Gasparilla Pirate Fest: What You Need To Know

TAMPA, FL -- With more than 300,000 revelers converging on downtown Tampa Saturday, Jan. 27, for the 2018 Gasparilla Pirate Fest, here are some of the things you need to know before you go.

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Schedule of events:

Pirate Fest Entertainment

This year’s festival has been expanded to include live entertainment on stages along the Riverwalk, in Curtis Hixon Park and at the Sail Pavilion at the Tampa Convention Center before and after the parade. The free entertainment will begin at 9 a.m. and continue until 9 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 27.

Invasion

One of the most anticipated sights during the festival is the Pirate Invasion led by the replica pirate ship, the Jose Gasparilla, the world’s only fully rigged pirate ship. Thousands of spectators will line the downtown waterfront Saturday morning to watch the Jose Gasparilla lead a huge flotilla of pirate-filled pleasure crafts into the south end of Hillsborough Bay starting at 11:30 a.m. This year, the Jose Gasparilla will carry the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup trophy on board in honor of Tampa hosting the NHL All-Star Game this weekend.

The flotilla will make its way north across Hillsborough Bay into Seddon Channel, the channel between Davis and Harbor islands, and the Jose Gasparilla will dock at the Tampa Convention Center around 1 p.m. Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn will be on hand to greet the pirate ship and surrender the keys to the city to the captain of Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla.

For anyone who’d like to get a behind-the-scenes view, Rick’s on the River restaurant and boat yard, 2305 N. Willow Ave., Tampa, is base to many of the pleasure boats participating in the flotilla. However, most spectators will try to claim spots for the pirate invasion along Bayshore Boulevard across the channel from the Tampa Convention Center.

For those who don’t mind paying for privilege, the Tampa Convention Center will host its annual Pirate Invasion Brunch from 11:30 to 1 p.m. Ticket-holders can enjoy a buffet brunch with a cash bar, live entertainment and a front-row seat of the Jose Gasparilla’s arrival and the forfeiture of the keys to the city. Tickets are $90 to $113 and can be purchased on the Gasparilla Treasures website.

Parade of Pirates

More than 140 parade units will begin the 4.5-mile annual trek at 2 p.m. from Bay to Bay Boulevard north along Bayshore Boulevard into downtown Tampa. The parade will end at Ashley Drive and is expected to last about three hours. It will feature 103 floats, three marching bands and more than 50 pirate krewes and other organizations.

Former Tampa Bay Lightning center Vincent Lecavalier will be the grand marshal, and Gen. Ann Dunwoody, America’s first female four-star U.S. Army general, is this year’s community hero.

Tickets for parade bleacher seating are available for $60 on the Gasparilla Treasures website. Otherwise, parade-goers should arrive early to claim a prime spot to watch the parade and gather a bounty of beads and pirate plunder.

For more details on the Gasparilla Invasion and Pirate Fest, visit the Gasparilla Pirate Fest website.

Photos via Ye Mystic Krewe