2010 Gasparilla Pirate Fest in Tampa January 30

Aaaargh! The Gasparilla Pirate Fest has been a Tampa tradition since 1904, and the 2010 Seminole Hard Rock Gasparilla Pirate Fest will begin in the morning on Saturday, January 30 as Ye Mystic Crewe of Gasparilla launches a spectacular invasion of the City of Tampa.

The battle begins at 11:30 a.m. when the world’s only fully-rigged pirate ship, the Jose Gasparilla, appears at the south end of Hillsborough Bay. The ship will sail up Seddon Channel towards downtown Tampa, and when the Jose Gasparilla docks at the Tampa Convention Center around 1:00 p.m. the Mayor will surrender the Key to the City of Tampa into the hands of the Captain of Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla.

The Gasparilla Invasion Brunch will be held from 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. at the Tampa Convention Center. Advance reservations are required, and can be made through the Gasparilla Pirate Fest Web site.

For Land Lovers who wish to participate in the day’s festivities, there will be a pirate parade along historic Bayshore Boulevard and into downtown Tampa. The Gasparilla Parade of the Pirates will have more than 130 groups, including over 90 elaborate floats, 14 marching bands, over 50 distinct Krewes and the original Tampa Bay Buccaneers—the YMKG pirates. The parade begins at Bay to Bay Boulevard and Bayshore Boulevard and ends at Cass Street & Ashley Drive.

The name and foundation of Tampa's traditional Gasparilla Carnival come from legendary pirate Jose Gaspar, "last of the Buccaneers," who terrorized the coastal waters of West Florida during the late 18th and early 19th century.