If you could design a Pirate Festival

[Jib]

Pure fantasy but how would you create the ultimate pirate festival?

[LadyBarbossa]

Hmmm... I LIKE this question! oooo... what fun one could have with it!

Where? Not sure yet. Too many possibilities.

What would it contain?

Well, pirates of course. Open to anyone wanting to come. Dress as a pirate, buccaneer, corsair, smuggler, etc from anywhere in the world. Entertainers, of course. Fictional characters (Jack Sparrow, Davy Jones, Long John Silver, Cptn Hook, etc)and non-fictional historical personas (Henry Morgan, Blackbeard, Bonney and Read, Kidd, etc). Have Celebrity Guests and Guests of Honor like they do at Conventions.

A portable Margaritaville or even one with a permenant one nearby. Other Topical themed restaurants (some put on by the celebrities).

Concerts! Jimmy Buffett, Toby Keith,Sting, or other singers/bands, songs with piratical hints in them, tropical themes.

Piratical & period looking taverns, mobile or not. With plenty of rum, other drink and various period food.

A Tall Ships Fest at the same time. Invite as many tall ships as possible from around the world(the Bounty, Lady Washington, Royaliste, etc) and even have the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman there, too.

LARP and reenacting. Trials and escapes, sea battles, sword fights, historical demonstrations, etc. Interaction in friendly LARP with all the personas. Pictures available as photographers will be around (like they have at Sea World).

A theater playing nothing but piratical movies.

The whole town getting into it wearing piratical attire. Using a circulation of period coinage or only US coins for that time period of the fest. Or trade items.

A pirates market by the docks to purchase various piratical items (clothes, fabric toys, weapons, spices, ship necessities, etc).

OH! A Midway! Piratical themed rides and games. Like that galleon that swings back and forth.

A parade! A cross between what DragonCon has and Mardi Gras!

A Masquerade Ball, Governor's Ball & Pirate Party on a pirate ship or all of them (maybe like what Verizon did, Party on the Black Pearl).

Garb/costume/ attire Contests, personality contests, deck hand contests, etc.

Have one or two of those period photo studios. Dress as a pirate or Civilian or Naval Gentleman (if you already are not) and get an old time photo done with yourself, friends or the family.

Sign on with various Crews that are there to Apprentice for a half hour, an hour, a day or the whole Festival time. Receive a pirates share in the end for your time spent as a pirate.

A gaming room or place for folks to play piratical board games and even the Pirates constructible card game or other pirate card games.

Souveniers of course. Glasses, shirts, hats, a plushie, anything that people would buy.

I could think of a lot more. But that's a general overview of what would be a dream ideal Pirate Festival.

~Lady B

[Rumba Rue]

Real flushing toilets

[SeaLassCyanne]

This is a good question, we're trying to plan something in my region, thats low profile yet very similar.

The Ultimate for me would be a Mariner's BBQ, where it's celebratory festival an Ode to the Pirates of Old. Except in modern barbecue format. (The clean up is easier that way imo especially if held in a park) People dressed up as the pyrate like, or your favorite famous pyrate character. Theme would surround the "Nautical", surrounded by the comforts of food, grog, story telling, and just ultimate revelry in general.

Of course there would have to be the music, lots of Flogging Molly, The Corsairs, Whirly Jig Monstrels, Iris & Rose, Running Wild, Grave Digger, and other great Pyrate metal bands. (Me is a huge fan of Pyrate Metal!)

That'd be the ultimate pirate gathering for me, hopefully one day it will be pulled off most likely on a smaller scale

Pax,

Cyanne

[Matty Bottles]

Well, if price is no object, I'd love a historical New England village, complete with wooden piers, cobblestone streets (where the streets are paved at all), and period construction buildings. The outhouses would actually be functional toilets, though, and the building would have cleverly hidden running water. We have advanced, after all.

Parking would be some distance away, with attendees having to walk in or take a ride on a horse-drawn wagon.

