2022 Gasparilla Festivities: What You Should Know If You Go

TAMPA, FL — After a year's hiatus due to the pandemic, the hugely popular Gasparilla Pirate Fest returns to Hillsborough Bay and Tampa's scenic waterfront on Saturday, Jan. 29.

Despite the lifting of coronavirus measures, authorities this year are encouraging parade participants and the thousands of onlookers expected to attend to take precautions and be as careful as possible to avoid transmitting the coronavirus.

First staged in 1904, the nautical invasion and parade inspired by the legend of pirate Jose Gasparilla now takes over much of Bayshore Boulevard and downtown Tampa. The Jose Gaspar ship, filled with parade founders, Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla, clad in buccaneer attire, will kick off activities with the traditional Gasparilla Invasion aboard the Jose Gaspar, the world's only fully rigged pirate ship.

Due to the arctic cold front that will hit Florida this weekend bringing gusty winds and 3- to 5-foot waves, the National Weather Service has issued a small craft advisory for boaters.

Gasparilla organizers are asking that small boats remain in dock and not join the traditional pirate ship flotilla.

To avoid choppy waters, the flotilla's route has been altered this year. The Jose Gaspar pirate ship and its retinue will sail from the Port of Tampa Bay at noon up the Ybor Channel, around Harbour Island, into Seddon Channel and end its journey at the Tampa Convention Center at 1 p.m. where the pirates of Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla will disembark and demand the keys to the city from Tampa Mayor Jane Castor.

The maritime coup will be followed by the Parade of Pirates, the third-largest parade in the country, starting at Bay to Bay Boulevard and Bayshore Boulevard, continuing down Bayshore Boulevard, crossing the Brorein Street bridge and ending in downtown Tampa.

Attendees can stand on the sidelines and catch beads tossed from the parade floats or reserve a seat in the bleachers that will be set up along the parade route.

Revelers should keep in mind that alcohol is only permitted within the "wet zone," approved areas along the parade route outlined in red on the map below. No alcohol is permitted in neighborhoods along Bayshore Boulevard.

Where To Park

The present parking inventory consists of 10 city-owned garages and nine city-owned surface lots, comprising a total of 12,169 spaces.

Most garages have spaces available for hourly parking. The daily parking rates range from $1 per hour to $2 per hour, with a maximum of $9 to $12 a day.

The city's Mobility Department is also responsible for on-street parking, which includes 11,372 off-street spaces and 2,097 on-street spaces. Parking sessions may be started via the ParkMobile App or at a parking kiosk nearby. Learn more about on-street parking here.

Alternatives to parking downtown include:

The TECO Line Streetcar. Park in Ybor City (Station 2 Centr0 Ybor) and take the streetcar downtown (Station 10 Dick Greco Plaza.) It runs every 15 minutes from 8:30 a.m. to 2 a.m.

Note:

• Stations 3 and 4 will be closed from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Stations 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 will be closed until 2 p.m.
• Stations 1 and 11 will be closed all day

Ride HART's bus shuttle to the Marion Transit Center with a $4 all-day pass.

For those with disabilities, click here for ADA viewing areas and parking areas.

For a list of road closures, click here.

Parking is strictly prohibited on neighborhood streets along Bayshore Boulevard and violators will be ticketed and towed.

Bead-Free Bay

The city asks that revelers keep Tampa's waterways bead-free.

Beads and other non-biodegradable items are harmful to the environment and pose serious threats to marine wildlife. They take a thousand years to break down into smaller pieces called microplastics, which never decompose. These microplastics remain persistent in the natural ecosystems for hundreds of years or longer.

Throwing beads or any other items in the water is prohibited by Florida Statute 403.413.

In partnership with the MacDonald Training Center, salvaged and dropped off beads can be reused year after year, keeping them out of the waste stream and, more importantly, out of the bay. Clean and sanitized beads are packaged and sold back to parade crews for other city events. All proceeds go back to the MacDonald Training Center to fund career and education programs. Beads can be dropped off at the following locations from Jan. 31 to May.