Pirate Events

Items listed in gold are amongst Bilgemunky’s Favorites, which he routinely attends.

January

• Port Radisson Pirates Rendezvous – Sacramento, California, USA
  • Join me this January (2010) as we get this fledgeling event started right! Music by Skip Henderson and the Starboard Watch, and also Paradoxx. Contests, mixers, and plenty of debauchery – plus the very BEST pirate DJ on the planet, Bilgemunky!

Febuary

• Gasparilla Pirate Festival – Gasparilla, Florida, USA
• Kansas City Area Pirate’s Ball – Weston, Missouri, USA
• Reenactorfest – Wheeling, Illinois, USA
  • Pirate-friendly, although not pirate-specific. I fine opportunity for the historical pirate to hang out with Romans and WWII soldiers.

March

• NOLA Pyrate Week – New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
  • An opportunity to support worthy charities by day, and party like pirates by night. NOLA Pyrate Week raised a reported $10,000 in ‘09, and featured all sorts of pirate excitement for its attendees. 2010 looks to be shaping up in its own right with plans for a pirate fashion show, multiple parades, pirate vendors, and the exquisite pirate band, Pyrates!

April

• PyrateCon – New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
  • As of the latest official info I’ve received, PyrateCon 2010 is indeed cancelled, with a possibility of restarting in 2011.
• Fells Point Privateer Day – Baltimore, Maryland, USA
  • They call it Privateer “Day”, but from what I can tell it’s been shaping up into more of a weekend lately. Honestly, I don’t know what to expect of this event for 2010, save that enough of the pirates I trust are raving about it – so much so that I’ve booked my flight. Plus, with the support of Pirates Magazine and their Devil’s Dozen festivities, it’s bound to be a party worth remembering!
• Shore Leave New Orleans – New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
  • And another New Orleans event that overlaps with the others, this is a brand new event, so we’ll see where it leads!
• Corpus Christi Buccaneer Days – Corpus Christi, Texas, USA

May

June

• Northern California Pirate Festival – Vallejo, California, USA
  • One of the youngest, yet already one of the largest and best run pirate festivals in the nation. Innovative entertainment, pirate VIPs from print, music, and film, and loads of pirate vendors in a large fairgrounds format.
• John Levique Pirate Days – Madeira Beach, FL, USA

July

• Seattle Seafair Pirate Festival – Seattle, Washington, USA
• Pagosa Springs Renaissance and Pirate Festival – Pagosa Springs, Colorado, USA

August

• Michigan Pirate Festival – Grand Haven, Michigan, USA
  • Very small, but all heart. I don’t recommend traveling cross-country for this one, but if you’re in the neighborhood it’s not to be missed. With only 6 or 7 vendors and a couple of acts, you’ll burn through it quickly, but the quality of the offerings puts many larger festivals to shame.

September

• Portland Pirate Festival – Portland, Oregon, USA
• St. Louis Pirate Festival – St. Louis, Missouri, USA
  • A very decent pirate festival. Its structure isn’t much different than a pirate-themed renaissance faire, but it does still boast plenty of pirate games and entertainment, an occasional pirate act of note, and a few high-end pirate vendors.
• The London Pirate Festival – London, England
• Toshiba Tall Ships Festival – Dana Point, California, USA
• Pyrate Daze – Long Beach, California, USA

October

November

• Saint Augustine Pirate Gathering – St. Augustine, Florida, USA

December

• Pirates in Paradise – Key West, Florida, USA
  • Smaller than I’d expected, but also the coolest and truest pirate “reenactment” event I’ve ever seen. And nothing beats the afterparties at night – never in your life will you experience a more authentic, emmersive pirate tavern experience!