[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. [20], Though very popular now, beads were rarely seen at Gasparilla Parades before the 1990s. [1] (For comparison, Spain had just agreed to transfer all of Florida to the United States for $5 million. Rodney Kite-Powell said the first invasion was a huge success. [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. [32] The Knight Parade features a similar mix of participants as the Parade of Pirates, with most of the floats are brightly illuminated since the event begins after dark. Hundreds of thousands will crowd the streets to participate in another day of bead-throwing and. Once the invasion begins, the boats need to arrive at the convention center within 90 minutes so the pirates can confront the mayor precisely at 1 p.m. Hell hopefully hand over the key to the city so the parade can start and everything can wrap up by early evening. Over time, the formerly one-day event evolved into a "Gasparilla season" which runs approximately from the beginning of the year until mid-March. This week on Florida Matters, we take a deep dive into the past and present of Gasparilla. Situated along Garrison Channel in downtown Tampa, Sparkman Wharf (615 Channelside Dr, Tampa, FL 33602) is Tampa's new outdoor waterfront destination. According to several studies, the Parade of Pirates alone has a local economic impact of over $20 million, and the combined events bring in over $40 million. [4] Subsequent retellings of the Gaspar legend are based upon this fanciful account, including the accidental inclusion of Jos Gaspar in a 1923 book on real pirates that has caused ongoing confusion about his historical authenticity.[5]. Credit Daylina Miller / WUSF Public Media. [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. But Barnes said things started to get out of hand and reached a low point around 2010, when the festival saw hundreds of arrests related to underage drinking and confrontations between drunk people. [41][3], The first written account of Jos Gaspar appeared in the early 1900s as part of an advertising brochure for the Gasparilla Inn in Boca Grande on Gasparilla Island. 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. 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. Activating the 25-acre Julian B. [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. Like Mardi Gras in New Orleans, partying at Gasparilla can get pretty rowdy. [7], There is no evidence to support the claim that several local place names in southwest Florida originated with Gaspar, as many appeared on maps drawn long before his supposedly arrival in the 1780s. Since 2005, the Parade of Pirates has taken place on the last Saturday in January. A fierce battle ensued in which the Floriblanca was hulled several times below the waterline and began to sink. [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. So, let's get to it! Boca Grande [was then] the principal town of Gasparilla Island, and . This error led to Gaspar being mentioned in a few other non-fiction books about piracy and Florida history, causing ongoing confusion as to the authenticity of the legend. He explained that the story had been inspired by John Gmez's tall tales, which Lemoyne had heard second-hand. [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. 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. [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. The two most common throws before that were plastic or metal commemorative coins produced annually by various krewes and spent gun cartridges. [22][27][23] Most of his supposed birth years would have made him one of the oldest people in the world in 1900, when he died in a boating accident. 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. For men, getting the chance to don a pirate costume and join the invasion could be a very . The acclaimed art festival that draws award-winning artists from throughout the country is happening March 4-5 at Julian B. 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. [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. [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. Subject. To learn more, read this article. [3][2], There is also no physical evidence to support Gaspar's existence. The landfall of the Jose Gasparilla Pirate Ship and the Children's Gasparilla Parade & Piratechnics display have become tourism icons. [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. Girl "pirates," 1968, in the ratlines of a ship. 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. 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 first seaborne "invasion" came in 1911, and YMKG has organized a theatrical pirate invasion and parade almost every year since. 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. "That's my uncle and my mother going to Coronation back in 1950," said. Floats need to be in place on Bayshore Boulevard early Saturday morning for the Parade of Pirates to start at 2 p.m. Barnes said this years parade will have 114 floats. Gasparilla, the city's most popular annual event, centered around a pirate-themed parade, resulted from a conversation seeking to spice up an existing parade.. In 2004, YMKG published a new centennial history of the organization. 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. 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. [7] While several purported biographies of the pirate state that the nickname "Gasparilla" means "Gaspar, the outlaw" in Spanish, it is actually a feminine diminutive meaning "little Gaspar" or "gentle Gaspar", a moniker more likely to be attached to a pacifist priest than a bloodthirsty buccaneer. 'Ted' DeLaVergne Jr. & Queen Anne McGowin Robbins, King David R. Murphey III & Queen Lavinia Hannon Touchton, King James W. Warren III & Queen Laura Elizabeth Ferman, King Bruce A. Samson & Queen Janice Coxwell Ferman, King Warren Frazier & Queen Evans Barritt Romano, King Henry G. Ennis Jr. & Queen Nancy Kaye Frankland. Taking inspiration from Mardi Gras krewes, there was a hierarchy in place with a king and queen of Gasparilla crowned each year and debutante balls for young women. [3] Lambright claimed that his biography of Gaspar was supported by "unquestionable records", including a diary written by the pirate himself and taken to Spain by a member of his crew, perhaps Juan Gmez. Hundreds of thousands will crowd the streets to participate in another day of bead-throwing and debauchery. "[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". [6], In some versions of the story, Gaspar began life as a poverty-stricken Spanish youth who kidnapped a young girl for ransom. [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. Look closely and you can spot pirates on the Jose Gasparilla II in 1959 enjoying some adult beverages as they invade the city.
Wolf Lake Middle School, Articles K
Wolf Lake Middle School, Articles K