However, many children of krewe members don costumes to ride aboard floats and toss beads and trinkets to the crowd, and various youth organizations such as sports and dance teams also participate. Ketia Daniel, founder of BHM Cleaning Co., is BestReviews cleaning expert. The annual Gasparilla celebration is a tradition that goes way back, and this year Daniel is crowned Gasparilla King, which is a big deal. While some feel that the widespread use of the name constitutes a "co-branding" which promotes all similarly named organizations and Tampa in general, others believe that overuse could "water down what it means", and that the potential failures or missteps of one event or organization might reflect poorly on all the others. Gaspar and his crew then stage a "victory parade" featuring 50 additional krewes, over 100 floats, and dozens of other community organizations along a route traveling 4.5 miles (7.2km) down Bayshore Boulevard, throwing beads and other trinkets to a crowd of about 300,000. The tale of pirate captain Jos Gaspar who, according to the stories, ravaged the west coast of Spanish Florida for 40 years is the inspiration for a bombastic plundering that continues from 1905. [36], A wide variety of local businesses, organzations, and smaller events ranging from restaurants to beauty pageants to classic car shows and food festivals also use the names "Gaspar" or "Gasparilla"; according to the Florida Department of State, over 100 entities have registered related names. 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. 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. For all the art lovers out there, the 2023 Gasparilla Festival of the Arts is returning to Tampa this coming weekend. Once they had the idea for Gasparilla, Louise Frances Dodge and George Hardee invited members of Tampas high society to form a secret group called Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla. "[3][31], Beater published several additional books about southwest Florida; some marketed as fiction, some as non-fiction, and some as guidebooks for tourists, all including tongue-in-cheek dramatic tales about Gaspar and other pirates. so you can be prepared. [49], The Parade of Pirates has been held every year since 1947 with two exceptions: in 1991, when a controversy over inclusion saw Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla refuse to participate, and in 2021, when the parades and most related events were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [50][51], In 2001, the Parade of Pirates was held a week earlier than usual to coincide with Super Bowl XXXV, which was played in Tampa the next day. He was well known along Florida's Gulf coast as an expert hunting and fishing guide, boat pilot, and an eccentric teller of tall tales, mostly about himself. 'Jack' Smith & Queen Gay Dantzler, King Frank M. Frankland & Queen Lynda Helms, King Charles P. Lykes & Queen Joan Henderson, King C.C. [9][10][11] The "pirate ship" fires a near-continuous barrage of loud mini-canons during its journey between Davis Island and Harbour Island accompanied by hundreds of smaller private boats. [37][38] Other local organizations have taken on the Gasparilla / pirate theme, most prominently the National Football League's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who first took the field in 1976 and installed a replica pirate ship in the stands of their home field at Raymond James Stadium. A note on the following images: While the krewes of the 21st century are more inclusive, Gasparilla was segregated by gender until the 1960s and by race until the 1990s. The latest news and how to stay informed. The first seaborne "invasion" came in 1911, and YMKG has organized a theatrical pirate invasion and parade almost every year since. Louise Frances Dodge, who was society editor of the Tampa Tribune in 1904, came up with the idea for the festival with Tampas customs director George Hardee. Two other major parades during this time are the Gasparilla Children's Parade, which is held on Bayshore Boulevard one week before the main parade, and the Sant'Yago Illuminated Knight Parade, which is organized by the Krewe of the Knights of Sant'Yago in the historic neighborhood of Ybor City two weeks after the main parade. Look closely and you can spot pirates on the Jose Gasparilla II in 1959 enjoying some adult beverages as they invade the city. Plastic beads like those at New Orleans Mardi Gras festivities are by far the most prevalent item, with varieties ranging from simple single-color necklaces to intricate and expensive designs, most of which are purchased by krewe members themselves. When you are 11 or 12 you are a page, so you serve at the coronation and you walk behind the king or the queen, so you participate, Chapman explained. 