The invasion is just days away. If you have spent any time in Tampa you know that these words start a whirlwind of decorating and acquiring pirate booty along with plenty of refreshments for the celebration rather than any sort of real fear.

Gasparilla is a tradition with something for everyone from parades, to a marathon, art festival and more. We thought it would be fun to share some of our favorites for embracing the season after the Season!

First, home décor can be lot’s of fun. A Gasparilla wreath or door décor is a must. Here are a few from simple to elaborate:

We are also big fans of flags whether you hang them from a flagpole, door or tree.

We even decorate inside. Here is a great Pirate ship beverage container, a fun pillow or mantel decor:

Other musts include kids gear found locally or at some national retailers on sale right after Halloween. And don’t forget a little something for yourself!

Hope everyone enjoys this Gasparilla Season! Be safe and have fun! ARRGGH

Check out this link to get more information on all the festivities:

For our history fans check out what Wikipedia has to say about our Gasparilla Pirate Festival’s history:

“The Gasparilla Pirate Festival is a large parade and a host of related community events held almost every year since 1904 in Tampa, Florida celebrating the apocryphal legend of José Gaspar (also known as Gasparilla), a mythical Spanish pirate who supposedly operated in Southwest Florida in the early 1800s. 

Tampa’s Gasparilla season runs from mid-January to early March and features three large parades. The focal point of Gasparilla is the Parade of Pirates, which features a friendly invasion by Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla and a large parade along Bayshore Boulevardinto downtown. The Parade of Pirates (which is often referred to as the Gasparilla Parade by locals) is held on the last Saturday in January. It is the third largest parade in the United States with an economic impact of over $20 million and an average attendance of about 300,000.^[1] Other major parades during the season are the Gasparilla Children’s Parade, which is held on Bayshore Boulevard one week before the main parade, and the Sant’Yago Illuminated Knight Parade, which is organized by the Krewe of the Knights of Sant’Yago in the historic neighborhood of Ybor City two weeks after the main parade.

Tampa hosts many other Gasparilla-related or monikered events during its Gasparilla season, including the Gasparilla Film Festival, the Gasparilla Festival of the Arts, the Gasparilla Distance Classic, and the Gasparilla Music Festival, with a changing lineup of smaller events held year to year. The Gasparilla Parade of Pirates once coincided with the Florida State Fair, which was held at Plant Field at the end of the traditional parade route in downtown Tampa. The close connection between the fair and Gasparilla ended in the mid-1970s, when the fair moved to a much larger location east of Tampa.”