Mahone Bay Pirate Festival

We were very busy on Friday because the children had a pirate convention in Mahone Bay. They have been official pirates for over a year now -- membership is a complicated process involving a treasure hunt and a special vocabulary test among other things, which they completed at the Victoria, British Columbia branch. Of course when they heard pirates were invading nearby Mahone Bay, long a haunt of pirates, for the weekend, they knew they would be expected to be there. This is a photo of them on their way. (Modern pirates sometimes go by car. And they use the carseats with the very highest safety ratings, just in case they have to run someone off the road.)

Actually, modern pirates use a variety of modes of transportation. This one hijacks her own father and demands to be carried. She has to almost put out his eyes several times with her plastic sword in order to make him comply.

The pirates, along with their grandfather, survey the government wharf before the other pirates show up.

In the pub, Luke meets up with another pirate (a local politician, which makes perfect sense) who shares some of his booty with him. The pirate/politician relishes saying the word "booty" and also asks Luke if his sister is for sale. Um, perhaps he should stick to kissing  babies. Only not mine.

After a nice pub dinner, we go down to the wharf to watch more pirates sail in.

I'm thinking this one is a ghost pirate.

These pirates arrive by SUV, which they park in front of Grandpa's house.

Luke checks out the pirate treasure beside another young pirate in a fetching red and white polka-dotted kerchief.

Two pirates checking out the menu at the Mug and Anchor Pub. Hey, pirates have to eat, too, and some are even allergic to shellfish.

One can always fall back on the official pirate chip truck.

This is a possible William Gilkerson sighting. He is the renowned Maritime artist and pirate expert who wrote the excellent (and Governor General's award-winning) Pirate's Passage, a book that belongs in the library of every child who loves pirates. It has a special place in my heart because it is set in Mahone Bay. (Gilkerson lives nearby.) There was a tribute to him and talks by experts who advised on movies like Pirates of the Caribbean in the official Pirate Festival yurt*, but my pirates wouldn't have been able to sit still long enough for those. 

I highly recommend this festival, which is still in its infancy (its second year) precisely because of that fact. The town isn't as crowded as it gets for say, the Scarecrow Festival held in October -- lately the streets have been as crowded as New York's for that. And because Mahone Bay has a rich history of pirates (including the renowned Oak Island mystery), it's the perfect place to take kids interested in this stuff.

*What, you didn't know yurts had anything to do with pirates? Well you learn something new every day.