Scuttle Sally

PLEASE understand, the city does NOT put on the Port Pirate Fest. The festival was created and for the most part FUNDED by Kim M. She put together the non-profit group which organizes and runs the festival. All the board members serve on a volunteer basis, and work long hours for NO pay to put this show on. Not complaining, we do it because we love it. The Chamber of Commerce also has no affiliation with this event. This event was orginally eyed with more than a small amount of skepticism by the city. We are only three years old and are still having to prove ourselves. We have limitations we have to work with because of our location, it is what it is. I understand some people may be put off because we're doing things differently, but this is a "different" event. As Capn' Jake mentioned...this is a FREE event, we just don't have the budget to give away the farm. Other than the security and site fees, can you begin to guess what the cost is to insure something like this? No one think it's ideal, it's just the most we can offer for this year. The police dept. want's to see how the camping goes this year, and then hopefully we'll have the ok for drinking in the camp at next year's event. Just part of the growing pains for a new festival. Last but not least, the battle Kim M. went through with the city to get any kind of camping available that wasn't 20 MILES AWAY... let's just say she's been working on this since last year.

Hopefully this link works... The map shows the big green blotch of Upper Lake Park just north of the festival grounds. The period camping area will be in Veteran's Park, the very sounthernmost tip of the green area, just north of Jackson St. The "Coleman" camping area will be in Guenther Park just catty-corner (north-west) of the period camping. As you can see from the map it is about 3 (very short) blocks away. The only bad news, we were unable to get liquor permits so officially ...no alcohol allowed in the camp. The city is taking a very cautious "Let's see how this goes" attitude with the situation. Anyone caught with alcohol will be asked to leave the campground. Now for the kicker, the Port Washington Yacht Club is in the same park as where the period camping will be. They are having their "Fitting Out" Party that Saturday (June 2nd) so we already let the police know if there are any complaints, they need to check on the boaters...not our people. Besides, everyone will be at the Buccaneer Bash splicing the mainbrace, c'est ca?

True, as of right now we have three models signed up (as Dean mentioned, the lovely ladies of Rakhshanda). I will probably not be able to participate as I am currently stretched a bit thin...but we'll see. We don't really need models on every bike as it is more about showing off the hardware then the software (get it! HA, I crack myself up.) Anyways, thanks for the feedback and I'll keep you posted Lady B!

I apologize for the double post, but I just checked the hotel rates. Country Inn and Suites is offering $74 a night for the festival weekend and the Holiday Inn is at $119 a night. (Based on a Fri - Sun stay.) Please mention Pirate Festival when you are booking. Keeping Pirate Fest a free event requires sponsors, and the more local businesses know how beneficial the festival is to them the more likely they are to contribute. Thanks! MODIFIED to add; If you are coming from Chicago and want to make this the event of a lifetime you can catch a ride on our pirate ship the Windy 2. They will be returning to Chicago after the festival. You can get a cabin for 2-4 people at around $125 a night per person. They provide some meals, and I am pretty sure you can stay aboard throughout the festival. There is more information on their website here. Click on the 2007 scehdule. It looks like they will deaprt the 31st and return the 1st. The Windy is a fun crew and I think it would be an amazing time. Email them directly to confirm they will be offering the cruise and check availability. Please try to control your desire to hijack the vessel, dears.

Holiday Inn Harborview Is the closest hotel. I hope that link works... The Country Inn and Suites is where the majority of people stayed last year, they've also been the hotel that's been nicest to the festival. The event is free to enter! Check the website for information on the cost of pirate ship cruises. Hope to see you there!

This year's Port Washington Pirate Festival is lucky to have Suburban Motors Harley Davidson as a major sponsor. We are looking for approximately a half dozen pirate queens/ladys/wenches to ride on the back of some gorgeous new Harleys for a Motorcycle Fashion Show, and possibly in the parade as well. The one caveat, due to the circumstances we can not have ladys in long, flowing skirts...while blood at a pirate event is to be expected, we would hate to mess up the bikes. So, for all you Buccaneer Babes whose garb includes pants...I'm looking for a few good pirates! 18 and over only, please. If you are interested, please send me an email dame_one@hotmail.com or pm me here. Pictures of your garb are also appreciated. Thanks in advance, PW Pirate Fest is steaming right along...this year promises to be bigger AND better.

