TAMPA, Fla. — 'Arghhh' you ready for pirates to invade the city of Tampa this weekend during the 2023 Gasparilla Pirate Festival? Well, you better prepare if not because Mayor Jane Castor refused to hand over the city's key without a fight!
Pirates from the Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla's elite Plunder-Team Ten Special Operations Unit infiltrated the city's outer defenses as they arrived on their ship Tuesday morning.
The pirates tried to negotiate a peaceful surrender of the city with Castor – but she said, "absolutely not!"
"I received this letter full of misspellings and misstatements demanding the key to our city, but I tell you that the wonderful, fair city of Tampa is going to fight to the death to make sure that we keep our city safe from these scallywags," Castor said.
Now, the pirates will move forward with their invasion during the 2023 Gasparilla Parade of Pirates at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28, which can be seen along the waterfront at Bay to Bay and Bayshore boulevards in downtown Tampa.
"Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla has proudly presented Tampa’s historic Gasparilla Invasion and Parade of Pirates since 1904," the city previously stated.
Watch the full invasion of pirates in downtown Tampa below.
10 Tampa Bay's Leo Santos contributed to this report.