By KATHRYN WEXLER, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published December 25, 2002
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TAMPA -- Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla, the all-men's club that founded Tampa's oldest parade, is tired of other krewes stealing its thunder.
So beginning on the parade's centennial in 2004, Ye Mystic Krewe has decided it should be the only group allowed to dress as pirates.
"We fund it," said Fred Dobbins, captain of Ye Mystic Krewe. "We want to remain established as the leader and the reason this parade exists. Therefore, we want to re-establish our identity as a group of pirates storming the city."
Other krewes learned of the new mandate during a meeting several weeks ago at the Tampa Yacht Club. The news sent a murmur through the crowd, which numbered about 100.
Ye Mystic Krewe organizes the parade, decides who participates, lines up corporate sponsorship and says it chips in about $500,000 of its own money every year.
So when it comes to Gasparilla, the group gets what it wants.
Some parade participants are not happy.
"Ye Mystic Krewe can't dictate to the others, especially if there's some historical significance to their costumes," said Eddie Adams Jr., president of Grand Krewe of Libertalia, which is modeled on a multiracial band of pirates that once roamed the Caribbean.
"We have our own traditions, our own events. We wear pirate costumes for everything we do," said Adams, an architect.
It's unclear how many of the 35 krewes will be affected by the no-pirate rule. Ye Mystic Krewe spokesmen declined to provide numbers. One group, Ye Krewe of Sir Henry Morgan, was just admitted to the 2003 parade and will have to alter its pirate theme for 2004.
Its captain, Gerard Didier, hasn't broached the issue with his krewe members. He's hoping they don't vote to cancel all future participation in the parade.
"I just didn't want to stir it up before Gasparilla because we're going to have a lot of members who are going to be disappointed," said Didier, a merchant marine in real life. "We put a lot of hard work into this."
For much of the parade's history, Ye Mystic Krewe ruled supreme. A group of 40 of Tampa's most successful businessmen started the club in 1904. They paraded that year through south Tampa in pirate costumes -- homespun celebrities for a day.
They have marched nearly every year since, and in later years allowed a few other krewes to join them. But in 1991, when the parade was to coincide with the Super Bowl in Tampa, public fury erupted over the krewe's all-white, all-male membership. Some considered it a remnant of the old, racist South.
Ye Mystic Krewe canceled the festivities rather than integrate. The city stepped in and threw its own, all-inclusive parade. In 1992, Ye Mystic Krewe admitted its first black members and launched a bigger, more colorful Gasparilla.
Since then, pirate garb has multiplied. Jim Tarbet, executive officer of Ye Mystic Krewe, said that given all that the krewe does, it's only fair they stand out.
"We've been pretty selfless about bringing it along and nurturing it," Tarbet said. "The community doesn't have to pay to enjoy it."
Taxpayers foot the bill for law enforcement along the parade route and for cleanup. Tarbet said he is talking to the Tampa Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau about funding national promotions for the 2004 event.
Carol Ferguson, president of the Bonney-Read Krewe, was worried when she heard Tarbet make the announcement. Her group has dressed like pirates since it formed in 1994. She went to the podium at the Yacht Club to voice her concerns, she said, and Tarbet agreed her costumes were distinct enough to avoid confusion with those of Ye Mystic Krewe.
She is sympathetic to the krewe's concerns.
"If it wasn't for them, we would not have this parade," Ferguson said. "This is just another way that it doesn't become just another great melting pot, that every krewe is distinct and can be easily identified."
Tarbet said the krewe will not be "heavy handed" about the new requirement, and will judge costumes on a case-by-case basis. Not all krewes have been notified.
"I'll be damned," said Greg Davidson, president of Anna Maria Island Privateers. His krewe has participated in Gasparilla since 1972.
"We have a pirate ship, a 60-foot float. We can't change," he said. "They're actually forcing us out of the parade."
Didier, of Ye Krewe of Sir Henry Morgan, already is thinking up ways to alter his group's new outfits. He said the new requirement didn't surprise him at all.
"It's Gasparilla," Didier said. "It's what I'm used to. I grew up in this town."
-- Kathryn Wexler can be reached at wexler@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3383.
