While beads of all shapes and sizes are a key part of Gasparilla, many end up in the Bay. That’s why Tampa’s Department of Solid Waste asks all pirates and parade-goers to take unwanted beads ...

For more than 100 years, city leaders have held the signature Gasparilla event to draw visitors with a day of pirates and a parade of buccaneers. It borrows heavily from Mardi Gras, from beads to ...

Boxes that once carried bags which once carried the infamous beads ... with Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla to buy and distribute 200 recycling bins along the parade route. Each one was filled ...

Mayor Bob Buckhorn walked the entire 1.4-mile route, tossing beads and soaking in his first Children's Gasparilla Parade as Tampa's leader. "It's great just to see the kids' excited faces," he said.

About 140 krewes of pirates, floats, marching bands and other revelers make their way 4.5 miles into downtown Tampa, tossing beads and ... friendly Children's Gasparilla parade held the weekend ...