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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. [24] In 1885, he told state census takers that he had been born in Corsica,[25] and reported to the 1900 US Census that he was born in Portugal in 1776. Pirates. 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. "[3][31], Beater published several additional books about southwest Florida; some marketed as fiction, some as non-fiction, and some as guidebooks for tourists, all including tongue-in-cheek dramatic tales about Gaspar and other pirates. [10] The parade has been broadcast live on local television for decades: WFLA-TV has provided coverage since 1955, and WTVT-TV also covered the parade from 1955 to 1980. Chapman serves as the King for Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla this year. Though it once had the reputation of being the most "adult-oriented" parade of Tampa's Gasparilla season, the city has tried to reduce public drunkenness and other unruly behavior in recent years and has promoted the parade as a family-friendly event, with some success. The Children's Parade was first held in 1947 and has grown over the years, usually drawing about 100,000 attendees. Gasparilla history explained, legend of Jose Gaspar | wtsp.com - KTVB In the late 1800s, Gmez lived in a shack with his wife on otherwise uninhabited Panther Key, a small spit of land near Marco Island in the Ten Thousand Islands region of Southwest Florida. Gasparilla parade will have four generations of one family this year Situated along Garrison Channel in downtown Tampa, Sparkman Wharf (615 Channelside Dr, Tampa, FL 33602) is Tampa's new outdoor waterfront destination. In Johnson's first novel, it's the summer of 1972, and Daniel Westcott, 68, has been named king of the pirates, to be crowned at the annual Gasparilla Queen's Party. Updated: Mar 1, 2023 / 06:30 PM EST. 4 things you can do for your health, The State of Black Tampa Bay: An Exclusive Town Hall, Ybor speakeasy honors Madame Fortune Taylor, Ex got a warrant? Stories about Gaspar say he terrorized Floridas west coast during the 18th and 19th century. Boca Grande [was then] the principal town of Gasparilla Island, and . For all the art lovers out there, the 2023 Gasparilla Festival of the Arts is returning to Tampa this coming weekend. 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. [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. The annual Gasparilla celebration is one of Tampa Bay's biggest social events, . Attendees are welcome to drink openly along the parade route on Tampas Bayshore Boulevard and surrounding bars and restaurants are packed with people drinking from morning to night. Turn them in to HCSO Valentines, Heres how many people were arrested at Gasparilla 2023, Keep the city clean: Volunteers clean up after Gasparilla, Pirate parade-goers and participants share why they love Gasparilla, Gasparilla season continues with these events in the Tampa Bay area, VIDEOS: Relive all the pirate-filled festivities of Gasparilla 2023, Best smart home devices for older users, according, How to get started on spring cleaning early, according, Worried about your student using ChatGPT for homework? [3], Gmez's uncertain birth was said to be just the beginning of an exceedingly long and adventure-filled life. He said Gasparilla organizers have worked hard to combat that with efforts like ramping up police presence along the parade route, doing educational outreach and limiting the amount of alcohol people can bring and buy. This week on Florida Matters, we take a deep dive into the past and present of Gasparilla. Certainly as Tampa was growing in the 1950s and 60s, there was a great desire among new businessmen in the area, particularly people who were new to the area, to become a part of either Ye Mystic Krewe or join Palma Ceia Country Club or Tampa Yacht Club, so you can become established in society, but also in business circles, said Rodney Kite-Powell. therefore, in theory, it was the old haunt of the king of the pirates. His family has been a part of the fun for decades. The legend of Jose Gaspar. When Daniel Westcott, the newly chosen Gasparilla King of Tampa Bay, Florida, goes missing in 1972, the remaining Westcotts are thrown into chaos. [7][3], Though his story has been retold in many forms since its first appearance around 1900, there is no evidence that the pirate Jos Gaspar existed. It centers on a fictional pirate, Jose Gaspar, and a prominent bunch of Tampa citizens who. 8 fun facts you might not know about Gasparilla - wfla.com [4], In 1923, Boston historian Francis B. C. Bradlee received a copy of the Gasparilla Inn brochure from Robert Bradley, then president of the Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railway Company. In the festivals early years the invasion was done on horseback. Still she refused, and he killed her in a rage (or alternately, because his crew demanded her death). Though written in the style of a light adventure novel, the narrator claimed that it was a true tale gleaned from a "mouse-eaten Cuban manuscript" supposedly written by Jos Gaspar's cousin Leon and corroborated with an old map found at a used bookstore, neither of which were made public. Taken together, the events of Tampa's Gasparilla Season have an estimated local economic impact of about $40 million.