Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla
Overview
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
's oldest and most prestigious krewe
Krewe
A krewe is an organization that puts on a parade and or a ball for the Carnival season. The term is best known for its association with New Orleans Mardi Gras, but is also used in other Carnival celebrations around the Gulf of Mexico, such as the Gasparilla Pirate Festival in Tampa, Florida, and...
, or social organization. Each January, YMKG sponsors a festival called the Gasparilla Pirate Festival
Gasparilla Pirate Festival
The Gasparilla Pirate Festival is an annual celebration held in the city of Tampa, Florida. Held each year in late January and hosted by Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla and the City of Tampa, it celebrates the apocryphal legend of José Gaspar , supposedly a Spanish pirate captain who operated in...
in Tampa re-enacting a pirate invasion of the city. The mock invasion begins with the Pirates sailing into Tampa Bay on a full scale pirate ship, accepting the surrender of Tampa from the mayor and culminates in a parade that is attended by approximately 450,000 people.
