Because Tampas business community was still relatively small back then, you can look at people who were members of Ye Mystic Krewe and also see they were the heads of different banks in the area, they were the head of TECO, the heads of these big businesses.. Over the next few decades, several more books about pirates or Florida history erroneously included Jos Gaspar / Gasparilla as a real historical figure, leading to continuing confusion about his historical authenticity and repeated attempts to find his lost treasure. The book also included advertisements for hotels and real estate firms in the Fort Myers and Charlotte Harbor area and invited readers to Make [their] conquest of Sanibel and Captiva Islands . However, when the pirates fired a warning shot, their intended victim raised an American flag to reveal that it was no merchant vessel, but the United States Navy pirate hunting schooner USS Enterprise in disguise. Gasparilla began as a surprise "pirate invasion" on horseback during the city's May Day festival in 1904. Each of these Krewes is organized for specific charitable and community . Ketia Daniel, founder of BHM Cleaning Co., is BestReviews cleaning expert. Florida Matters wants to include you in our conversations on topics important to the greater Tampa Bay region. The first Gasparilla parade was held in May 1904, after Tampa Tribune society editor Louise Frances Dodge and Tampa's director of customs George Hardee decided to combine elements of New Orleans Mardi Gras with a pirate theme to promote and enliven Tampa's May Day celebration. World War II froze Gasparilla from 1941-47, diverting funds to buy war bonds, and leaving 33rd king and queen, James T. Swann Jr. and Queen Ruth Binnicker, on the throne, the only royals to marry . For most of the 20th century, Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla, the only organization hosting the parade, was very exclusive. We estimate that 9400 Little Gasparilla Is Unit E2 would rent between $3,776 / mo. "That's my uncle and my mother going to Coronation back in 1950," said. 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. Jos Gaspar, also known by his nickname Gasparilla (supposedly lived c. 1756 1821), is an apocryphal Spanish pirate who terrorized the Gulf of Mexico from his base in southwest Florida during Florida's second Spanish period (1783 to 1821). [18] Since 2011, the parade route has ended at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park along the Tampa Riverwalk, where festivities continue into the evening. An average of over 300,000 people attend the event, which contributes over $20 million to the local economy.[38]. They wanted to jazz up Tampas annual May Day celebration and decided to combine elements of a New Orleans Mardi Gras festival with new traditions inspired by legendary pirate Jose Gaspar. Then we meet Don Barnes, Executive Officer ofYe Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla, the group that helped found the festival. The Tampa Bay area's annual pirate festival, Gasparilla, first began in 1904 when the Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla (YMKG) planned a surprise "mock pirate attack" on Tampa. [8] Different versions of the story say that he was either a Spanish nobleman and advisor to King Charles III of Spain who was exiled after a romantic scandal in court, a traitorous admiral of the Spanish Royal Navy who stole a ship and fled when his treachery was revealed, or an ambitious young officer in the Spanish navy who was driven to mutiny by a tyrannically cruel captain. "[3], Despite this colorful history, there is no evidence that a pirate named "Gaspar" or "Gasparilla" ever roamed the Florida coast. [47], The main Gasparilla parade was held in conjunction with various other events in its early years, so its timing varied, and it sometimes was not held at all. [5][6] Besides the three large parades, the city hosts many other community events during this time, including the Gasparilla Film Festival, the Gasparilla Festival of the Arts, the Gasparilla Distance Classic, the Gasparilla Music Festival, the Gasparilla Bowl college football game, and a lineup of many other events that varies from year to year. therefore, in theory, it was the old haunt of the king of the pirates. [21] This tradition was restricted in the interest of safety in 1992 and ended entirely several years later. Also, despite the fact that the supposed location of Gaspar's "regal base" at Gasparilla Island has been developed into the resort town of Boca Grande, no artifacts or other physical evidence of the hideout, his ship, or his lost treasure has ever been found in southwest Florida despite years of searching by amateur and professional treasure-seekers. Research in Spanish archives has turned up no mention of his early life, his presence in the Spanish royal court, or his career in the Spanish navy. We went with these friends to find it", "Looters Preying on Florida's Ancient Sites", "Archaeology - Division of Historical Resources - Florida Department of State", "The Legend of the Pirate Gasparilla the REAL Facts", "Demystifying the lives of Panther Key John Gomez: From Pirate to Pilot", "Tampa family finds a good pirate story in the attic", "Box found in Tampa attic has coins, a map, a hand and a mystery", "Tampa family finds pirate treasure in grandpa's attic", "Florida family finds 'pirate treasure' in attic", "Seed for Gasparilla was planted in Tribune's old newsroom", "The History of Gasparilla Pirate Fest - Tampa, Florida", "Bad Boy Mowers Signs on as New Bowl Game Title Sponsor Bowl Game Changes Name to Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl", "Treasure hunters seeking Gasparilla's gold featured on Discovery and Travel Channel", Paris Declaration Respecting Maritime Law, Jim Hawkins and the Curse of Treasure Island, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jos_Gaspar&oldid=1136505197, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Since no one organization controls the names "Gaspar" or "Gasparilla", they are used by many businesses, organizations, and events in the greater, The legend of Gasparilla has been featured in several television shows and publications over the years. 