The Third Annual Eastport Pirate Festival is offering over 34 Pirate related and themed events this year. Included in this year's three day Pirate Festival running September 5-7 is a full day of Pirate Kid's events. This will include a Pirate Kid's themed breakfast with the professional Pirates of The Dark Rose, A Pirate Ship cruise just for kids and a kids and youth Pirate Pageant.
The Third Annual Pirates Festival actually kicks off on Saturday, August 30th at 9:00 AM with the Pirate Ship Invasion of Lubec. Lead by pirate Captain Butch Harris the scheduled invasion is planned to catch local citizens sleeping and unprepared to defend their women, livestock, gold and grog. Rumor has it on the Coast of Downeast Maine that Lubec will not be taken without a fight. Pirates wanting to be part of the Captain Harris’ crew need to call 207-853-4343 to reserve space.
On Friday, September 5, Eastport will become the biggest Pirate town and island on the East Coast. The Eastport Pirate Festival has become the biggest event of its kind in Northern New England and the Maritimes. Started just three short years ago it now draws thousands of participants from all of the USA, Canada and beyond. Kicking off the three day event this year Pirates can participate in a Pirate's whale watch, a Captain Morgan Party at The Happy Crab and a Pirate Dinner at the Rose Garden before heading to the annual Pirates Ball at the Eastport Chowder House. Admission to the Ball is $5.00 for those in costume and $10.00 for those not in costumes.
The Pirates Ball will include cutlass fighting by the Pirates of The dark Rose and the Best Costume Awards, The Jack Sparrow Look Alike Contest and the best Men's and Women's Tattoo Competition. The top 3 winners of the men's and women's costume contest will become the candidates for this year's King and Queen of the Pirate Festival. The candidates will have a full day to campaign for the title and be chosen by all the pirates on Saturday evening at the Scallywag and Wenches Ball.
New this year will be a Pirate Crate Race testing and celebrating the speed and agility of local Pirates, a Pirate Boot Race and a reenactment of the actual trial of Ann Bonny and Mary Reed.
Bonny and Read are the most famous -- and ferocious -- women pirates in history, and they are the only ones known to have plied their trade in the Western Hemisphere. The trial will be held in the public square (Overlook Park) and offer a look at life and justice for Pirates and women in the 1700’s. The parts of Bonny, Reed and the judge will be played by local towns people.
Back again this year is the Pirate Bed Race on Sunday. They are calling it "The Pillage in the Village" and many local businesses have been working on their bed designs almost from the time the winner of last year's race crossed the finish-line 12 month's ago. Local restaurateur Bob Del Papa has had a team of Pirate Bed designers and engineers working night and day and his bead race team running laps all summer. "We had a set back when we found out that our bed could not include sails, jet engines and 34 wheels," says Del Papa, but our design team has been able to compensate for those losses and design changes while keeping within the Pirate Rules of bed racing."
This indeed promises to be the biggest and best Eastport Pirate Festival ever. For a full schedule of events you can visit their website at www.eastportpiratefestival.com