Thanks Merrydeath! However, if by modern pirate flags you mean nylon ones, we do have access to those through Kim M's shop. But a Fool's Gold flag...yes yes yes! As for the poor blokes who may not be able to attend, we shall raise a glass in your honour.

This is the link to the festival's volunteer page. There is a list of various jobs we need help with, you can pick what interests you most. If you want clarification on any of them feel free to PM me. The sign up form is in .pdf form, you can either print it out and mail it or email it in to the admin. Let me know if you have any questions, and THANKS!

Having a costume is not a requirement for being a volunteer, as much as I would prefer to have everyone in costume we need volunteers too bad to discriminate! We can always get you a pirate festival T-shirt to wear, too. We would love to have you on board! Thanks!

Random pirate flags are always good! I've got a good amount of canvas left over from my 10' x 5' Rackham, so I'll probably be sewing some other, smaller flags. My handmade Rackham from last year dissapeared from our float over the summer. Now if I could just find time to finish a waistcoat for my husband...

Oh YAY! Good job with the picture - perfection. I think that may be the back of me...way down at the end. So as you all can see, where the pirate flags hang now, I want to replace with the crew banners/emblems. Obviously it's a lot of room, so the more the merrier. It's not to late! Anyone out there with some photos, feel free to send them in to the website (Kim M.) at admin@portpiratefestival.com I think that would be great, as well. Anything to add to the atmosphere is a bonus.

*slaps head oh, duh...sorry. Yes, Chris...if you could contact the groups we have I would appreciate it! Lady B, Thanks for the heads up on barrels at Walmart. I saw the half ones late in the year but I must have missed the whole ones! I may even ask if it's something they plan on ordering so I'll know in advance. Also, your idea for the fireworks scene is GREAT! That would be soooo cool.

I've heard of getting your sea legs, but that's just ridiculous.

well, then... *blush

What I was thinking of was running banners down the center cross beam of the tent. Last year we had about 1 dozen Jack Rackhams hanging vertically from it. (They were all, I believe, 3x5's.) I'd rather have all the different crew banners hanging there. We do have room for bigger sizes, depending on how and where we hang them. I think if all the crew banners were of a somewhat uniform size, that would work well. I'm just finishing up my giant, handsewn Rackham. It's 10' x 5' and I'm running the eyelets across the top so it can hang horizontally. It will probably end up behind the stage. Does anyone that was there in 06 have a photo of the inside of the beer tent? I don't have an inside shot. That may help. Also, Cpn Jake...do you think you could contact some of the other groups we already have under contract and see if they have a crew banner or flag of some kind? The more we have, the better. Thanks for your input, guys.

I've looked at that barrel site, unfortunately the shipping is as much as the barrels themselves... Thanks, though. I just got an email back from a supplier who is interested in helping us out at cost. Hopefully that will pan out. As for the banners/flags - whatever you got! Or, were you thinking of making one?

too funny! I actually had the idea of doing a marketing campaign (pre-festival) of wanted posters. I wanted to get black and white or sepia toned shots of the major pirate characters (invasion actors, plus other notables) and put them up all over town. How eye-catching would that be! The problem when I brought it up was financial, I'll bring it up again and see what the other Kim says. There's always next year, if not. I know working in the fireworks wasn't cheap. We have lots of great ideas, but going into only our 3rd year our budget isn't able to fulfill all our wishes. Yet. So, I'll have to pass on the offer of the palm tree. Thanks, though. I'll probably just be dragging my own plants down as I have about 4-5 palms in my house that should work.

