Gasparilla Pirate Festival

The Gasparilla Pirate Festival is a large parade and a host of related community events held in Tampa, Florida almost every year since 1904. The theme of the festivities is the legend of José Gaspar, a mythical Spanish pirate who supposedly operated in Southwest Florida from the late 1700s until the early 1800s.

The 2020 Seminole Hard Rock Gasparilla Pirate Fest is scheduled for 9:00am to 9:00pm on Saturday, January 25, 2020, in Tampa and will feature the 103nd Gasparilla Invasion and Parade of the Pirates presented by Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla.

Following another successful invasion by the pirates of Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla, the focus shifts to beautiful Bayshore Boulevard and South Ashley Drive in downtown Tampa. After successfully capturing the Key to the City (once again), the pirates of Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla celebrate with a victory parade that begins at 2 p.m. at Bay to Bay and Bayshore. The 4.5 mile Gasparilla Parade of the Pirates, which has been presented by Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla annually since 1904, winds its way along Hillsborough Bay into downtown Tampa, with over 140 units – featuring one-hundred three (103) floats, three (5) marching bands and over fifty (50) participating social organizations (i.e. krewes).

The Gasparilla Parade of the Pirates will travel from Bayshore into downtown Tampa. The Parade will cross into downtown over the Brorein Street bridge, turn north on Ashley Drive, and end at Cass Street and Ashley Drive in the heart of the Cultural Arts District in downtown Tampa.