[4]. [14] While scattered seaborne attacks by privateers and others were still an occasional issue when Gaspar supposedly arrived at Charlotte Harbor in the 1780s, the navies of Britain, France, Spain, and the newly independent United States were actively patrolling nearby waters, making it improbable that a pirate could successfully harass shipping for decades at the enormous scale claimed in the various stories about Gasparilla. Recent examples include September 2019 episodes of the TV series, This page was last edited on 30 January 2023, at 17:26. The noble woman rejected the pirate's advances until he threatened to behead her if she would not submit to his lust. Also, they saw pretty early on that this could be a neat attraction and a neat tourist draw to a city that didnt really have much of a tourist industry aside from the Tampa Bay Hotel and the fact that the railroad did come here. "Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla" (YMKG) came together informally to stage the first pirate "invasion" in 1904 and has evolved into a registered non-profit organization which has organized the Gasparilla Parade ever since. in the manner of the buccaneers! [18][7][3][16], And while rumors of mysterious maps and gold coins have prompted professional and amateur treasure hunters to conduct many searches for Gaspar's lost cache over the years, there has been no documented recovery of any part of his plunder or the remains of his many alleged victims. "Pirates" with Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla really embrace their roles in the 1954 invasion. Check out our listof street closures, parking info, etc. On Saturday, several hundred thousand people will line Bayshore Boulevard and the streets of downtown Tampa for the invasion and parade. Since then organizers have worked to diversify the festival and include more krewes for all races and genders. The story of Gasparilla and his pirates has lent a certain flair of mystery and adventure to Florida's West Coast since the late 1800s. [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. King Daniel - Gasparilla King of the Pirates | Susan Wolf Johnson Over 300,000 spectators are expected to line the streets to watch the Ashley Children's Gasparilla Parade presented by Chick-fil-A on January 21, 2023 and the Seminole Hard Rock Gasparilla Pirate Fest on January 28, 2023. "Pirate State (of mind); When bad boys make for good fun: Pirates have shed their villainous image in Florida". It all started in the newsroom of the now-defunct Tampa Morning Tribune, where Society Page Editor Louise Francis Dodge sought to . [7][3], In still other versions, Gaspar was a brilliant Spanish admiral of questionable character who actually succeeded in stealing the crown jewels. Most agree that Gaspar was born in Spain about 1756, served in the Spanish Navy until turning to piracy about 1783, and met his end in southwest Florida during a battle against the United States Navy in late 1821. Part of the weekend programming includes the Emerging Artists Program, which provides . 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. [36] Under the guise of "Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla" (YMKG), an organization modeled after the New Orleans Mardi Gras krewes, the "invaders" donned pirate costumes and rode through the streets on horseback encouraging residents to follow them to the festivities. [1] (For comparison, Spain had just agreed to transfer all of Florida to the United States for $5 million. [3] It was authored by publicist Pat Lemoyne for the Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railway Company, which had just opened the resort. Im also committed to holding those in power accountable when they fail to prioritize the health needs of the people they serve. 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 photo below shows a prominent businessman in Tampa in the typical dress of a knight riding a horse, very much as Rex Lieutenants do to this day, as they precede the king's float on Mardi Gras day. Who We Are - Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla However, the diary was said to have been lost, and no other evidence was disclosed.[7][5]. [18] Outside of Gasparilla season, the Jose Gasparilla II can usually be found moored near the northern end of Bayshore Boulevard within sight of downtown. "Gasparilla pirate's life flows from history's spin doctors", "The Legend of Gasparilla: Myth and History on Florida's West Coast", "Chamber Enlivened by Whiskey Creek, Pirate History", "Not the Type of Person to Meet on a Dark Night was Gasparilla", 1999 Gasparilla Pirate Fest - The Tampa Tribune, "Gasparilla Island Geology, Archaeology, and History", "Is Gasparilla's treasure real? Each of these Krewes is organized for specific charitable and community . [1] It also sought to connect Gaspar to Charlotte Harbor by claiming that his sprawling home base had encompassed several islands in the area. Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla - Inspired by the Legend of Pirate Jose The truth is that there never was a pirate named "Gasparilla.". Most modern-day Gasparilla attendees picture the large Jose Gasparilla II pirate ship that sails into Tampa Bay each year for the invasion, but that was not built until 1954. However, many children of krewe members don costumes to ride aboard floats and toss beads and trinkets to the crowd, and various youth organizations such as sports and dance teams also participate. Despite the fact that the Annual Gasparilla Festival started in 1904 to celebrate "Pirate . 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. Courtesy Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System], [Burgert Brothers | Courtesy, Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System], [DAVID KADLUBOWSKI | Tampa Bay Times], [PENDYGRAFT, JOHN | St. Petersburg Times], [ | Tampa Bay Times], Gasparilla Festival of the Arts returns to Tampa. YMKG was instrumental in establishing the Inter-Krewe Council, which has grown to include more than 60 other Krewes. March arts roundup: Gasparilla Festival of the Arts kicks off a busy 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 . Instead he said he spends most of his Gasparilla in a police car making sure that all the complex chess pieces move at the right time.. "Gasparilla Island" appears on Spanish and English maps made in the early 1700s, and contemporary documents suggest that the barrier island was named for Friar Gaspar, a Spanish missionary who visited the native Calusa in the 1600s. Gaspar, Jos, -- 1756-1821. Unjustly facing arrest, he commandeered a ship and fled, vowing to exact revenge on his country. The "Gasparilla Festival" became a stand-alone event in 1913, and with exception of hiatuses during the world wars and on two other occasions, it has been celebrated every year since. Tampa's most prized tradition was sparked 118 years ago and continues to be shrouded in some mystery. Some versions of Gaspar's story claim that he often partnered with the real pirate Pierre Lafitte and that Lafitte barely escaped the battle in which Gaspar was killed. The first seaborne "invasion" came in 1911, and YMKG has organized a theatrical pirate invasion and parade almost every year since. & Queen Shannon Holt Gillen, King A. Gerald Divers & Queen Marica Cone McKeel, King Richard A. Were not like Mardi Gras were fun, people are having a great time but its much safer and much smarter, he said. Pirates with Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla fill up the 168-ft. Jose Gasparilla II for the annual invasion. WFLA | What is Gasparilla? Gasparilla, the city's most popular annual event, centered around a pirate-themed parade, resulted from a conversation seeking to spice up an existing parade.. Though there were plenty of boats in Tampas bustling port, pirates needed to find ships that were empty, which was difficult. When you are 11 or 12 you are a page, so you serve at the coronation and you walk behind the king or the queen, so you participate, Chapman explained. [3] His book repeated claims that a "burying ground" containing the "bleached bones" of Gaspar's many victims had recently been discovered on Gasparilla Island, that a tall "burial mound" built by a "prehistoric race" had been excavated and found to be full of gold and silver artifacts along with "hundreds of human skeletons", and that a dying John Gmez had confessed to witnessing the murder of the "Little Spanish princess" and sketched a map that led searchers to her body. & Queen Mary Anne Stallings, King Richard S. Clarke & Queen Sue Ellen Germany, King James M. Ingram M.D. Chapman has taken part in the festivities since he was young. At least a portion of the Gasparilla Parade of Pirates has traversed Bayshore Boulevard into downtown almost since its inception. Rodney Kite-Powell said the first invasion was a huge success. Here's who does", "Tourism boosters hope Gasparilla 'season' lures more travelers to Tampa Bay", "Tampa's Old Guard Wary of Diluting Gasparilla", "Is Gasparilla's treasure real? Then we meet Don Barnes, Executive Officer ofYe Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla, the group that helped found the festival. The history concludes with this statement: Whether Gasparilla, the pirate, actually existed or not is a moot point. Whatever his supposed origins, the legends agree that Gaspar fled to the virtually uninhabited southwestern coast of Spanish Florida in the 1780s and established his "pirate kingdom" on Gasparilla Island in Charlotte Harbor, south of Tampa Bay. The ball is also where Chapman had his first date with his wife. "Supersized Gasparilla" saw a record attendance of about 750,000, but though the event was generally well received, the city has opted not to reschedule the parade to coincide with subsequent Superbowls played in Tampa due to the serious challenges posed by large crowds and snarled traffic. An average of over 300,000 people attend the event, which contributes over $20 million to the local economy.