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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Some versions identify the lady with Josefa de Mayorga, daughter of Martn de Mayorga, viceroy of New Spain from 1779 to 1782, and contend that the island's name evolved over time. Chapman serves as the King for Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla this year. Events kick-off at 9 am and continue through 10 pm. [8], Most of the organizations, events, and businesses who use "Gaspar" or "Gasparilla" are not affiliated with Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla or the City of Tampa, neither of which owns the monikers. [46] The second Gasparilla the following year was not a surprise, as every automobile owner in town was invited to join the mounted pirates in the parade. He talks about what goes into putting on the massive event and how it has expanded over the years. [7][22] However, though many versions of the Gasparilla legend claim that Gmez was the last surviving member of the pirate's crew, no contemporary account of Gmez's life or tall tales mention Jos Gaspar. What are those large pyramids next to the Skyway? [39][40] To tie these events together in the public eye, Visit Tampa Bay, the local tourist bureau, has run multimillion-dollar promotional campaigns across the United States, Canada, and Europe to attract visitors to the area during "Gasparilla Season". [11], For over half a century, various Gasparilla pirate ships would sail about half a mile up the Hillsborough River to near the University of Tampa, where members of YMKG would disembark for the parade. From March 4-5, event-goers can come out to Julian B. More than a century. In the 1870 United States Census, he is listed as having been born in 1828. The landfall of the Jose Gasparilla Pirate Ship and the Children's Gasparilla Parade & Piratechnics display have become tourism icons. 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. [10] The parade has been broadcast live on local television for decades: WFLA-TV has provided coverage since 1955, and WTVT-TV also covered the parade from 1955 to 1980. Over the next decade, the pirate parade was staged as an occasional add-on to other community events, with the highlight of the early period being the first seaborne invasion in 1911. Taliaferro, III & Queen Doris Knight, King Wallace O. Stovall & Queen Grace Freeman, King Otto Lee Henderson & Queen Mary Trice Clewis, King L. Walthugh Lee & Queen Mildred Taliaferro, King Joe Johnson & Queen Lillie Wall Honaker, King Collins Gillet & Queen Marion Harvey, King James W. Warren & Queen Sara Lykes Keller, King Curtis L. Sparkman & Queen Elizabeth Nelson, King J. MacDonell Thompson & Queen Carlotta Cuesta, King L.G. In 1988, the Parade of Pirates was moved to the first Saturday in February to make it easier for residents of other communities to take part in the festivities. The legend states that Gaspar terrorized the western coastal waters of Florida in the late 18th to early 19th century. Courtesy of the Florida Archives. [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. 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. Some guys will be walking with their grandfathers in this parade and certainly their fathers, Chapman said. [3][18][7][5], Inspired by the story of Gaspar, the city of Tampa organized a pirate-themed May Day festival in 1904. There is actually one example of when a ship wasnt totally empty of its cargo and that cargo was livestock pigs and chickens. However, though many versions of Jos Gaspar's adventures have been told in various forms over the years - including pulp adventure novels, tourist guides, and official histories of Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla - all have their basis in the fictional tale first printed in an advertisement for the Gasparilla Inn. 4 things to know. As of the 2020 edition of the Gasparilla Pirate Fest, the issue was being considered by the United States Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. [4] The brochure consisted of two parts: a telling of the legend of Jos Gaspar followed by a promotional section touting the Gasparilla Inn and the Charlotte Harbor area in general. [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. At least a portion of the Gasparilla Parade of Pirates has traversed Bayshore Boulevard into downtown almost since its inception. On Saturday, several hundred thousand people will line Bayshore Boulevard and the streets of downtown Tampa for the invasion and parade. Whatever his supposed origins, the legends agree that Gaspar fled to the virtually uninhabited southwestern coast of Spanish Florida in the 1780s and established his "pirate kingdom" on Gasparilla Island in Charlotte Harbor, south of Tampa Bay. )[13], During the treasure distribution process, a lookout spotted what appeared to be a vulnerable British merchant ship sailing nearby. Jos Gaspar, also known by his nickname Gasparilla (supposedly lived c. 1756 - 1821), is an apocryphal Spanish pirate who terrorized the Gulf of Mexico from his base in southwest Florida during Florida's second Spanish period (1783 to 1821). The whole town closes up for the day and all the citizens get together, they crown a King and Queen, and then the band plays at the Tampa Yacht Club despite the blazing heat. 