Pirate Krewe Cancels Gasparilla Festivities As Pandemic Persists

TAMPA, FL — The cannons aboard the Jose Gaspar Pirate Ship will remain silent this year.

Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla and EventFest has canceled Tampa's signature Gasparilla Pirate Festival due to the coronavirus pandemic, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor announced Tuesday.

“We have worked with Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla, EventFest and other community stakeholders to try and determine a safe way to host up to a half of a million scallywags along the Gasparilla invasion and parade routes," Castor said. "Alas, there was no secret treasure map containing the golden solution, so the Krewe made the decision, in the best interest of our community, to cancel this year’s festivities."

In November, Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla, founders of the annual pirate-themed festival, announced that it was postponing Tampa's signature Gasparilla Pirate Fest featuring two parades and other events until April 10 and April 17.

Now the krewe has decided that even April would be too soon to pack the city with visitors from around the country. The event organizers opted to err on the side of caution after consulting with city leaders and health care experts.

"We hoped to safely and effectively hold Children's Gasparilla presented by Chick-fil-A Tampa Bay and the Seminole Hard Rock Gasparilla Pirate Fest, but believe it is our community's best interest to refrain from hosting festivities this year," said Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla Capt. Peter Lackman. "The pirate invasion will continue in 2022 with the excitement and revelry that Tampa Bay has come to know and love."

"Now we have more time here at the city of Tampa to batten down the hatches," concurred Castor.

Tickets for the 2021 Children's Gasparilla and Gasparilla Pirate Fest are eligible for a refund, or ticket purchasers can elect to roll over a credit on their account to 2022 festivities.

Ticket holders who choose to keep the credit on their account will receive an additional 15 percent bonus in value that can be used toward the purchase of tickets or merchandise.

Ticket holders can also opt to donate the value of their tickets to the Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla Community Fund, which supports scholarships for exceptional high school seniors in the Tampa Bay area and community food programs, and more. Ticket holders will receive further information by email or can contact office@eventfest.com or 813-251-8844.

The decision comes after New Orleans announced the cancellation of its Mardi Gras festivities and Tampa faced national criticism over media coverage of Super Bowl victory parties featuring hundreds of Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans in the streets without masks or any attempt to social distance.

While Castor said the maskless revelers seen in the streets following the Bucs' victory over the Chiefs were the exception, she added that she was disappointed to see the careless behavior after the city's widespread efforts to maintain coronavirus protocols during Super Bowl week.

"It is a little frustrating because we have worked so hard in cooperation with the NFL and the county and just a number of different entities, putting the executive order in place that masks had to be worn in specific areas that we knew groups would be congregating," said Castor.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the scenes from Tampa's post-Super Bowl celebrations didn't escape the attention of President Joe Biden.

"He is of course concerned when there are pictures and photos - we all are - that show many, many people without masks in close distance with one another at the height of a pandemic," Psaki said during a new conference.

This year's postponement of Gasparilla festivities is not the first in event history. Over the past 107 years, Gasparilla was canceled several times during wartime.

In the meantime, the Department of Health in Hillsborough County is waiting to see if the Super Bowl has an impact on positive coronavirus rates in Tampa Bay and elsewhere around the county.

Following the big game, the DOH-Hillsborough issued a national call requesting information on coronavirus cases associated with Super Bowl LV in Tampa.

Health departments in other counties and states were asked to use the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's epidemiology disease sharing network, Epi-X, to record cases of people who contracted coronavirus after attending Super Bowl activities in Tampa.

The DOH-Hillsborough will document all cases of Florida residents or visitors who tested positive for the COVID-19 virus after attending Super Bowl LV or any official Super Bowl events in Tampa.

See related stories:

• Tampa Mayor Says Super Bowl Revelers Without Masks Were Exception
• Ye Mystic Krewe Moves Gasparilla Festivities To April
• Health Experts To Determine If Super Bowl Was Superspreader Event
• Too Wild For Masks At 50 Cent St. Pete Super Bowl Party: Report