Courtesy of The Tampa Tribune
Bid ahoy to young mateys along Bayshore Boulevard as they pick up all the plastic bead booty they can carry at Saturday’s Children’s Gasparilla Extravaganza, the official kickoff of the city’s annual pirate-themed festivities.
Thousands of young revelers flock each year to the family-friendly — and alcohol-free — event, which commemorates swashbuckler Jose Gaspar and the undiscovered fortune he supposedly left buried along the Florida coast.
The Children’s Gasparilla Parade celebrates its 68th year in 2015 with a route extended along Bayshore by four blocks, beginning at West Bay to Bay Boulevard and ending at South Edison Avenue, according to producer EventFest Inc. The Gasparilla Preschooler’s Stroll before the parade also has a new route for children ages five and younger, starting at South Howard Avenue and ending roughly a half-mile away at South Rome Avenue.
For the uninitiated, Tampa has an annual pirate invasion replete with costumes, parades (three of ’em), and plenty of plastic-bead booty. Learn more about the children-focused parade in my story today for the Tampa Tribune.