A small fort and gaol would be built, too. There would also be at least three functional, sailing, period tallships in the harbor, with any number of little seacraft for ferrying attendees and goods about.

Garb or kit would be mandatory: while not strictly historically accurate, you would have to at least attempt to look the part - basically, no t-shirts and jeans. By the same token, I expect people to treat each other civilly, and without thread criticism.

Goods and services, including food, would be purchased with replica coins. A bank or moneylender would allow you to exchange your modern money for historical money, and vice versa. The coincs would not be straight replicas, but somehow stamped uniquely so that people couldn't buy other replicas and take advantage of the exchange rate.

The necessary modern accessories would be in period buildings, and only accessible on an as-needed basis, such as medical facilities and telecommunications equipment.

Entertainment would be period too, or at least approximately. If instruments are to be amplified, the actual equipment would either by restricted to the stage or cleverly disguised.

[HildeKitten]

Real flushing toilets

YES! clean toilets are a total necessity! I absolutely agree :)

[Zephaniah W Nash]

I'm all good with the running water my ownself.

Call me a wuss if you will, but the lack of running water is great for camping, when you're camping for the sake of camping. Other times, I like to do those silly little modern things like brushing my teeth, washing my hands before I stick contacts into or out of my eyes, etc.

Plus, generally speaking, other participants much prefer it when I can shower, for some reason.

[Jib]

You can get as crazy as you like with this topic. Say you have a Billion dollars to spend! How would you create your ulimate pirate fantasy?

[Black Syren]

lol We had this posted before..we called it Cibola Do you remember that Lady B? I think I would buy an Island and turn it into a year round Pirate Haven Festival. Tall ships to offer cruises, Have the towns set up like the period buildings of the time but with all the amenities of home.

You would of course be required to wear period clothing and there would be places on the Isle for you to shop or rent your garb. The people there to enjoy the festival/vacation would have to wear some form of blue or some other identifying mark to keep them from getting mixed up with those who live and work on the Isle.

Craftsmen would be on hand to sell period items such as clothing, pottery, soaps and such.

I like the idea of the money exchange..that has merit!

Aye..definitely sounds appealing...

[LadyBarbossa]

Hehehe... Aye, I remember it. Well, there was about 3 threads discussing that in some manner.

But, aye. A Pirate Island like a year round Festival, tourists can come to visit, folks can live like pirates, etc. Get the real deal life with a healthy mix of historically authentic, Hollywood fiction and Ren Faire entertainment.

I still dream of that happening one day, Siren! I swear.... I'd move there in a heartbeat!

~Lady B

[Rats]

Yer a keeper Bloody Mad Jack!

Damn glad to see we think a like!!!

And the truth be told... No one could afford what I would expect! However there are a few venues which I would simply add onto!!! I'll go through and post a few pics when I get a chance or feel inthusiastic!!

However I would listen to the suggestions from the reenactors for both safety and also productivity. Then I would actually compensate their efforts!!!

Yes I would pay them!!! Regardless of weather it's meals, gas money or a weekend rate..... Let's face it, with GAoP there really isn't a huge cast needed. And therefore I would also pay as to the part played and the experience of said individual. Especially if I had folks driving from state to state, I would at least compensate their travel, depending on what they brought to the table.

I would also offer them onsite camping and or location housing, within the site.

[Sjöröveren]

-buy a fairly large island, big enough for a couple of reconstructed GAoP villages, room for an airstrip away from town. Good harbour with plenty of anchorage, slips, etc. for sailing vessels.

-Hire as many of the best traditional craftsmen as needed to construct these villages and keep them running and supplied with everything the inhabitants need to get by.

-Invite everyone here to come spend a week, a month, a lifetime living as we wished we could all the time.

-Don't forget the secret underground bunker for all of us rejoin the 21st century when we choose. Plasma TV, big modern kitchen with all the best food. Broadband access, dance floor, laser tag whatever we want.

That's a start.

