The History of PiP

[hurricane]

(Now when is someone going to sit down and write that History of PiP book we're always talking about...? "Pirates in Paradise was born in the wilds of...Marathon? Islamorada? I always forget...")

I believe it was Marathon. It was there one weekend and Key West the next. Cascabel would be one of the experts on that - it was what, 20 years ago now? It's been Key West exclusive 11 years, going on 12. I've been since 2002, so even I'm a relative newcomer, eh Cascabel?

I remember when the encampments (the few there were) and the vendors were in the parking lot near the Schooner Bar and behind it on the road. That year Jimmy Buffett was recording License to Chill, Carleton, his bodyguard motioned us to come in (our band was near the big compass near Shrimpboat) but some vendor thought they wanted him so we didn't get to go in. But he did invite us to the impromptu concert at Margaritaville the next night as a makeup. I was so jealous that Sloe Gin from our group got to escort Buffett to the sword seller there that year. He was buying a sword for Cameron, his son.

There was no Walk the Plank yet, the festival moved each night to different venues - Banana Bay was a great stop, so was Kelly's when Kelly McGillis still owned it. The evening parties were in the Custom's House and Mel Fishers among other really nice places.

Then the festival moved to the fort where there was no camping allowed. We were on the beach that year... a couple years before the encampments were there. That was a great year. No one was in the fort -- all the vendors, fighting, etc. was in the wooded area just beyond the snack bar. The battle took place on the beach that overlooks the breakwater side. Raven got fired as Mary Read that year and took all the signs for the festival, so our crewe had to hurriedly paint new ones on sail cloth the morning the festival was to begin. That's when Diosa stepped into the role if I recall. Still have photos of us all spread out on the walkways of the Southernmost. Ah, good times.

Oh, and then there's the time I met up with a reporter outside the Blockbuster for the Pirates of the Caribbean DVD release event... hhm, now what was her name?

Sorry, was there mention of a book?

Edited December 10, 2010 by Mission

[Cascabel]

I believe it was Marathon. It was there one weekend and Key West the next. Cascabel would be one of the experts on that - it was what, 20 years ago now? It's been Key West exclusive 11 years, going on 12. I've been since 2002, so even I'm a relative newcomer, eh Cascabel?

My very first PiP was 1998. That year it was hosted on the grounds of the Buccaneer Resort in Marathon for the first part of the week, and then moved to the park at Higgs Beach in Key West for the remainder of the event. The event didn't happen at all one year, (I think it was 1999).

In my early years at the event, we had a great many more sponsors supporting it, and many of us were assigned to put in appearances at the sponsor's locations. Many of the hotels supported us generously with rooms for the participants in those years. We had activities and appearances all over Key West in those days. One of my favorites was at the Mel Fisher Museum, which always had lots of tourists and kids in attendance. The Schooner Wharf bar was a great supporter and the surrounding waterfront area was always full of pirates and vendors with music and other piratical shenannigans.

Several of the local sailing vessels besides the schooner Wolf wanted pirates on board for their sails. We would fire on each other as we passed to entertain the paying passengers. Often the vessels had pirate musicians on board also.

I was not aware of the bit about Raven taking down the signs after she got fired. Amazing what you can find out years later !! Got any more info about that ?

>>>>> Cascabel

[Diosa De Cancion]

Oh, and then there's the time I met up with a reporter outside the Blockbuster for the Pirates of the Caribbean DVD release event... hhm, now what was her name?

You talked to some reporter, eh? I'm not surprised, you seem the type of braggart a reporter would find easy pickings...but did you talk about the fest or just yourself? (now you have me wondering if I actually still have any of that audio around.... hmmm....)

I was not aware of the bit about Raven taking down the signs after she got fired. Amazing what you can find out years later !! Got any more info about that ?

Oh yeah! If I recall, the signs from Pepsi (I think that was the sponsor at the time) were in her car and she left with them. About a dozen of us were out on the balcony of the southernmost hotel drawing and painting the replacement signs for that one! It was the first year we moved to the beach and all the signs were gone, so we made up LOTS Of new ones on sail cloth! :)

And yep, that was when I took over the shackles...

[hurricane]

Raven had all the signs in her room. When we kicked her out (I can't exactly recall why) she took them with her. One of the sponsors had all these nice banners made - when you look at the photos from that year, they weren't supposed to be sailcloth. Ah, the wonders of improvisation. All I recall is I was volunteered to be the muscle at the kickout, like I'm a muscle kind of guy. We were at the Southernmost.

[hurricane]

Oh, and then there's the time I met up with a reporter outside the Blockbuster for the Pirates of the Caribbean DVD release event... hhm, now what was her name?

