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Gasparilla 2010: Tampa Pirate Festival & Parade Not Cancelled

by amyellensoden | January 29, 2010 at 03:20 pm

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The 2010 Gasparilla Parade will go ahead as planned tomorrow in Tampa, FL. Despite stormy weather conditions, the popular Gasparilla parade and pirate festival will go ahead as planned, rain or shine. Concerns arose on Wednesday that Gasparilla 2010 should be cancelled due to weather forecasts of 15-25 mph winds and Tampa Bay waves of 3-5 feet. Due to the wind and rain warnings, Coast Guard Officials are advising that boats stay out of the water for the day, despite the Gasparilla events that are planned.

City officials and parade organizers met in Tampa today to determine the fate of the Gasparilla Pirate Festival.

In the end, they decided the show must go on, but they'll definitely be keeping an eye on the weather, especially since forecasters are predicting an 80% chance of showers.

Gasparilla is celebrated every January in Tampa, FL. The annual pirate parade and festival is hosted by the City of Tampa and Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla. The festival celebrates the legend of Jose Gasper, a Spanish pirate located in Southwest Florida. To celebrate Gasparilla, the Jose Gasper pirate ship arrives in Hillsborough Bay where the Mayor of Tampa hands the keys to the city to the pirate and his "krewe" members. The Gasparilla parade then begins and proceeds down Bayshore Boulevard.

The Gasparilla celebrations are set to include a fully rigged pirate ship as well as numerous other boats. They will be assembled in position at the bay for 11:30am. The Gasparilla parade kicks off at 2:00pm and goes until 5:30pm. Despite the weather forecast, the Gasparilla 2010 festivities are set to go ahead for tomorrow.