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. The fast-food . The parade was even cancelled in 1991 over disputes about diversity. Most modern-day Gasparilla attendees picture the large Jose Gasparilla II pirate ship that sails into Tampa Bay each year for the invasion, but that was not built until 1954. In 1936, YMKG commissioned Tampa Tribune editor Edwin D. Lambright to write an authorized history of the organization. An average of over 300,000 people attend the event, which contributes over $20 million to the local economy.[38]. Rainy weather helped to dampen the crowds, and the replacement was considered a "flop". 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. Some versions of Gaspar's story claim that he often partnered with the real pirate Pierre Lafitte and that Lafitte barely escaped the battle in which Gaspar was killed. The disappearance of a Tampa Bay blue blood rattles the skeletons in his family's closet. 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. The Gasparilla parade in 1910 was the last year the invasion was done on horseback. Pirates. Rather than surrender, Gaspar supposedly wrapped an anchor chain around his waist and leapt from the bow, dramatically shouting "Gasparilla dies by his own hand, not the enemy's!" 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. The story of Gasparilla and his pirates has lent a certain flair of mystery and adventure to Florida's West Coast since the late 1800s. Alcohol has long played a role in Gasparilla, as it has with Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans. Gaspar instantly regretted the deed and took her body to a nearby island, which he named Useppa in her honor, and buried her himself. [1] (For comparison, Spain had just agreed to transfer all of Florida to the United States for $5 million. "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. The Children's Parade was first held in 1947 and has grown over the years, usually drawing about 100,000 attendees. Gaspar is said to have taken many ships and held many female hostages for ransom while preying on shipping in the Gulf of Mexico from Louisiana to the Spanish main aboard his flagship, the Floriblanca. Subject. However, the construction of the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway through downtown in 1976 ended that tradition, as the 100-foot (30m) masts of the Jose Gasparilla II do not fit under the expressway where it bridges the river near its mouth. Karl E. Holland / State Library & Archives of Florida. The History of Gasparilla; The Legend of Jose Gasparilla; Gallery; Calendar; Participation. After a hiatus during World War I, the Gasparilla parade was held in mid-February. Unjustly facing arrest, he commandeered a ship and fled, vowing to exact revenge on his country. 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. [28][23][3][15][22], The first known written account of Jos Gaspar comes from an early 1900s brochure for the Gasparilla Inn Resort in the recently established tourist town of Boca Grande, Florida on Gasparilla Island in Charlotte Harbor. [7][3], In still other versions, Gaspar was a brilliant Spanish admiral of questionable character who actually succeeded in stealing the crown jewels. We interviewed our tech expert, Jaime Vazquez, to learn more about accessible smart home devices. [36] Under the guise of "Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla" (YMKG), an organization modeled after the New Orleans Mardi Gras krewes, the "invaders" donned pirate costumes and rode through the streets on horseback encouraging residents to follow them to the festivities. [22] His self-reported age and birthplace varied, even on official documents. On Saturday, pirates will once again storm downtown Tampa during the annual Gasparilla invasion. As the planning has become more complicated over the years, however, the parade has accepted corporate sponsorships to defray costs and hired EventFest to coordinate the event with the city. Over the next few decades, several more books about pirates or Florida history erroneously included Jos Gaspar / Gasparilla as a real