TAMPA, Fla. — Days before the big Gasparilla Pirate Festival where the Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla plans to infiltrate the city of Tampa, the group of scallywags proved they aren't all bad.
Earlier in the morning Tuesday before they failed to negotiate a peaceful surrender of the city with Mayor Jane Castor, the pirates visited Tampa General Hospital and John Hopkins All Children's Hospital to surprise the patients there.
This is their way to make sure everyone in the Tampa Bay area can take part in the fun that Gasparilla brings. Pirates gave out beads and treasures to the patients, basically bringing this weekend's Gaspy festivities to them.
Shortly after the trip to the hospitals, the pirates infiltrated the city's outer defenses as they arrived on their ship.
The pirates tried to negotiate a peaceful surrender of the city with Castor – but she said, "absolutely not!"
"I received this letter full of misspellings and misstatements demanding the key to our city, but I tell you that the wonderful, fair city of Tampa is going to fight to the death to make sure that we keep our city safe from these scallywags," Castor said.
Now, the pirates will move forward with their invasion during the 2023 Gasparilla Parade of Pirates at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28, which can be seen along the waterfront at Bay to Bay and Bayshore boulevards in downtown Tampa.
People can avoid traffic and enjoy a stress-free commute to Gasparilla festivities on the HART and TECO Line streetcar on Saturday.