About Us...

Clearwater's Official Krewe

Ye Mystic Krewe of the Santa Margarita was founded in February, 2002, and is currently in its fourth parade season as Clearwater 's official Krewe. The Krewe has over 250 members and unlike many other Tampa Bay area krewe's, membership in YMKSM is open to women and children.

The Krewe takes its name from La Santa Margarita, a Spanish galleon that sank off the coast of Florida in the 17th century. Krewe members dress as Spanish royalty and mariners, just as the original crew and passengers did on September 4th, 1622 , when they set off from Havana , Cuba , on their ill-fated voyage to Spain . Two days later the fleet was ravaged by a hurricane and 8 ships were lost off the Florida Keys .

At parades, the Krewe rides in a 65-foot-long, 10 ton, Spanish galleon on wheels. Painted blue waves lap along the bottom of the three-masted galleon as she slowly makes her way down the parade route. Many Krewe members prefer to walk the parade route so that they can interact with the parade viewers as they pass out the Krewe’s signature gold medallion beads.

Clearwater's Fun 'N Sun Night Parade

A parade with illuminated floats, costumes, Krewes, clown troupes, collector cars and trucks, marching bands, novelty groups, walking units, and of course beads, beads and more beads.

Bring a chair and enjoy the festivities! Parade starts at 7:00PM on Cleveland Street from Glenwood Ave. (Crest Lake Park) to East Ave.

And how did this Margarita Madness get its start? There are many legends, here are but a few!

The most known of all the historical claims behind the Margarita cocktail originates in 1948. A fabulous hostess & Dallas socialite, Margarita Sames, hosted a pool side Christmas party at her vacation home in Acapulco, Mexico. The party game of choice for Margarita was to get behind the bar & see what concoctions she could develop & let her party guests test & rate the results. That evening she mixed tequila with Cointreau & lime juice. The result was a success among her guests & quickly traveled through the elite groups in Texas and soon to Hollywood under the name of Margarita.

There is also a story of showgirl named Majorie King, who had an allergy to alcohol. For some reason she could only drink Tequila. In 1938 while visiting the Rancho Del Gloria Bar in Rosarita Beach, Mexico, Majorie asked one of the bartenders to mix her a cocktail with Tequila. The bartender, Danny Herrera, poured Tequila over shaved ice then added lemon & Triple Sec. He translated Majorie's name to Spanish & thus the name, Margarita.

Another story is that the Margarita was Invented at Hussong's Cantina (that's a famous bar in Ensenada, founded in 1892) by bartender, Don Carlos Orozco, back in October, 1941. He concocted the drink of equal parts tequila, Damiana (Cointreau is used now) and lime, served it over ice in a salt-rimmed glass. He named it after a lady he wanted to impress, Señorita Margarita Henkel, daughter of the German Ambassador to Mexico. Not too many people know that, but at Hussongs, they swear it's the truth!

Next in line of Margarita history comes from Tommy's Place in Juarez, Mexico. Pancho Morales was working at the bar in 1942, when a lady came up to him & ordered a "Magnolia." Morales could not remember any of the ingredients to the drink except Cointreau. After mixing Tequila, he named the new concoction after the flower, daisy. Take a guess as to what the Spanish translation of daisy is.

The legends are many, but the fact still remains, YMKSM hosts the best post parade party in Tampa bay!