Excellent ideas Mary...thanks! I do the thrift store crawl at least once a week looking for "stuff". Specifically, the captains chair you mentioned. The burlap is a great idea, I'm already talking to a landscape contractor about providing us with sand and stones to use in the dig for treasure sandbox...I can ask about the burlap. The other problem I'm having with the tent is not being able to affix anything to the walls. Flags and banners are easy, I can hang stuff with rope. I just had an idea...how cool would it be to hang banners representing the various crews that will be there. Kind of like how medieval banquets have the various crests hanging from the ceiling... If Fool's Gold or any of the other crews have their own flags that would be very cool to add, and of course you would get them back at the end of the festival. Let me know what you all think. Chris - does the GSM have a flag/crest? I would think so, but that's one area I haven't been involved in - so I can't say for sure whats happening with the garbage. (Insert landlubber joke here.) Keep the ideas coming people, I'm taking notes! ALSO - Pirate Festival will be holding a rummage sale this weekend (2/15-2/18) in conjuction with Maxwell St. Day in downtown Port. All proceeds to benefit the festival. See the website for more details.

Exactly my thoughts... I'm having a hard time finding wenches who have the proper costuming, so if you're interested Lady B, I would LOVE to have you as a wench. (Now that didn't sound quite right, did it?) ;-) Anyone else who might be interested (ahem Merrydeath) please consider it, I can promise it will be a BLAST! I've been working my arse off on set deco for the Buccaneer Bar. I'm really having a hard time finding whiskey barrels, so far I have ONE. LOL But I'd love to have at least half a dozen we could use as tables and general decoration. We do have a good number of fishnets, and my personal collection includes some handmade wrought iron candleabras. I'm also working on a huge handmade pirate flag, the ubiquitous Jack Rackham...but it's the one on all the festival lit. Also on my list are old oriental style floor rugs to scatter about. I'm keeping my eyes peeled on Ebay and Craislist for ones that are already stained or have holes. I really want to give the Bar an intimate, dark, wharfside pub feel...but with a 30 x 60 WHITE tent...it's a challenge. So any other ideas are appreciated. Thanks for your ideas Lady B, and I love the idea of the auction...if you want to run with that I'll work it into the planned festivities during the Bash. As for the children's area. I've been in talks with the owner of the local HobbyTown. He's really in love with the idea and we're working on getting him to set up a demo area where kids can play some of the various pirate games (like Quest for Davy Jones Gold and Dread Pirate) or even work on making easy model ships. We're also looking at a dig for treasure sandbox for the wee little pirates in training. For the Buccaneer Bar, we'll be setting up Pirates Dice and mancala...maybe Shut-The-Box if Hobbytown can get us one. Oh, and I'll give you a teaser...we have something really cool along the lines of the popular wooden dubloons that will give the kids another way to interact with the pirates. The wooden dubloons will continue as they were SO popular last year! We'll have a seperate booth for their redemption.

ABSOLUTELY! If you want to be an official volunteer the website has a volunteer page with a pdf sign up form. But if you just want to come down early and help with whatever setup we're doing...come on down. Last year we got started around noon on Friday, if memory serves (fog of rum). This year we've talked about having a "green room" type of tent for volunteers and reenactors to check in and have a place to put their boots up for a bit. As soon as the Physical Plan is done, we'll know for sure. I'll keep you posted on that. Thanks!

*faints dead away. I mean, OF COURSE I remember you!

keep yer hooks and fingers crossed, says I. :)

Avast, Ahoy, and How the hell are ya? This is the "other" Kim of the Port Washington Pirate Festival, I'm on the planning board with Dean (Cpt. Jake) and met most of the right fantastic Fools Gold Crew last year... I now go by Scuttle Sally, thanks to the clever Cpt. Jake. My responsibilites with the festival run to the more mundane; signing up sponsors and vendors, shanghaing volunteers, community liasion, etc. I'm also taking over Bilgemunky's Buccaneer Bash, although he has promised to help me a bit with that! This years party will go Friday AND Saturday night and have a live band (as soon as the contract is signed I'll post the name). I'm so excited for this year's festival and it's with great excitement I can announce that this year brings us... FIREWORKS! This pirate just loves things that go BOOM. The company we will be using also has promised to help us with adding some more "bang" to our invasion. Well, I think that covers my intro. If you have any questions for me, fire away. (ducks and covers)