| The
legend of Gasparilla
It
all started in 1904 when the mystical legend of Jose Gaspar came to life.
Gaspar and his scar-faced, eye patch-wearing band of pirates soon became
well known to Tampa residents as Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla. Donned
in the garb of high seas pirates they stormed downtown Tampa and demanded
that the mayor surrender the city.
Each
year the siege is repeated. The pirate ship 'Jose Gaspar' sails into downtown
Tampa with a flotilla of hundreds of boats. The pirates blast away with
pistols and cannons as they prepare to start the invasion. The captain
and his Krewe capture the city (with little resistance) and share their
wealth of trinkets, doubloons and necklaces with the enthusiastic crowd
along the parade route.
This
set is a tribute to the color and pageantry of Gasparilla, a fun and merriful
time in February....a day in which the city of Tampa takes a holiday!
The set is called "Memories of Gasparilla". I hope each of you someday
has the opportunity to experience Gasparilla, Mardi Gras or Carnival....truly
an experience you won't ever forget! |
I
lived in Tampa, Florida for several years, shortly after graduating from
high school and attended college at Patricia Stevens College my first year
out of school...it was a finishing school of sorts (I needed finishing
my parents thought), and then went on to The University of Tampa while
working at Maas Brothers...an exclusive department store - part of the
Jordan Marsh family. Below is a picture of the minarets from The
University of Tampa.
During
this time period, the Cincinnati Reds baseball team also called Tampa their
winter home (spring training camp). You can well imagine the fun
time I had with all these visual treasures at hand, not to mention that
Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Cocoa Beach were within just a few hours drive...oh
gosh, those were fun times.
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