The legend of Jos Gaspar, according to an account by Andr-Marcel d'Ans and translated by Marie-Jole Ingalls, Gaspar was a Spanish naval officer, who in the early 1780s mutinied against his. '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. 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. Reporters and bloggers, alike, Can the Democratic Party regain strength in Florida? In the festivals early years the invasion was done on horseback. The annual Gasparilla celebration is one of Tampa Bay's biggest social events, drawing in hundreds of thousands of people to dress up as pirates and eat, drink and be merry. 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. But city leaders have made a lot of changes over the past decade to keep drinking under control. Can SunRail help ease traffic in Polk County? 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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. From March 4-5, event-goers can come out to Julian B. The annual Gasparilla celebration is one of Tampa Bay's biggest social events, . [16], The Krewe of Gasparilla was Tampa's only Gasparilla krewe until the woman-only Krewe of Venus was organized in 1966, the Ybor City-based Krewe of the Knights of Sant'Yago was organized in 1972, the Tampa Rough Riders were organized in 1978, and many more were established after YMKG opened up participation in the parade to more krewes in the 1990s. ", "Aboard Tampa's pirate ship, the 'Jose Gasparilla', "Tampa Mayor Buckhorn defies Gasparilla pirates, keeps key to city", "Experience the Fun & Excitement of Gasparilla Tampa Bay", "8 things you may not know about Gasparilla", Seed for Gasparilla was planted in the Tribune's old newsroom | TBO.com, "Travel through time with our '100 doubloons' of Gasparilla in Tampa Bay", "Need beads for Gasparilla? '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. He was popular in the court, but when he spurned one lover for another, the jilted lady levied false charges against him, often said to involve the theft of the crown jewels. 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. 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. As of the 2020 edition of the Gasparilla Pirate Fest, the issue was being considered by the United States Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. [14] While scattered seaborne attacks by privateers and others were still an occasional issue when Gaspar supposedly arrived at Charlotte Harbor in the 1780s, the navies of Britain, France, Spain, and the newly independent United States were actively patrolling nearby waters, making it improbable that a pirate could successfully harass shipping for decades at the enormous scale claimed in the various stories about Gasparilla. The Jose Gasparilla pirate ship is decorated with a banner welcoming the Tampa Bay Lightning, 2020 Stanley Cup Champions, as they return to downtown Tampa on Tuesday, September 29, 2020. [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. [18][5] However, amateur gold seekers have repeatedly disrupted nearby archeological sites, often in violation of Florida law. Barnes isnt one of the lucky men who gets to dress up in pirate costume and ride on the Jose Gasparilla II. [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. Turn them in to HCSO Valentines, Heres how many people were arrested at Gasparilla 2023, Keep the city clean: Volunteers clean up after Gasparilla, Pirate parade-goers and participants share why they love Gasparilla, Gasparilla season continues with these events in the Tampa Bay area, VIDEOS: Relive all the pirate-filled festivities of Gasparilla 2023, Best smart home devices for older users, according, How to get started on spring cleaning early, according, Worried about your student using ChatGPT for homework? "I used to watch it from the rooftops,". [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. Gasparilla began in 1904 when Miss Louise Francis Dodge, society editor of the Tampa Tribune, and George W. Hardee, then with the federal government in Tampa, conspired to promote the City of Tampa and its May Day celebration. Krewes are centered around various ethnic, cultural, and historical themes or favorite charity causes, and much like the krewes of Mardi Gras, members often spend a great deal of money on elaborate costumes, beads, and floats. 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], Gaspar has been associated with various other pirates, both historical and not. [22] His self-reported age and birthplace varied, even on official documents. Ketia Daniel, founder of BHM Cleaning Co., is BestReviews cleaning expert. It is held in the historical neighborhood of Ybor City on a Saturday night, usually two weeks after the Parade of Pirates in mid-February. King CVII James A. Turner III & Queen CVII Martha Davis Straske 2022. 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. Then we meet Don Barnes, Executive Officer ofYe Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla, the group that helped found the festival. Lane Riverfront Park along the Hillsborough River in downtown Tampa. Activating the 25-acre Julian B. In the decades after another hiatus during World War II, it was set for the second Monday in February. If you're looking for something to do that combines culture and the outdoors, the Gasparilla Festival of the Arts is the hot ticket this weekend. Lane Riverfront Park in downtown Tampa, the festival attracts over 30,000 visitors. [3], Gmez's uncertain birth was said to be just the beginning of an exceedingly long and adventure-filled life. 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. But Westcott, who has never missed a Queen's Party, fails to attend his own coronation . [3][18][7][5], Inspired by the story of Gaspar, the city of Tampa organized a pirate-themed May Day festival in 1904. [13] In addition to the krewes, high school and university marching bands and drill teams often participate, and many local businesses and organizations build and enter their own elaborate floats from which they also throw trinkets to the crowd. 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. 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. 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. [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. ", "You could have a vacation here but there was really no reason to. [1][8], In all versions, the renegade settled along the virtually uninhabited southwest coast of Spanish Florida around 1783 and turned to piracy aboard his ship, the Floriblanca. Columnist Stephanie Hayes will share thoughts, feelings and funny business with you every Monday. [1] It also sought to connect Gaspar to Charlotte Harbor by claiming that his sprawling home base had encompassed several islands in the area. [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. The acclaimed art festival that draws award-winning artists from throughout the country is happening March 4-5 at Julian B. [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. Since 2005, the Parade of Pirates has taken place on the last Saturday in January. [17], In 1949, Fort Myers author Jack Beater published a mass-market paperback version of the Gaspar legend called The Gasparilla Story. Events kick-off at 9 am and continue through 10 pm. & Queen Mary Anne Stallings, King Richard S. Clarke & Queen Sue Ellen Germany, King James M. Ingram M.D. The focal point is still an "invasion" by Jos Gaspar and his crew, which takes place on the last Saturday in January. [12] Gaspar had decided to retire after almost four decades of pirating, and he and his crew gathered on Gasparilla Island to split the wealth he'd gathered throughout his career, which some versions of the story value at the enormous sum of $30 million. 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. YMKG was instrumental in establishing the Inter-Krewe Council, which has grown to include more than 60 other Krewes. Subscribe to our free Stephinitely newsletter. Though written in the style of a light adventure novel, the narrator claimed that it was a true tale gleaned from a "mouse-eaten Cuban manuscript" supposedly written by Jos Gaspar's cousin Leon and corroborated with an old map found at a used bookstore, neither of which were made public. Despite the fact that the Annual Gasparilla Festival started in 1904 to celebrate "Pirate . Gasparilla faced controversy in the early 1990s for being a mostly white, male event. Planning to attend Gasparilla this year? [3], Similarly, Sanibel Island is said to have been named by Gaspar's first mate, Rodrigo Lopez, after his lover whom he had left back in Spain. 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. Part of the weekend programming includes the Emerging Artists Program, which provides . [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. Tampas first krewe, the Ye Mystic Krewe is one of more than 100 organizations taking part in the festivities. [17] The first occurrence consisted of several dozen local businessmen disguising themselves as pirates, riding horses through town to simulate a surprise pirate invasion, and encouraging startled observers to follow them to the May Day festival.
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