By Liz Mitchell
Aaarrrggggh! Tickets sell out quickly and you best plan now to be here for this August 5, 6 and 7 weekend event on Bald Head Island. Check online at oldbaldy.org for a package matey! We’ll begin with a treasure hunt, some scalawag schools and a pirate pub night on Friday. Think about shrimp, barbecue, fried chicken and adult beverages among guns and canons in a blazing battle. A pirate party, more for young scalawags and entertainment continue during Blackbeard’s Blowout Saturday, and then the wind down is a pirate and pancake breakfast Sunday. B
attles, booty, bragging rights and black powder plus art and heirlooms add up to plenty of fun on a three-day weekend for every age and interest.
Scalawag schools teach youngsters ages four through ten a thing or two about walking, talking and acting like a pirate. Blackbeard’s Crew, from the home port of Hampton, VA, will set up a pirate encampment with a living history performance depicting an accurate representation of seafaring life in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Rusty Cutlass is a band of pirates which leaves their coastal plundering of Florida and their official pirate post at Disneyworld to invade our island and perform pirate tunes, authentic sea schanties and contemporary nautical favorites with vocal harmonies. Captain Horatio Sinbad invades the island on his authentic sailing ship with a look at years past.
The pirate craziness is actually a fundraiser for preservation projects at our Old Baldy Lighthouse which is the oldest lighthouse in North Carolina boasting 194 years. Be sure to tour the lighthouse too. The annual weekend party also celebrates National Lighthouse Day. Bald Head Island is only accessible via ferry from the mainland at Southport. Call 910-457-7481 for more details or tickets.