[38]. Courtesy of the Florida Archives. Gasparilla 2023 guide: Parking, transportation, what to wear Gasparilla Pirate Fest is on January 28, 2023 with the Parade of Pirates stepping off at 1pm. [58] The city of Tampa hastily put together a replacement parade called "Bamboleo", which was billed as a "multicultural festival" and did not include pirates. The parade has always been held along Tampa's waterfront near downtown Tampa, and since 2011, it has ended along the Tampa Riverwalk, where festivities continue into the nighttime hours.[4][1]. [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. The Gasparilla parade in 1910 was the last year the invasion was done on horseback. According to family stories, the wooden box contained a pile of Spanish and Portuguese coins, a severed hand wearing a ring engraved with the name "Gaspar", and a "treasure map" indicating that Gaspar's treasure was hidden near the Hillsborough River in Tampa. As of the 2020 edition of the Gasparilla Pirate Fest, the issue was being considered by the United States Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. A fierce battle ensued in which the Floriblanca was hulled several times below the waterline and began to sink. 'Ted' DeLaVergne & Queen Emala Parkhill, King Lemuel P. Woods & Queen Elizabeth Dawson, King Gordon L. Gibbons & Queen Lucile Trice, King James E. Wall Jr. & Queen Phyllis Turner, King W. Frank Hobbs & Queen Sylvia Corral, King G. Richard Griffin & Queen Louise Lykes, King Henry Weidman & Queen Sara B. Johnson, King David A. Falk & Queen Mary Frances Swann, King LeBron Kinchley & Queen Peggy Van Dyke, King James T. Swann Jr. & Queen Ruth Binnicker, King H. Phillip Hampton & Queen Mary Ellen Cook, King William C. McElmurray & Queen Lucy Ann Forgy, King W. Howard Frankland & Queen Mary Julia Dupree, King Charles G. Baskerville & Queen Shirley McKay, King Gilvie L. Reeves & Queen Patricia Lowry, King Carlton C. Cone & Queen Suzanne Lowry, King John A. The award-winning Raymond James Gasparilla Festival of the Arts returns for its 53rd year on March 4th and 5th. The legend states that Gaspar terrorized the western coastal waters of Florida in the late 18th to early 19th century. [28][23][3][15][22], The first known written account of Jos Gaspar comes from an early 1900s brochure for the Gasparilla Inn Resort in the recently established tourist town of Boca Grande, Florida on Gasparilla Island in Charlotte Harbor. Karl E. Holland / State Library & Archives of Florida. "[44] Among its many inaccuracies, the brochure stated that pirate's nickname "Gasparilla" means "Gaspar the outlaw" in Spanish when it is actually a form meaning "little Gaspar", that Gasparilla Island was named for the pirate when the name actually appears on Spanish and English maps from well before his supposed arrival, and that the "bleached bones" of Gaspar's victims along with many old coins had been discovered in local "Indian mounds" when no such find has ever been documented. In 1936, YMKG commissioned Tampa Tribune editor Edwin D. Lambright to write an authorized history of the organization. The parade was even cancelled in 1991 over disputes about diversity. Gasparilla invasion and parade returns to Tampa - Tampa Bay Times 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.. [8] Around noon on the Gasparilla Day, members of YMKG set sail across Tampa Bay from near Ballast Point Park to downtown aboard the Jose Gasparilla, a 165' long flat-bottomed steel barge which was specially built and decorated for this purpose in 1954. However, the retellings differ greatly in the details. King CVII James A. Turner III & Queen CVII Martha Davis Straske 2022. Thus, Gasparilla was born. On Gasparilla Day, members of YMKG don pirate regalia and sail across Tampa Bay aboard the Jose Gasparilla II, a 165-foot-long (50m) "pirate ship" which is actually a steel barge converted to look like a large West Indiaman. Gaspar is said to have taken many ships and held many female hostages for ransom while preying on shipping in the Gulf of Mexico from Louisiana to the Spanish main aboard his flagship, the Floriblanca. [32][33], In 2015, Lopez's great-grandchildren found a box in their late grandfather's attic which appeared to contain the items found by Ernesto Lopez along with his wedding photo. Columnist Stephanie Hayes will share thoughts, feelings and funny business with you every Monday. . [ IVY. [22][27][23] Most of his supposed birth years would have made him one of the oldest people in the world in 1900, when he died in a boating accident.