1904 - 1920; 1921 - 1929; . [1] Finally, it claimed that a burial mound "forty feet high and four hundred feet in circumference" near Gasparilla Island had been found to contain "ornaments of gold and silver" along with "hundreds of human skeletons", but that the bulk of the buccaneer's vast cache of buried treasure "still lies unmoved" nearby, in the vicinity of the Gasparilla Inn. Captured and given the choice between prison and joining the navy, he chose to go to sea, where he served with distinction for several years before leading a mutiny against a tyrannical captain and fleeing to Florida with a stolen ship. [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. [39][40] To tie these events together in the public eye, Visit Tampa Bay, the local tourist bureau, has run multimillion-dollar promotional campaigns across the United States, Canada, and Europe to attract visitors to the area during "Gasparilla Season". [56] However, due to practical concerns, participation in the Parade of Pirates has been limited to fifty krewes per year, with smaller krewes taking turns on a rotating basis. The History of Gasparilla Legend has it that a Spanish pirate named Jos Gaspar terrorized his way up and down the west coast of Florida in the late 18th and 19th centuries. Chapman has taken part in the festivities since he was young. In 1936, YMKG commissioned Tampa Tribune editor Edwin D. Lambright to write an authorized history of the organization. Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla was the first group to participate in the parade, but now there are dozens of other krewes joining in on the festivities. The fantastical biography was penned by publicist Pat Lemoyne, who combined and embellished tall tales attributed to well-known and recently deceased local fishing guide "Panther John" Gomez to create the legend of the pirate Gaspar, which Lemoyne freely admitted was "without a true fact in it. His family has been a part of the fun for decades. [3][18][22], Despite his obvious lack of fact-checking, Bradlee's book was used as a source for later works such as Philip Gosse's Pirates' Who's Who and Frederick W. Dau's Florida Old and New, the authors of which also took Gaspar's authenticity for granted. 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. 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. Pirates. [Photo by the Burgert Brothers. [1], While Gaspar is a popular figure in Florida folklore, there is no evidence that he actually existed. "Pirate State (of mind); When bad boys make for good fun: Pirates have shed their villainous image in Florida". Letsgetstarted. [29] Assuming that the story of Gasparilla as described was authentic, Bradlee included many details in his book Piracy In The West Indies And Its Suppression without attempting to verify the information. Various activities and events for children are held in and around downtown Tampa in the hours before the Children's Parade, including the Preschooler's Stroll, which is a short, informal parade of small children riding pirate-themed wagons, strollers, bicycles, and scooters that runs for a few blocks along Bayshore Boulevard. [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. Jos Gaspar's legend is celebrated in Tampa, Florida during the annual Gasparilla Pirate Festival, which was first held in 1904. Pirates have fired off canons on the Jose Gasparilla II as the ship "invades" Tampa Bay since it was built in 1954. One of the first was the Gasparilla Open, a PGA Tour stop which was sponsored by Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla (YMKG) from 1932 to 1935. Since 2005, the Parade of Pirates has taken place on the last Saturday in January. Gaspar could not resist taking one last prize, so he led his crew aboard the Floriblanca to pursue their prey. However, the diary was said to have been lost, and no other evidence was disclosed.[7][5]. [3] It was authored by publicist Pat Lemoyne for the Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railway Company, which had just opened the resort. The 1966 Boat Parade in Tampa Harbor where Gasparilla attacks the City and it "surrenders.". Robin Sussingham was Senior Editor at WUSF until September 2020. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Im also committed to holding those in power accountable when they fail to prioritize the health needs of the people they serve. The ball is also where Chapman had his first date with his wife. [3][2], There is also no physical evidence to support Gaspar's existence. 'Jack' Smith & Queen Gay Dantzler, King Frank M. Frankland & Queen Lynda Helms, King Charles P. Lykes & Queen Joan Henderson, King C.C. YMKG was instrumental in establishing the Inter-Krewe Council, which has grown to include more than 60 other Krewes. [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. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. At least a portion of the Gasparilla Parade of Pirates has traversed Bayshore Boulevard into downtown almost since its inception. 9400 Little Gasparilla Is Unit E2 is located in Placida, the 33946 zipcode, and the Charlotte. [17], "The Legend of Gasparilla: Myth and History on Florida's West Coast", "Gasparilla parade's 100th edition marked by mostly behaved revelry", "Children's parade kicks off Tampa's Gasparilla celebration this weekend", "Annual Knight Parade lights up Ybor with family-friendly revelry", "Everything you need to know for Gasparilla 2019", "The True History and Swashbuckling Myth Behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Namesake", The History of Gasparilla Pirate Fest - Tampa, Florida, "The pirates are coming!

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