Pirates roam seas and streets of Tampa, offering family-friendly entertainment today

Bob Moeller runs the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment Rough Riders, a Tampa "krewe," or local charitable group. His Rough Riders keep alive war hero and President Teddy Roosevelt's memory by helping kids, veterans and others.

Pirates roam the streets and waterways of Tampa today — offering unique family-friendly entertainment, adventure and attractions on Florida’s Gulf coast. 

From the city’s NFL franchise, the Buccaneers, to its traditional Gasparilla festivities — named for the legend of colonial-era marauder Jose Gaspar — pirates loom large in Tampa lore.  

"Pirate culture is a way of life here," T. Truett Gardner, captain of Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla, which has organized the city’s annual pirate-themed festival since 1904, told Fox News Digital.  

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"The swashbuckling revelry and tradition have become the signature fabric of our community," he said.

The Gasparilla Invasion and Parade, held on the fourth Saturday of each January, is the centerpiece of the city’s marauder-themed merriment. 

Think Mardi Gras with mateys. 

A child attends the Gasparilla parade in Tampa, Florida, an annual "pirate invasion" that dates back to 1904 and has become one of the largest parades in the nation.  (Keir Magoulas/Visit Tampa Bay)

Ye Mystic Krewe, following more than a century of tradition, "kidnaps" the mayor of Tampa and demands the keys to the city.

The "pirate invasion" begins when the gloriously flag-festooned Jose Gasparilla II, a three-masted, 137-foot-long pirate ship, sails into downtown Tampa, followed by a flotilla of hundreds of boats. 

"Pirate culture is a way of life here." — Captain Truett Gardner, Ye Mystic Krewe of