Shannon While many may mourn the end of the holidays, as they look out at months of bleak winter until the first ray of spring events liven up their schedules, we here in Tampa Bay, jump right from New Year’s almost straight into one of our biggest event seasons of the year!
Gasparilla! Months of pirate-themed events make up our late winter and early spring, and it’s hard not to get into the scallywag-lovin’ season.
Pack away your Christmas decorations and holiday lights, but pull out your heaps of tangled sparkling beads, your array of pirate garb and all that buccaneer decor!
As a native New Englander, I used to feel a case of SADs hit by what felt… mid January. Since becoming a Tampa local, it feels like just a short interlude between the post holiday hangover, to the swashbuckling festivities of our pirate-themed series of events begins.
Up goes the netting and beads…
The tall tapered candles displayed amidst handfuls of pillaged “gold.”
The skull flags waving in the cool winter breeze (this one was my ceiling fan)…
The piles of treasure.
(I’ll have a DIY on this Treasure Skull coming soon!)
And of course those beautiful Gasparilla wreaths. My favorite!
I still proudly hang my own handy-work on my front door. Under lock and key of course…
Though it’s not in nearly as much danger of being ripped off the door by drunken college kids masquerading as pirates this year, my wreath is a nice festive little beacon that lets visitors know we’re celebrating the season, even though we’re not in South Tampa anymore.
Yes, it’s that wonderful time of year, so let’s batten down the hatches!
Aaaarrrrgggghhhh you ready for it?
(Just say “Aye!”)
