Gasparilla Pirate Festival

The Gasparilla Pirate Festival is an annual celebration held in Tampa, Florida. The Festival is hosted by the Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla and the City of Tampa and celebrates the legend of pirate Jose Gaspar.

The festival consists of a pirate "invasion," parade and children's festival.

History of Jose Gasper

Nicknamed "Gasparilla," Jose Gasper was the legendary "last of the Buccaneers." A Spanish pirate who is claimed to have raided the Florida's Gulf Cost in the late 18th century, Gasper remains a popular figure in regional folklore.

During his 38 year rule of the Florida coast, Gasparilla sacked passing ships and amassed an enormous fortune, which he kept in his den on Gasparilla Island. The captured men were put to death and recruited as pirates. The women were sent to nearby Captiva Island to be held as concubines or for ransom.

Gasparilla supposedly retired when Florida was sold from Spain to the United States in 1821. Legend has it that, while dividing up his fortune on the deck of his ship for the last time, Gasparilla was attacked by a U.S. pirate hunting schooner. Rather than surrender, Gasparilla tied himself to an anchor and leapt from the bow of his ship shouting, "Gasparilla dies by his own hand, not the enemy's!"

Gasparilla 2008 Events

Gasparilla Extravaganza Children's Parade

When: Saturday, January 19, 2008, 4PM to 6:30PM (Followed by a Fireworks Presentation from 7PM - 7:30PM)
Where: Bay to Bay Blvd. & Bayshore Blvd.
Cost: Free

The Gasparilla Invasion

When: Saturday, January 26, 2008, 11:30AM to 1PM
Where: The Jose Gasparilla sets sail at the south end of Hillsborough Bay at 11:30 a.m., sails north to Seddon Channel (between Davis Island and Harbour Island), continues north and docks at the Tampa Convention Center at 1 p.m.
Cost: Free for Unreserved Viewing

Gasparilla Parade of the Pirates

When: Saturday, January 26, 2008, 2PM to 5PM
Where: The parade begins at Bay to Bay Boulevard and Bayshore Boulevard. It continues north along Bayshore Boulevard to the Platt Street bridge, turns east on Channelside Drive, then north on Florida Avenue. Turning east on Jackson, it ends at Jackson and Marion Streets.
Cost: Free for Unreserved Viewing