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Little pirates, big history: The evolution of the Children’s Gasparilla Parade

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Published  January 22, 2026 1:22pm EST
Tampa
FOX 13 News
History behind Children's Gasparilla Parade

History behind Children's Gasparilla Parade

The Children's Gasparilla Parade is just days away. It had a long journey from the early days of the festival to becoming the largest kids parade in the country. FOX 13's Craig Patrick reports. 

The Brief

    • The Children’s Gasparilla Parade didn’t spring up in 1947 out of nowhere — children’s processions were part of Gasparilla almost from the start (the pirates first showed up in a 1904 May Day parade).
    • After a WWII pause, the event was rebranded and marketed as the "official" children’s parade in 1947; it faded mid-century, was revived in the 1980s, added beads in the mid-’80s, and now draws huge, family-friendly crowds each January.
    • This Saturday, the Children’s Gasparilla Parade event will run from noon to 7p.m., while the parade itself will be happening from 4 p.m. to 6:15 p.m.

TAMPA, Fla. - The modern idea that the Children’s Gasparilla Parade started in 1947 is a neat bit of marketing — but it skips earlier history. 

Timeline:

Historian Rodney Kite-Powell says children’s processions existed in Gasparilla’s early years. 

What we call the "first" Gasparilla parade was actually a popular May Day parade in 1904; that year the pirates staged an invasion inside the family-friendly event. From there, Gasparilla spun off annual February parades — some of which were aimed at kids.

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World War II interrupted the festivities. When Tampa wanted to bring the festival back, the city leaned into the baby boom and reintroduced a parade explicitly pitched to children in 1947, branding it the "official" kids’ parade and scheduling it a week before the adult parade.

MORE NEWS: Law enforcement to protect Tampa by land, air and sea as pirates pillage and plunder during Gasparilla

Early postwar children’s parades looked different from today: costumed children strolled downtown, pulled small homemade floats, and dressed as everything from cowboys and hula dancers to fanciful storybook characters — not just pirates. Archive footage even billed it "the greatest little show on earth," with miniature floats and pageantry.

Dig deeper:

As the baby boom waned in the late 1950s and early ’60s, participation dropped and the children’s parade faded. Then nostalgia arrived: parents who’d grown up with kids’ parades brought the idea back in the 1980s.

The parade returned in 1984 and eventually moved to the last Saturday in January (a change tied to Tampa’s first Super Bowl). The mid-’80s introduction of beads shifted the parade toward the modern feel many families expect.

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In 2002, organizers moved the route to Bayshore Boulevard; today it’s a daytime, alcohol-free event that regularly draws six-figure crowds.

Why 1947 matters:

 Postwar civic pride and the baby boom made a children’s parade an attractive civic project — and smart branding helped cement 1947 as the "official" origin, even though kids’ parades predated it.

Costume variety:

Early parades weren’t pirate-only pageants — you’d see fancy dresses, cowboys, hula, storybook re-enactments and tiny, lovingly crafted floats.

The bead movement:

Adding beads in the mid-’80s changed the kid experience, making it feel more like the larger Gasparilla tradition while keeping it family-focused.

Timing & place:

Moving the parade to late January and later to Bayshore made it more convenient for families and grew attendance to the scale we see today.

The Source: Information for this story was gathered from a historian's details about the Children’s Gasparilla Parade over the years.

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