Thousands of tiny pirates invade Tampa Bay for the 2020 Children's Gasparilla Parade

TAMPA, Fla. - Thousands of pint-sized pirates invaded Tampa for this year's Children's Gasparilla Parade.

Buccaneers of all sizes gathered Saturday on Bayshore to celebrate the kick-off of Gasparilla -- and to gather as many beads as possible, of course. 

The day kicked off with the Gasparilla Air Invasion, as the USSOCOM Parachute Demonstration Team conducted a precision parachute jump onto Bayshore.

Tampa Bay's youngest pirates then hit the pavement for the preschooler's stroll before the full parade kicked off at 3:30 p.m.

Krewes from across the Tampa Bay area stormed the area on intricately-designed floats along the parade route that stretched for miles through South Tampa, from Bay to Bay Blvd to Edison Avenue.

WWE's Big Show served as the parade's grand marshal, while Jane Castor led Saturday's parade -- her first as Tampa's mayor.

The day capped off with a "piratechnics" fireworks show themed as a re-creation of the imaginary sea battle between the pirates of Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla and the City of Tampa.

Check out some scenes from this year's parade below!