TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Shiver me timbers! Just like that, Gasparilla 2024 is over!
The pirates arrived in Tampa Saturday morning and paraded down Bayshore Boulevard.
The invasion started with the Jose Gasparilla ship leading a fleet of hundreds of smaller vessels into Tampa Bay and to the Tampa Convention Center.
At 1 p.m., the ship docked at the convention center on Franklin Street. Dozens of buccaneers disembarked the ship and invaded the city, demanding Mayor Jane Castor surrender the key to the city to Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla’s heroic captain.
With the key in hand, the pirates celebrated with a victory parade down Bayshore Boulevard — sharing their wealth of beads and booty along the way.
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This year, about 140 elaborate floats, Krewes, marching bands and the infamous Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla will march along the 4.5-mile parade route, beginning at Bay to Bay and Bayshore and ending at Cass Street and Ashley Drive.
“I’m very excited. I was here last year and I just came in a T-shirt and a patch, and I realized that everyone here is 100% Gung ho into the whole invasion thing, so I couldn’t wait to get decked out this year,” an attendee said.
“This is my first time here. I’ve lived in Tampa for 20 years. It’s my first time. I’m so excited,” another attendee said.
The Gasparilla parade has been a tradition in Tampa since 1904 when the Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla first hosted it. To date, it’s considered the nation’s third-largest parade behind Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana, and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York.