You talked to some reporter, eh? I'm not surprised, you seem the type of braggart a reporter would find easy pickings...but did you talk about the fest or just yourself? (now you have me wondering if I actually still have any of that audio around.... hmmm....)

Yeah, I handed her some line that she didn't fall for. I can't remember a word I said that day, I was swooning, I think. And yes, I'm sure the audio is around somewhere... reporters like to keep those things around, I hear.

[Diosa De Cancion]

Yeah, I handed her some line that she didn't fall for. I can't remember a word I said that day, I was swooning, I think. And yes, I'm sure the audio is around somewhere... reporters like to keep those things around, I hear.

HA! Then you married her off to Sir Nigel!

Yeah, the audio has to be around somewhere... I think I probably would have burned those pieces off onto disk or something... yeah, it was that long ago... :)

BTW, I do believe we have now officially hijacked the thread from topic... but since I started it I think I have a right to hijack it...

Edited December 10, 2010 by Diosa De Cancion

[William Brand]

I came along in 2005, when I began inquiring about period/pirate style camping in the fort. Everyone that I asked said that the fort would never allow such a thing, and I was about to let the matter go when I decided to call the fort directly. I got Harry on the phone, and 1 and a half hours and six year later we're pitching a lot of tents. I think that 2005 was one of the few recent years when Hurricane and his crew were not in attendance (having made plans to visit one of the islands of the Caribbean if memory serves), so I didn't have the pleasure then. I met Braze and Cascabel that year and even rode in the back of their truck to the wharf, where I sailed aboard the Wolf for the first time. That year was the first time that anyone yelled the named 'Red Wake' at me across a great distance, when Captain Jim called out to me from the fort top while I was crossing the battlefield. It was also the first year that I met the Viceroy, back in the day when his cannons were smaller and his pension for things that go 'BOOM! was still growing. As a consequence, it was the first year that I ever fired a cannon. The first flag I unfurled at PIP was the Wetlanders flag (The Boar bones), a sign of my bacon obsession. Their was no auction before the mast then, but the trial was lively and the parade was a hoot. It was a year of firsts. My first time to Florida. My first period camping. My first cannon crew. My first pirate event. My first flag. My first tall ship sail. My first all night rooster call experience. My first time gutting a British soldier in battle (sorry Kip).

We ate well, talked a lot, and slept just enough to get through the days.

[hurricane]

Yes, we were in Port Royal that year (2005), the first year it was held in the fort. And Raven returned that year to reprise her role, or so it shows in my photos from that year, the few that I scarfed from others.

And Diosa, you never did get an alimony from that lout, did you? Scurrilous rogue that he is.

Edited December 10, 2010 by hurricane

[Mission]

This really needed to be in its own topic rather than hidden away in the PiP Update! thread. This forum is the perfect place to get folks to chime in - is Bawdy Be a member? I know she would have an insight.

Most of my recollections are in the Surgeon's Journals, but I do recall that William was stalking around the beach on Wednesday in 2007 looking for a good place to set up the camps because it was the first year we were allowed to do that. Four people the year before had had a vision of a re-enactment camp while sitting around the campfire in 2006 - Silkie, William, Patrick and...Captain Jim?

I also was told that Captain Jim wore bucket boots. Patrick has photos. B)

[Diosa De Cancion]

\

And Diosa, you never did get an alimony from that lout, did you? Scurrilous rogue that he is.

yeah....story of my life.... always end up with the poor or quick to set sail pirates instead of those with overflowing treasure chests who want to lavish me with gold and jewels....

On the history topic, I can't do the EARLY years, but I can from about 2003 on...to sort of talk about how we came to be where we are today. That said... Mission, perhaps the name of the threat could be The history of PIP and Fort Taylor Pirate Invasion so we can start to point out that they are two different things and explain how they happened and how they have become what they are today.

[hurricane]

A great idea. I think the more us 'old timers' and newer folk can talk about the two events and how they came to be and what makes them unique and different, the better. It will help others understand and decide how they want to participate in the years to come.

I think I actually started working with Julie in 2001 on the website. I still have a copy of it for nostalgia sake, but didn't make it down until 2003. Here's a Time Tunnel look at the original site:

http://web.archive.org/web/20011225164007/http://www.piratesinparadise.com/index.html

The Entertainment roster and the Schedule are kind of fun to look at.

2003

Here's Diosa's and my first year at PiP. The festival was based at the Historic Seaport then.

http://web.archive.org/web/20031202170415/piratesinparadise.com/schedule/index.html

2004

The first year we were at the fort - the 1st Walk the Plank was on Sunday that year.

http://web.archive.org/web/20041207223544/piratesinparadise.com/schedule/index.html

2005

http://web.archive.org/web/20051127040450/www.piratesinparadise.com/schedule/index.html

2006

http://web.archive.org/web/20061112223347/www.piratesinparadise.com/schedule/index.html

Edited December 10, 2010 by hurricane

[Iron Jon]

... Mission, perhaps the name of the threat could be The history of PIP and Fort Taylor Pirate Invasion so we can start to point out that they are two different things and explain how they happened and how they have become what they are today.

That would be my question - When and why did the two events get separated? As far back as I can can find (searching in the archives here) they were one and the same. It seems that there were always several different venues holding different pirate and nautical themed events all under the umbrella name of "Pirates in Paradise". Now it is forbidden to refer to anything going on inside the fort as being part of PIP.

Maybe the powers that be can explain this to me so I don't misspeak in any future post about any November/December events in Key West.

Here are a few early posts I found that show this quite clearly (highlights and emphasis my own) -

Posted 22 January 2004 - 12:32 AM

I think you might find that some of the changes/additions going on at Pirates in Paradise may just fit some of the needs here - there's talk of an encampment at a very cool, historical venue with lots of chances to live and be Pirates while still attending some of the more public events. It would accept the historical needs of those who like to pursue it and the more open interpretation of piracy at some of the more party oriented events.

Posted 24 August 2004 - 09:59 AM

There seems to be some confusion about when Pirates in Paradise is and how long. So here's the scoop. The festival is still 10 days long, from Nov. 25 through Dec. 5. There's the usual balls, parties, pub runs, sea battles, etc.

The only thing that has changed is the Thieves’ Market. The actual marketplace is a three day event on the last weekend (Dec. 3-5). It will be held at Fort Taylor along with a period encampment, entertainment, fight circles and such. The 10 day festival will culminate at the fort with a big feast in the bricked section.

[hurricane]

It's pretty basic, really. The fort events were taken over by the Friends of the Fort in 2005. It was Harry and a full time employee then. In 2007 the Bone Island Buccaneers took it over on behalf of Friends of the Fort. The two groups worked together on it. It was originally called the Fort Taylor Pirate Fest. This is when the two events actually separated and become their own entities.

When BiB terminated its contract with the fort, Fayma and her team gracefully stepped in and saved the fort event, i.e., what is now known as the Fort Taylor Pyrate Invasion.

Pirates in Paradise is everything that is off-site, including the Pirate Village, Thieve's Market, all the in town events, the Walk the Plank Championships and everything you see on the PiP site this year. It is run by Julie and Finbar, supported by volunteers. It is not associated with the fort or the Friends of the Fort.

I think that should clear it up. I had to edit this a bit to get the sequence of events correct after speaking with the people in the know.

Oh, and that posting is incorrect. There was no camping allowed in 2004. Only two people stayed there for security, Olaf and Sulley. Everyone else was in hotels.

Edited December 10, 2010 by hurricane

[Mission]

I have to admit, I think the splitting of names is extremely silly and mostly has the power to be divisive and confusing. That's IMHO. I still refer to the whole mess as PiP in the Surgeon's Journal.

Speaking of divisive and confusing, has anyone ever seen the TV miniseries called The Lost Room? If so, it might make sense to you when I say that I heard something happened in 2003 that we could refer to as The Event. (Or The Event That Must Not Be Named if you're a Harry Potter fan.) Still, it's part of the history and I am curious about it if it could be brought up in a dispassionate way.

[Diosa De Cancion]

Oh, and that posting is incorrect. There was no camping allowed in 2004. Only two people stayed there for security, Olaf and Sulley. Everyone else was in hotels.

Actually, if you recall there was an 'encampment' but that does not mean people were living here (other than Olaf and Sully) we brought all kinds of things out to make it 'look' like a living history area and Sully and Olaf did games and such. But we were staying in hotels. S

o that post that Jon referred to is more of a knowing the context thing. It looked like a pirate encampment, but no, no one was living there at night. Then they moved forward from that point.

Let's keep rambling and soon I will take all of this and sort out a easy to read (and abbreviated) timeline.

[Diosa De Cancion]

I have to admit, I think the splitting of names is extremely silly and mostly has the power to be divisive, not helpful. That's IMHO. I still refer to the whole mess as PiP in the Surgeon's Journal.

Speaking of divisive, has anyone ever seen the TV miniseries called The Lost Room? If so, it might make sense to you when I say that I heard something happened in 2003 that we could refer to as The Event. (Or The Event That Must Not Be Named if you're a Harry Potter fan.) Still, it's part of the history and I am curious about it if it could be brought up in a dispassionate way.

Well, the way things are currently sitting, the two things have been split. Therefore it would be best if people were able to understand the difference between the two... and know which one they want to register for, etc if they want to take part.

