Gasparilla started out at the turn of the 20th century as a sedate little music program. Then, organizers decided to throw in a pirate invasion to spice things up -- and boy, did they!  Our guest says Gasparilla is like Mardi Gras without the Catholicism! Andrew Huse is an associate librarian at the University of South Florida in special collections and he also chronicles Florida food history.

When the Junior League of Tampa first published its Gasparilla cookbook back in 1961, the  list of contributors reads like a who’s-who of Tampa’s social and business elite. We visited the Junior League’s headquarters on Davis Islands to chat with Stephanie Haas and Lora Hulse. Lora served as the Junior League's cookbook chair from 1973 to ‘74 and she talked to us about the cultural importance of this cookbook to the Tampa community.

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