{"id":498190,"date":"2019-05-14T18:48:17","date_gmt":"2019-05-14T18:48:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportscardigest.com\/\/?p=79087"},"modified":"2023-12-08T00:13:09","modified_gmt":"2023-12-08T00:13:09","slug":"gasparilla-concours-delegance-report-photo-gallery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/gasparilla-concours-delegance-report-photo-gallery\/","title":{"rendered":"Gasparilla Concours (2019) – Recap & Photo Gallery"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Gasparilla Pirate Festival is a Mardi Gras-like event that has been celebrated in Tampa, Florida, for over 100 years. It\u2019s named after a mythical pirate, Jos\u00e9 Gaspar (aka Gasparilla) who supposedly plied the southwest Florida waters in the latter part of the 18th<\/sup>century and early 19th<\/sup>century. It started when Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla formed in Tampa in 1904 to celebrate the liberation of the city from this pirate. As with the Mardi Gras krewes in New Orleans, the purpose was to parade and party. It took hold, and the festival has been held every January, with a few exceptions, since 1904.<\/p>\n

As with any festival worth celebrating, reasons to extend the celebration are often sought. That is the case with the Gasparilla Concours d\u2019Elegance (https:\/\/www.gasparillaconcours.com<\/a>). The concours also offered an opportunity to raise money for the Shriner\u2019s Hospital for Children in Tampa. It is more than just a car show, though. It starts with a reenactment of the 1909 Great Endurance Run from Tampa to Jacksonville. This year, the antique autos competing in the Endurance Run finished at Amelia Island and were displayed in that concours\u2019 Cars & Coffee event on Saturday, March 9, 2019. The run was won by Milt and Rosemary Roorda in their 1909 Ford Model T Speedster. The concours weekend, April 12-14, 2019, began with a charity cocktail party on Friday, had the concours on Saturday, and finished with a tour of historic Tampa.<\/p>\n

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Milt and Rosemary Roorda won the Great Endurance Run in their 1909 Ford Model T Speedster.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This was the first Gasparilla Concours d\u2019Elegance, and, while there were a few glitches, it was a very enjoyable show. It is a relatively small concours, still including well over 100 cars and motorcycles, as well as a couple firetrucks and a replica of a 1770 Fardier de Cugnot, a steam-powered French artillery carriage \u2013 the first self-propelled vehicle in the world – created for the Tampa Bay Automobile Museum. Another important vehicle on display was President Woodrow Wilson\u2019s 1919 Pierce Arrow limousine on loan from the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum in Staunton, Virginia, his birthplace. President Wilson first rode in the limo when he returned from Europe after negotiating the Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I. He was so infatuated with the Pierce Arrow that friends bought it for him after his second term as President.<\/p>\n

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The show was officially opened when President Woodrow Wilson’s 1919 Pierce-Arrow limo was driven onto the field.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The field was eclectic. There were Brass Era cars, and there were American muscle cars. There were cars with engines as big as 428 cid and as small as 300 cc. There were beautiful cars and \u201cugly ducklings.\u201d The oldest automobile was a 1906 Ford Model N. The newest was a 2018 Chevrolet Camaro SS #7 racecar from JR (Earnhardt) Motorsports driven to five victories in the NASCAR Xfinity Series by Justin Allgaier.<\/p>\n

The organizers did a fine job in arranging a beautiful location for the event, and they enticed owners of important automobiles to show their cars. As said, there were a few glitches, as can be expected at a first time event, but they were quickly overcome. Hopefully, the Gasparilla Concours d\u2019Elegance will become a fixture on the calendar of shows \u2013 it\u2019s a keeper! And their goal of raising money for the Shriner\u2019s Hospital for Children in Tampa is an honorable one. They were able to donate $20,000 to the hospital this year; may they continue to raise funds for the hospital for many years.<\/p>\n

Best of Show:<\/h4>\n