Then PM me this 2003 'event' so I can see if I know what you're talking about.

[Mission]

I don't know what it was. It's shrouded in mystery like The Event on the TV show. I heard the park kind of saved PiP from ending by moving it inside the fort in 2004. (If I PM you then it's still all secret and the mumbled rumors continue.)

[hurricane]

I have to admit, I think the splitting of names is extremely silly and mostly has the power to be divisive and confusing. That's IMHO. I still refer to the whole mess as PiP in the Surgeon's Journal.

It's really just fundamental Marketing 101. Dilution doesn't benefit any brand... that's why we still have PCs and Macs. They are aimed at different audiences. They have different features. No different here. These events have always had different audiences and offerings in addition to different organizers/owners. So what's wrong with educating everyone so they can make an informed decision about what they want to attend and to use the proper brand name for it?

And as for the rumors about the 2004 move - nothing could be further from the truth. I was involved in the decision to move it to the fort beach that year (as was Diosa). We could have stayed at the seaport but the event was pretty spaced out and there was no synergy with the merchants and entertainment, who were spread out. Harry offered to move it to the beach so we had a single space. No big secret there. It would have just stayed at the seaport otherwise, or we would have moved it elsewhere. It had five different homes over the years before the fort took it in in '04.

Edited December 10, 2010 by hurricane

[Diosa De Cancion]

I don't know what it was. It's shrouded in mystery like The Event on the TV show. I heard the park kind of saved PiP from ending by moving it inside the fort in 2004. (If I PM you then it's still all secret and the mumbled rumors continue.)

yeah, but then I am part of the secret and that's way more fun than being on the outside :)

[Iron Jon]

So, I think I understand it... Pirates in Paradise is now the retail and marketing side of things happening in town, and Fort Taylor Pirate Invasion is the re-enacting, volunteer side operating under the ever changing rules of the park system which happened to keep out some of the vendors due to historical accuracy in previous years??? Or am I still not getting it?

Like Mission, I still don't see the need to say that FTPI is not part of PIP. I think they will always be combined here on the Pub since we are so used to it now.

[hurricane]

Actually, PiP is the Cultural, Arts and Entertainment side of everything. It's mission is to celebrate Key West's Rich & Colorful Maritime Heritage, which extends to the Navy presence, the Conch Armed Forces, the historic ships docked at the Annex, the local museums and the artists and performers.

The Fort Taylor Pyrate Invasion are those activities geared to re-enactors and history buffs who want to deliver an authentic representation of the times, from Buccaneer to Wrecker.

I would assume the Friends of the Fort would like to get more value out of their branding so they can draw more people to the fort. Using the Pirates in Paradise name only increases the visibility of the events held around town and at the annex. It doesn't promote the event at the fort at all. But that's each person's choice.

[Hawkyns]

Sounds like a good idea, Hurricane. If we use FTPI when we talk about it, here and on other boards and in conversation, it will up the visibility. There is diversity, and what we do is different from what was happening on Truman Wharf. The more we can separate the two names, the more we should be able to generate interest to come and see what we are doing and to get people to seek us out.

Stynky, I'm in favour of splitting the topics. How about we name the overall section Key West Pirate Festivals and then have 2 separate subheadings, one for FTPI and another for PiP?

Hawkyns

[Iron Jon]

Actually, PiP is the Cultural, Arts and Entertainment side of everything. It's mission is to celebrate Key West's Rich & Colorful Maritime Heritage, which extends to the Navy presence, the Conch Armed Forces, the historic ships docked at the Annex, the local museums and the artists and performers.

The Fort Taylor Pyrate Invasion are those activities geared to re-enactors and history buffs who want to deliver an authentic representation of the times, from Buccaneer to Wrecker.

Those two descriptions still sound like the same basic objective to me, there must be more to it. The battles and encampments going on inside the fort also show Key West's maritime heritage and history, probably even more so than pirate themed contests held in the local establishments and Thieves Market vendors selling pirate and nautical related items. Why are they still under PIP name but the rest is not? I'm not trying to be argumentative, but seeing as I was the one called out for preferring to do only one part this year and mistakenly calling it PIP, I would like to know. Aren't we all pirates here after all, how is it that the two things are supposedly geared to different audiences like you say.

Edited December 10, 2010 by Iron Jon

[Iron Jon]

Stynky, I'm in favour of splitting the topics. How about we name the overall section Key West Pirate Festivals and then have 2 separate subheadings, one for FTPI and another for PiP?

Hawkyns

Great Idea!!

[Mission]

I also heard something else about Mallory Square where the police got involved. (Come to think of it, I could ask Shay look that one up in the police blotter in the Citizen's archives to see if it's true or not.)