We’re still in the dead of winter, which for many pirates means cold days, colder nights, loads of snow, and not a whole heck of a lot to do with ourselves from a piratey perspective. The good news? Spring is just around the corner. The bad? It ain’t here yet.

Actually, there is some more good news. If you’re anywhere near the Wisconsin/Illinois area – as am I – then there are several piratey things to keep you occupied this February. We start with the biggest, that being Reenactorefest(Feb 6-8) in Wheeling, Il. Now, normally I’m not entirely psyched about a general reenactor event – I like to focus on pirates, and I don’t need to have what I love watered down by gold miners, WW2 soldiers, and so on. But this year’s Reenactorfest has asked me to host two full days of Bilgemunky’s Pirate Lounge, where I’ll be blasting the pirate tunes as the rum freely flows (it’s an open liquor event, so buy it in the hotel or bring it from home – it’s all good!) I’ll get the ballroom properly piratified and brimming with your favorite Pirate-Core music – all that’s missing is a bunch of appropriately dressed scalliwags to make the event complete (although if you lack pirate garb, you’re still more than welcome to join us!)

Next up is the OshKosh Trade Show (Feb 21-22) in Wisconsin. Again, this is a general reenactment event. But if you’re anywhere near the area it’s a great chance to stock up on your pirate necessities, be they fabric, compasses and eateries, blades, or whatever. It goes on both Saturday and Sunday, and while I don’t have any official role at this event (save for shopping), I fully plan to attend for at least one day.

The month will cap off with the Chicago Maritime Festival (Feb 28), where I’ll again be sharing my multi-media presentation, Pirate-Core: Sea Shanties in the 21st Century. Covering Pirate-Core’s earliest roots of Ben Franklin right up through today’s greatest bands, this 45 minute presentation is full of music and visuals that will make even the Pirate-Core novice into a certified expert.

January and February are perhaps the toughest times to be a pirate in the midwest – the holidays are behind us, and we can’t yet hope that spring might show itself. But with January nearly past, and a February with a pirate-friendly event near every weekend, we just might survive this thing yet! Hope some of you can join me!