[Matty Bottles]

And if money isn't any issue, and the island is big enough, modern medical facilities and staff.

With all due respect to your surgeon's skill, Dr. S, I'd rather have a hospital close, if we're going to spedn MONTHS there.

[1stMate Matt]

i Would def pay to see a crew battle...fictional pirates vr Historical ones. '

lots of gun fire ! I have noticed over the years of doing fairs that everytime a pirate lets off a powder blast or two a crowd soon gathers. so i would try and work in as many safe firings as poss. even several camps set up shooting back and forth. that way each camp could have there own set up with vendors and such. It would be fun too see each camp have a color or something and try to recruit the patrons to support their colors.

I dont know I am brain storming but I can tell you that the type of people that attend pirate shows as walk ins always want to be apart of the show somehow or join a group. Pirates seem to win the hearts of the crowd when having fun and being loud.

[Matty Bottles]

Sorry to necro this thread, but it sounds as though someone has been paying attention...

Buccaneer Bay

It looks pretty cool - I wish it were closer, or the dollar was stronger...

[LadyBarbossa]

I think that Buccaneer Bay started before this thread. :) But, Aye... I'd LOVE to go there! Looks like fun! I've had Buccaneer Bay on my Favs for a while now.

~Lady B

[Aedon]

I've got it-

A big flotilla off of the coast, a mile of so is enough.

Two or three sloops, nothing massive. Tethered together and anchored, acoustic music and forty of my closest mates. Lots of Nelson's blood and uisce beatha. I suppose a stowed armament policy would be in order, as well.

And big hats for all.

[William Blydes]

Not sure about that place.

I was in Halifax a couple month back and couldn't find head or tail about it.

[1stMate Matt]

If you had certain areas for different movies and then at some point during the day had a battle between all the most popular pirate movies. That would certainly draw more families. I mean most every festival does a greaatttttttt job of getting the local pirate groups, but to be a success and make real money doing it to allow yourself to grow bigger and bigger is to find a way to get Joe Shmoe and his family to come out year after year.

::gasps in fear that the pub will tear him apart for saying this::

Of course this would be more of a theme park then a festival...

[LadyBarbossa]

If you had certain areas for different movies and then at some point during the day had a battle between all the most popular pirate movies. That would certainly draw more families. I mean most every festival does a greaatttttttt job of getting the local pirate groups, but to be a success and make real money doing it to allow yourself to grow bigger and bigger is to find a way to get Joe Shmoe and his family to come out year after year.

::gasps in fear that the pub will tear him apart for saying this::

Of course this would be more of a theme park then a festival...

No, ye be correct, Matt.

Seriously, who wants to return to an event that's the same each year?

Perhaps keep some things the same, but spice it up, offer more, allow the pirates and non-pirate portrayers have at it with some ideas, props, etc.

Definitely will attract attention if you have a vessel or two or more. And better yet a sea battle that can be seen from the shore.

Or scenarios often. One of the largest attractions at the Midwest Old Threshers reunion is the Snipe Run gunfights and old west shows that happen every hour. Kids LOVE it! Pictures are done every year and made into mass amounts of small posters for kids to have the Gunfighters autograph! Been going strong for years and years! And has never faltered.

But, aye! Who wouldn't love to see a battle between Jack Sparrow, Long John Silver and James Hook!

And who would stay home if they heard the Black Pearl or even the Bounty was docked or anchored nearby?

Have a Goonies Treasure Hunt.

Make it fun, exciting and bring to life people's fantasies!

~Lady B

[Captain Tito]

Have it in a small coastal town, either on the ocean, or another large body of water (Caribbean, Great Lakes etc..) that be really willin to let itself go and let the festival happen. Be willin to take on a more pyratey atmosphere durin the days and nights of it. Make some facade changes to add somethin more pyraty to the businesses too. Add exhibition tents, areas fer performing groups etc.. Don't forget to invite Pirate Bands like the Jolly Rogers, The Bilge Pumps and all ye can name.