King Daniel - Gasparilla King of the Pirates | Susan Wolf Johnson Though people dressing up in costumes and invading the city may seem like silly fun, the tradition has also played an important role in Tampas high society. The legend states that Gaspar terrorized the western coastal waters of Florida in the late 18th to early 19th century. Two other major parades during this time are the Gasparilla Children's Parade, which is held on Bayshore Boulevard one week before the main parade, and the Sant'Yago Illuminated Knight Parade, which is organized by the Krewe of the Knights of Sant'Yago in the historic neighborhood of Ybor City two weeks after the main parade. However, the construction of the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway through downtown in 1976 ended that tradition, as the 100-foot (30m) masts of the Jose Gasparilla II do not fit under the expressway where it bridges the river near its mouth. For several decades, the parade route ended at Plant Field, where the Florida State Fair was taking place, drawing more attendees to the simultaneous events. 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. Alcohol has long played a role in Gasparilla, as it has with Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans. [18][5] However, amateur gold seekers have repeatedly disrupted nearby archeological sites, often in violation of Florida law. The 1966 Boat Parade in Tampa Harbor where Gasparilla attacks the City and it "surrenders.". [22] His self-reported age and birthplace varied, even on official documents. "[3] The earliest known written mention of Jos Gaspar was a short biography included in an early 1900s promotional brochure for the Gasparilla Inn on Gasparilla Island at Charlotte Harbor, the author of which freely admitted that the dramatic tale was a work of fiction "without a true fact in it". [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. Columnist Stephanie Hayes will share thoughts, feelings and funny business with you every Monday. [28] It is billed as a "family friendly" event, as unlike during the Parade of Pirates, alcohol is not allowed along the parade route, which runs along Bayshore Boulevard and is about half as long as the main Gasparilla Parade. [10] Gaspar has also been associated with Henri Caesar and "Old King John", other semi-legendary pirates for whom there is little to no historical evidence. In the 1870 United States Census, he is listed as having been born in 1828. Though people dressing up in costumes and "invading" the city may seem like silly fun, the tradition has also played an important role in Tampa's high society.
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