The City of Tampa will hold its annual Gasparilla Festival this weekend. It is a mini mardi-gras, and founder’s day celebration all in one. This is a tradition in Tampa that dates back to 1904. The first invasion was actually done on horseback by "Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla". In 1911 the pirate invasion was done by ship for the first time, and has been done by ship ever since.
The roots of this festival dates back to the legendary Buccaneer Pirate named Jose Gaspar, who looted ships in the Gulf of Mexico in the late 1700’s through early 1800’s.
Originally, the parade was held on a Monday and many businesses in Tampa were closed that day. Starting 1988, the parade was moved to Saturday, and now it is the last Saturday in January. It is estimated that over 400K people attend the event every year.
Today the festival consists of a pirate invasion on a replica ship; a parade, and a fireworks show and live music.
Where does the Parade Start?
The annual parade will start at Bayshore and Bay-to-Bay Boulevard. It will continue north on Bay-toBay Boulevard into downtown and end on Ashley Street and Cass Drive
When:
This Saturday, January 30th, 2010
Gasparilla is a free event, but if you would like reserved seating, there is a charge.
Fore more information:
City of Tampa
GASPARILLA CALL CENTER
813-274-8750
Or click on this link for the official Gasparilla page.
Search this blog
Custom Search
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment