Revelers clad in pirate finery packed Tampa's waterfront on an unseasonably hot Saturday as a flotilla of boats arrived for the city's annual Gasparilla Pirate Fest.
The city of Tampa estimated that 300,000 people attended the event that starts with members of Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla, dressed as invading pirates, docking their ship and demanding that Mayor Jane Castor hand over the key to the city.
Once ashore, the festivities celebrating the annual invasion included an afternoon parade along Bayshore Boulevard. Tampa Fire Rescue reported it responded to 156 medical calls during the afternoon. Thirty six people were taken to local hospitals.
One of the injured, a 78-year-old man, fell from a parade float about 4:20 p.m. on Bayshore Boulevard near South Boulevard. Tampa Fire Rescue reported that the parade was paused about 25 minutes while it treated the man. He was taken to a hospital in stable condition.
Tampa Police reported it made 18 arrests, including two driving under the influence and eight boating under the influence charges, and 8 other disturbances. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said it arrested one person at the event for boating under the influence, and it ejected two others from the event.
A fixture nearly every year since 1904, the Gasparilla Pirate Fest is named for the mythical pirate Jose Gaspar. There's not much evidence he actually existed, but according to legend he plundered ships and captured hostages in the Gulf of Mexico from the 1780s until around 1821.
The colorful account of his supposed life first surfaced in the early 1900s in an advertising brochure for the Gasparilla Inn, which was located south of Tampa in Boca Grande at the end of a rail line and in need of an exciting promotion.
Called the “Last of the Buccaneers,” Gaspar's memory lives on in the name of Tampa Bay’s NFL team.
Crews started cleaning up right after the parade, including the scooping up of massive amounts of colorful plastic beads tossed and worn throughout the festivities. Parade goers are encouraged to recycle the beads. The city is collecting beads until May at:
· Kate Jackson Community Center – 821 S Rome Ave.
· Loretta Ingraham Recreation Complex – 1611 N Hubert Ave.
· Copeland Park Center – 11001 N 15th St.
· MacDonald Training Center – 5420 W Cypress St.
The city will provide the beads to the MacDonald Training Center, which works with local people living with disabilities. The beads are cleaned, repackaged, and reused next year.
The Florida Aquarium also is encouraging people to recycle beads as part of its Bead Free Bay initiative. Until Feb. 5, people can exchange a 5-gallon bucket of beads for a half-price ticket at the aquarium.
