then president of the Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railway Company. The connection was first made soon after his death in 1900, when a promotional pamphlet for a Charlotte Harbor resort hotel (see below) claimed that the late John Gmez was the primary source of its tale of the pirate Gasparilla.

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