Every January Tampa hosts the Gasparilla Pirate Festival, named for pirate captain José Gaspar who operated out of the area. The invasion begins when the "krewes" (made up of city denizens) arrive on boats in Tampa Bay and land near downtown Tampa. The mayor of Tampa then lends the key of the city to the pirate captain of Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla and a parade ensues down Bayshore Boulevard, one of Tampa's major streets. The pirate krewes throw beads, coins and other items while shooting blank pistols from floats during the parade. At times, participants in the festivities throw things back. Nickname: Cigar City, The Big Guava, T-Town Motto: Official website: http://www. ... A pirate digging…perhaps to bury treasure, perhaps a grave. ... Jose Gaspar, known by his nickname Gasparilla, was a Spanish pirate who purportedly raided the west coast of Florida during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. ... A Krewe is an organization that puts on or participates in a parade and or a ball for the New Orleans Carnival season (Mardi Gras) or in Tampa, Floridas Gasparilla Pirate Fest. ... Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and estuary on the western coast of Florida. ... This is a list of mayors of Tampa, Florida. ... Bayshore Boulevard is a street in Tampa, Florida, along Hillsborough Bay. ...

Krewe memberships are much desired in many social circles in Tampa and many celebrate ethnic and cultural themes. The Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla is the oldest krewe involved in the parade, and members of the many krewes that now participate spend a great deal of money on beads and floats.

A few weeks before the "invasion" and the main parade, there is a family-oriented children's parade, and a few weeks after the invasion, there is a more adult-oriented Sant'Yago Knight Parade in Ybor City held at night. Krewes have social events and parties throughout the year for members and hold philanthropic events for favored causes. The large crowd remains late into the evening after the parade. ... Ybor cigar factory, c. ...

The Gasparilla Pirate Festival is well known for the ridiculous amount of public intoxication, public nudity, and other public displays, in many cases pubic, that go on in broad daylight. It's the one day when a high school student can safely say to a cop, "I'm so fucking drunk!" with little to no fear of being arrested.

History

Gasparilla was first held in May 1904 in Tampa Bay but the invasion originated on horseback instead of by boat. In years past, a US Navy ship would be attacked by small boats throwing Cuban bread and black bean soup. The Navy would respond with fire hoses but would succumb to the Ybor City Navy, and then surrender to the Alcalde of Ybor City. The sailors would be treated to an evening on the town. This was discontinued after the September 11, 2001 attacks. 1904 (MCMIV) is a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ... Cuban bread is a fairly simple bread, usually made with lard instead of oil. ... Black bean can mean: The black turtle bean, a small, black variety of the common bean especially popular in Latin American cuisine Douchi, a kind of fermented soybean especially popular in the cuisine of China The black gram Any black-colored variety of bean; beans which include black-colored varieties... Alcalde is the Spanish title of the chief administrator of a town. ... The September 11, 2001 attacks (also referred to as 9/11) were a set of coordinated suicide attacks upon the United States of America carried out on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, in which a total of nineteen hijackers of Arabic origin simultaneously took control of four U.S. domestic commercial...

External links

• Gasparilla Pirate Festival