While the legends of José Gaspar are full of alleged adventure and swashbuckling, history tells a different story.

Every year, an estimated 300,000 participants come to Tampa for Gasparilla Pirate Festival, a mock attack by a band of pirates called Ye Mystic Krewe. The pirates’ plot is simple: storm the shores, take the key to the city and parade down Bayshore Boulevard.

Tampa’s signature pirate event got off to a chilly start, but things warmed up as the day and parties progressed.

Arr! Gasparilla in Tampa is Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. Attendees can witness the "pirate invasion" as Jose Gasparilla ship sets sail at Hillsborough Bay

Pirate Fest: The fest will take place along the Riverwalk in downtown Tampa with live music on two stages before and after the parade in Curtis Hixon Park and MacDill Park from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. After-parties will be going on all night in downtown Tampa and Ybor City.

Known as the city's "signature event," Gasparilla was named after famed Florida pirate José Gaspar from the 18th century, who went by Gasparilla. It brings, for one day only, "the spirit of pirates past and glittering treasures for visitors and locals to plunder.