More than half a million Tampa citizens and tourists gather downtown each year to watch a reenactment of pirates invading the bay alongside the Tampa Convention Center during the .phparilla Pirate Festival. The annual festival is named in honor of legendary pirate Jose .phpar, who invaded Tampa centuries before with his crew. The "pirates" are actually members of the Ye Mystic Krewe of .phparilla, a group of 760 people who organize the invasion, in part to promote tourism—no pillaging involved, just lots of celebrating and a rowdy parade.One.phpect of the festivities took place on the convention's rooftop deck, where Susan Williams, the director of services at the Tampa Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau, and Kelly Duncan-Gorman, the director of sales and catering for Aramark, threw the .phparilla Invasion Brunch, a Spanish-theme private party for 110 meeting planners and journalists from across the country.
"We want to showcase the city during a unique time," Williams said. Both she and Duncan-Gorman had planned the annual event before, and Williams said that the main challenge is having to set up and take equipment through roadblocks and street closures as the city prepares for the big day.
At this year's brunch, Aramark chefs presented an array of dishes at food stations decorated with netting, pirate flags, and faux parrots and skeletons. Guests dined on breakfast favorites such as omelettes, muffins, and fresh fruit, plus heartier options like pasta, smoked salmon quesadillas, gulf prawns with penne and red escabeche, and roast pork loin with walnut hominy grits and black bean cumin sauce. Tables with black and yellow linens were matched with coordinating chairs in bright red spandex covers with yellow sashes. Round glass vases stuffed with oranges or jalapeños held tight arrangements of red and yellow roses.
Flamenco dancers from Columbia Restaurant, one of the city's most popular and historic eateries, performed a lively show and later had several guests join them on stage for an impromptu lesson. Also interacting with the crowd was the festival's namesake Jose .phpar himself. (Actually, it was Michael Norton from Norton Interactive Comedy, who shared salty tales and historic tidbits the entire time.)
When the pirate ship reached the convention center with cannons blasting, it marked the end of brunch and time for guests to relocate to Bayshore Boulevard to see the Mardi Gras-like parade. The Convention & Visitors Bureau arranged for everyone to watch from a hospitality tent set up along the route. Baseball caps, beverages, and light fare such as spicy chicken fingers and sandwiches from Catering by the Family kept everyone comfortable as they watched the parade and collected beaded necklaces.
—Vanessa Goyanes
"We want to showcase the city during a unique time," Williams said. Both she and Duncan-Gorman had planned the annual event before, and Williams said that the main challenge is having to set up and take equipment through roadblocks and street closures as the city prepares for the big day.
At this year's brunch, Aramark chefs presented an array of dishes at food stations decorated with netting, pirate flags, and faux parrots and skeletons. Guests dined on breakfast favorites such as omelettes, muffins, and fresh fruit, plus heartier options like pasta, smoked salmon quesadillas, gulf prawns with penne and red escabeche, and roast pork loin with walnut hominy grits and black bean cumin sauce. Tables with black and yellow linens were matched with coordinating chairs in bright red spandex covers with yellow sashes. Round glass vases stuffed with oranges or jalapeños held tight arrangements of red and yellow roses.
Flamenco dancers from Columbia Restaurant, one of the city's most popular and historic eateries, performed a lively show and later had several guests join them on stage for an impromptu lesson. Also interacting with the crowd was the festival's namesake Jose .phpar himself. (Actually, it was Michael Norton from Norton Interactive Comedy, who shared salty tales and historic tidbits the entire time.)
When the pirate ship reached the convention center with cannons blasting, it marked the end of brunch and time for guests to relocate to Bayshore Boulevard to see the Mardi Gras-like parade. The Convention & Visitors Bureau arranged for everyone to watch from a hospitality tent set up along the route. Baseball caps, beverages, and light fare such as spicy chicken fingers and sandwiches from Catering by the Family kept everyone comfortable as they watched the parade and collected beaded necklaces.
—Vanessa Goyanes
Pirate decor dominated the Gasparilla Invasion Brunch at the Tampa Convention Center.
Tables were covered with red, yellow, and black spandex and topped with bright centerpieces that held orange slices and jalape?os.
Aramark filled food stations with not-so-typical brunch items such as stuffed jalape?os and ham-wrapped asparagus bundles.
Volunteers from every float flung hundreds of beaded necklaces into the crowd during the Mardi Gras-like parade.
