On Saturday, some of Freedom’s patriots swapped their tricornes for pirates’ bandanas and
walked along Bayshore Boulevard as numerous floats drove down the street throwing beads. Due to
COVID-19, the parade was cancelled last year, and both locals and people from all over the country were
excited for this highly anticipated annual event.

The history behind this event is quite a mystery in terms of facts. The parade began in 1905 as a
testament to José Gaspar. Legend has it that Gaspar tormented the coast of Spanish Florida for about 40
years during the 1700s, first around 100 miles south of Tampa Bay.

Senior Shea Noll was one of the participants in this year’s festivities. The day started early, with
her and friends getting to Bayshore Boulevard at 9:30 in the morning to pick a spot in the crowd to
watch the parade, and ended about nine hours later, when they returned to their cars at about 6:30pm.
“The parade started at the furthest end of Bayshore and went through downtown and ended at the
Tampa Convention Center,” she said.

Carly Joerin, 12, also attended the parade, saying that this was her last chance to go since she
will be going to college many states away next year. “One thing I would change would be to not walk as
much. It was about eight miles of walking,” she said. Her favorite part of the experience was getting all
of the beads and meeting new people along the way.