historical figure, leading to continuing confusion about his historical authenticity and repeated attempts to find his lost treasure. Lemoyne described Gmez as a "colorful" eccentric who claimed to have been a pirate in order to sell fake treasure maps to "the gullible" for a "fancy figure". The annual Gasparilla celebration is one of Tampa Bay's biggest social events, . Culbreath Jr. & Queen Deborah King Davis, King Max H. Hollingsworth & Queen Patricia Shannon Smith, King Gus J. Perdigon D.D.S. Subscribe to our free Stephinitely newsletter. To learn more about ChatGPT and how we can inspire students, we sat down with BestReviews book expert, Ciera Pasturel. Part of the weekend programming includes the Emerging Artists Program, which provides . A fierce battle ensued in which the Floriblanca was hulled several times below the waterline and began to sink. [18] In 1913, "Gasparilla Carnival" was organized as an independent event, as it has remained ever since. Though details about his early life, motivations, and piratical exploits differ in various tellings, they agree that the 'Last of the Buccaneers" was a remarkably active pirate who amassed a huge fortune by taking many prizes and ransoming many hostages during his long career and that he died by leaping from his ship rather than face capture by the U.S. Navy, leaving behind his still-hidden treasure. [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. 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.' The "Gasparilla Festival" became a stand-alone event in 1913, and with exception of hiatuses during the world wars and on two other occasions, it has been celebrated every year since. [53], The first shipborne Gasparilla invasion came in 1911, when a merchant vessel was borrowed, decorated, and temporarily rechristened the Jose Gaspar for the day. The event proved popular, and leading citizens organized "Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla", an organization based on the krewes of Mardi Gras in New Orleans, to run the annual Gasparilla Pirate Festival. A look back at the costumes, floats and festivities over the years. "[3] The earliest known written mention of Jos Gaspar was a short biography included in an early 1900s promotional brochure for the Gasparilla Inn on Gasparilla Island at Charlotte Harbor, the author of which freely admitted that the dramatic tale was a work of fiction "without a true fact in it". This page was last edited on 3 March 2023, at 20:52. And a few pigs and chickens didnt make it from one end of the invasion to the other.". And as a result of some of those things, the police presence and the fact that weve restricted the amount of mixed drinks that you can just bring along the parade route, weve seen arrests go down to less than a dozen, he said. [3], Gaspar has been associated with various other pirates, both historical and not. Columnist Stephanie Hayes will share thoughts, feelings and funny business with you every Monday. 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? 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.". In 2004, YMKG published a new centennial history of the organization. [1], While Gaspar is a popular figure in Florida folklore, there is no evidence that he actually existed. [33][34][35] However, upon examination, experts at the Tampa Bay History Center determined that the box contained several non-precious old coins, souvenirs from early Gasparilla parades, and a plat map from the 1920s with local streets, businesses, and landmarks from that time clearly depicted. King C. Norman Stallings Jr. & Queen Amanda Williams Samson Ph.D. King George M. Steinbrenner III & Queen Tracy Johnson Romano, King J. Eugene Fogarty Jr. & Queen Julia Webb Brabson, King Jack L. Romano & Queen Elizabeth Grace Quisenberry, King William T. Branch M.D. [33][6][34], Besides the three main parades and the many galas, parties, and fundraisers hosted by individual krewes, Tampa has long hosted a variety of other Gasparilla-related events from approximately January through March. As described by the Boca Grande Historical Society, several Calusa and other Native American sites around Charlotte Harbor have suffered "unimaginable damage" at the hands of "looters in search of a non-pirate's non-treasure. 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. [7], The Gasparilla Pirate Festival has been popular in Tampa since its inception and has grown into the third largest parade in the United States. [8] Around noon on the Gasparilla Day, members of YMKG set sail across Tampa Bay from near Ballast Point Park to downtown aboard the Jose Gasparilla, a 165' long flat-bottomed steel barge which was specially built and decorated for this purpose in 1954. [18][5] However, amateur gold seekers have repeatedly disrupted nearby archeological sites, often in violation of Florida law. For men, getting the chance to don a pirate costume and join the invasion could be a very . Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla was the first group to participate in the parade, but now there are dozens of other krewes joining in on the festivities. 'Ted' DeLaVergne & Queen Emala Parkhill, King Lemuel P. Woods & Queen Elizabeth Dawson, King Gordon L. Gibbons & Queen Lucile Trice, King James E. Wall Jr. & Queen Phyllis Turner, King W. Frank Hobbs & Queen Sylvia Corral, King G. Richard Griffin & Queen Louise Lykes, King Henry Weidman & Queen Sara B. Johnson, King David A. Falk & Queen Mary Frances Swann, King LeBron Kinchley & Queen Peggy Van Dyke, King James T. Swann Jr. & Queen Ruth Binnicker, King H. Phillip Hampton & Queen Mary Ellen Cook, King William C. McElmurray & Queen Lucy Ann Forgy, King W. Howard Frankland & Queen Mary Julia Dupree, King Charles G. Baskerville & Queen Shirley McKay, King Gilvie L. Reeves & Queen Patricia Lowry, King Carlton C. Cone & Queen Suzanne Lowry, King John A. [3][1], Though the brochure presents its "romantic" history of Gaspar as well-established truth, it is entirely fictional. He explained that the story had been inspired by John Gmez's tall tales, which Lemoyne had heard second-hand. For several decades, the parade route ended at Plant Field, where the Florida State Fair was taking place, drawing more attendees to the simultaneous events. Since 2005, the Parade of Pirates has taken place on the last Saturday in January. "Gasparilla pirate's life flows from history's spin doctors", "The Legend of Gasparilla: Myth and History on Florida's West Coast", "Chamber Enlivened by Whiskey Creek, Pirate History", "Not the Type of Person to Meet on a Dark Night was Gasparilla", 1999 Gasparilla Pirate Fest - The Tampa Tribune, "Gasparilla Island Geology, Archaeology, and History", "Is Gasparilla's treasure real? [1] Finally, it claimed that a burial mound "forty feet high and four hundred feet in circumference" near Gasparilla Island had been found to contain "ornaments of gold and silver" along with "hundreds of human skeletons", but that the bulk of the buccaneer's vast cache of buried treasure "still lies unmoved" nearby, in the vicinity of the Gasparilla Inn. Several semi-theatrical events around Gaspar's "pirate invasion" have become traditional: The Children's Gasparilla Extravaganza is held on the Saturday prior to the main parade, currently the second-to-last Saturday in January. Gasparilla Pirate Fest is on January 28, 2023 with the Parade of Pirates stepping off at 1pm. [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. Im passionate about highlighting community efforts to improve the quality of care in our state and make it more accessible to all Floridians. On Saturday, pirates will once again storm downtown Tampa during the annual Gasparilla invasion. Howd you do it? Check out our listof street closures, parking info, etc. [3] It was authored by publicist Pat Lemoyne for the Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railway Company, which had just opened the resort. The following year was the first invasion by boat. [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. 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. 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. [3][27] Most versions of the legend also claim that Gmez knew the whereabouts of Gaspar's vast treasure cache, which seems unlikely given that he petitioned the Lee County Commission for a $8 per month stipend due to destitution. Local place names mentioned were established long before the pirate's supposed arrival, and despite lurid tales regarding the uncovering of gold and human remains, no such artifacts or any other physical evidence of Gaspar's "regal" home base, victims, or treasure has ever been found on Gasparilla Island or anywhere else in the Charlotte Harbor area. [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. [11], The membership of Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla is overwhelmingly made up of Tampa's business and civic leaders, which meant that for many decades, the organization was exclusively white and male, leading to some resentment from unrepresented groups. [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. Research in Spanish archives has turned up no mention of his early life, his presence in the Spanish royal court, or his career in the Spanish navy. [56] However, due to practical concerns, participation in the Parade of Pirates has been limited to fifty krewes per year, with smaller krewes taking turns on a rotating basis.
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