Join a pirate invasion in Tampa

TAMPA, Fla. - Dave Pagano started his life as a pirate a few years back wearing a white linen shirt with puffy sleeves and open neckline.

Then he bought a bandanna, a dreadlock wig, a musket replica, a sword, a knife, and this year, $500 worth of beads.

Pagano is a Tampa pirate, and later this month, he will be in his buccaneer glory when the city's annual pirate festival, Gasparilla, kicks off. Gasparilla, which is more than a century old, attracted 350,000 people last year. It's known for its rowdy, Mardi Gras-style atmosphere - including bead-tossing by costumed revelers.

Pagan will be among them, wandering the crowds during three parades, handing out long strings of beads - some with rubber ducks attached. (The ducks also wear pirate hats).

"You cannot describe the fun you have doing it," said Pagano, a 50-something business consultant who on New Year's Eve sat in a bar dressed in full pirate regalia.

Tampa and pirates go way back, long before Jack Sparrow or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers football team. According to city lore, a Spanish pirate named Jose Gaspar terrorized the west coast of Florida in the 18th and 19th centuries. The swashbuckler's legend was unearthed in 1904, when some enterprising city leaders - having just returned from Mardi Gras in New Orleans - decided that Tampa needed its own street festival.

The festival organizers adopted Gaspar as a patron saint. Early Gasparilla parades featured a "krewe" - high-society social club members in full pirate regalia - arriving on horseback and "capturing" the city.

Later, krewes, which is also what Mardi Gras clubs are called, became more plentiful, the costumes more elaborate. Led by that first group, Ye Mystic Krewe, the krewes arrived via boat, floating from Hillsborough Bay into the city's downtown to seize the key to the city from the mayor, who always plays along.

With hundreds of thousands of people turning out to watch, it's easy to see why folks like Pagano tend to get a little pirate-obsessed all year round in Tampa.

The first event takes place Jan. 23, with the Children's Gasparilla Extravaganza. This is an alcohol-free event, with bike rodeos, children in pint-size pirate costumes and fireworks. Held in the same location as the adult-themed parade a week later, the children's parade is family friendly and free, although you can purchase reserved seating.

The true bacchanal begins on Jan. 30, with a 10 a.m. "Invasion Brunch" at the Tampa Convention Center. Out-of-town visitors are urged to leave their cars at Raymond James Stadium several miles away and take shuttle buses to the parade route.

The pirate parade will dock at the Tampa Convention Center at around 11:30 a.m. Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio will hand the keys to the city to the pirates, then the 90 parade floats (which look a little like giant motorized ships) will proceed down Bayshore Boulevard and into downtown between 2 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.

This is when the parade crush is at its heaviest, with scores of people vying for beads thrown by krewe members on the floats. Reserved bleacher seating is available for the parade, and food and drinks will also be sold. All proceeds go to local charities.

Before, during and after the parade, there's also a giant street festival on Ashley Street in downtown Tampa, with bands, food and drinks. Collective Soul will headline the main concert.

On Feb. 27-28, there's the Gasparilla Distance Classic 15K and 5K race (to work off all those calories you consumed during the parades). And if you miss the pirate invasion, there's always the "Outbound Voyage" on Feb. 27. That's when some 500 pirates and Ye Mystic Krewe meet up with Mayor Iorio to formally return the key to the city and sail away to the sounds of cannon blasts.

"You want to be a pirate in this town?" said Pagano. "Be a pirate!Go ahead."

The Gasparilla Festival begins on Jan. 23, with the Children's Gasparilla Extravaganza. On Jan. 30, the Seminole Hard Rock Gasparilla Pirate Fest parades through downtown Tampa starting at 11:30 a.m. and a street festival with music, food and drinks is held from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Information, www.gasparillapiratefest.com.