TAMPA, Fla. — A brand new float will take part in Gasparilla this year.
You may remember over the summer, the Bonnie-Read Krewe put their old float up for sale.
After a year of design and work, the new one is ready to set sail.
“It’s wonderful. We’re up higher. We can really see the audience,” said Camille Matthews, one of the founders of the krewe.
The Bonney-Read Krewe is an all-women krewe that started in 1994. It’s named for pirates Anne Bonnie and Mary Read, who are now displayed on the front of their new float.
Over the summer, Tampa’s all-women Bonney-Read Krewe made headlines when they put their #Gasparilla float up for sale. Now they’re ready to debut their new one! It features pirates Anne Bonney & Mary Read on the front @BN9 pic.twitter.com/UIfc4b1DMC
— Tim Wronka (@TimWronka) January 25, 2023
“We wanted to have Anne Bonney and Mary Read up front, leading the way. We wanted them to look like real pirates,” Matthews said.
The float was designed by local artist Jason Hulfish, who helped bring the pirate ladies to life.
“They’re female pirates,” said Hulfish, who owns Grand Theming Studios. “We wanted to represent that in the best way possible. So we thought we’d lead in with two women here, just leading the parade.”
The krewe’s old float ended up being sold to Ferg’s Sports Bar in St. Petersburg.
The new float is not only bigger, but it’s got some added bonuses, too — some very important to pirates on Gasparilla, like bead hooks.
“No one ever thinks there’s enough bead hooks. We now have 195 bead hooks on here,” Matthews said.
The new float gets its first big test on Saturday for the Gasparilla parade.