Tag Archives: pirate festival

nummar tríggir — Pirates Arrrrrr!

Posted by KiwiKaboodle on 25 July 2011 Comments Off

So it’s been ages. I had this great blog done all about the most awesome Pirate Festival coming up in Mahone Bay .. and then I had to rush off with the kids and my husband deleted it all! Arrrrgh! So I felt totally dejected and walked away. But I guess I’m an adult, so I’d better just jump back on board here, right?

As I had mentioned in the past, there was once a Wooden Boat Festival in Mahone Bay. Over the past few years it has had a couple changes, first to the Classic Boat Festival, and then to the Pirate Festival & Regatta. I believe I also mentioned how incredibly, undeniably appropriate a pirate festival was for Mahone Bay. Why? Where can I even begin? Legends of pirate treasure abound in this neck of the woods (this leg of the ocean?) .. Oak Island where people still to this day are looking for hidden treasure. A convaluted story starting with an American Privateer ship named The Teazer which was captured by the Brits in 1812, the Captain took an oath to never again bear arms against the King to save his neck (literally) and returned to the US of A .. only to receive another letter of mark in 1813 to recommence his privateering days. (the life of a pirate ♪) She was instantly successful and therefore instantly sought out by the Brits. On her last attempt to flee the Brits she sailed into our little piece of heaven, attempting to use the many islands of Mahone Bay as cover .. alas, it didn’t work and before the ship could be capture the captain caught his ship on fire and the day ended with an incredibly dramatic explosion from all the munitions aboard. Wow. The ship still haunts the harbour, and part of the festival is the reinactment of the Young Teazer’s final journey ……….. although instead of munitions the light fireworks instead, which makes for a very happy ending indeed. Goodness I could go on and on, but let’s just leave it at this: Mahone Bay is, quite simple, The Perfect Setting for a festival involving pirates.

There is so much jam-packed into this weekend, and it is this very weekend. The one coming up. (Ahh! I’m so excited! I love this festival!!) You’ve got to be here. You just do. There are boat races, crafts for kids, pirates all though town (under strict contact NOT to do any pillaging or .. uh .. other things pirates are so famous for). And that’s not all. Mermaids. Does the thought of a mermaid make your imagination start to sing they way it does mine? Mr. Langille, across the road from us, he has mermaids in his pond and my kids often watch him when he goes to feed them. But they’re rather shy mermaids. A real mermaid is coming to the Pirate Festival, and she’s going to make every child’s day. Raina, the mermaid, will be visiting our fine shores, and surely you can’t miss that. I’ve seen the foam on the ocean, which my grandmother (from the Faroe Islands) always told me came from mermaids once they had died. But never have I had a chance to meet a real one. There’s no way anyone can keep me away … surely you won’t stay away either.

Come to Mahone Bay and experience what is perhaps the most awesome festival of the summer … it’s a very close tie between this and the Folk Harbour Festival coming up in August in Lunenburg.

Music makes my heart beat, but pirates & mermaids make it sing …

Pirates and the like…

Posted by KiwiKaboodle on 11 June 2011 Comments Off

So we have a Pirate Festival in Mahone Bay every year. It was once the Wooden Boat Festival, then the Classic Boat Festival and finally the Pirate Festival… I think it will stay Piratey. It’s awesome – pirates wandering through town always happy to pose for a photo, and a plethora of activites for everyone, young and old: crafts, storytellers, lots & lots of live music, boating, races, crafters, face painting, oh my heavens this list just won’t end. It’s awesome and I highly recommend it.

Why Pirates, you might find yourself asking. Well, it’s kinda cool. This part of Nova Scotia was once a thriving pirate port! Struth! Rum runners galore, of course, but pirates too. Nice, deep, hidden harbours. Surely you’ve heard of Oak Island? ’nuff said. So, in June of 1917 a pirate ship called The Teazer was being chased down by the ‘good guys’ (five shipsfull of British ‘good guys’) and, well, to make a long story short, it ended up exploding most spectacularly. The ship’s first Lieutenant had apparnetly set fire to her to prevent her from being captured, but the fire had reached the powder magazine before the crew could escape. Only eight of the ship’s 36-man crew survived, and most were horribly maimed. Some of the men who died were buried in St. Stephen’s cemetery in Chester. When the moon is nearly full and a fog blows in from offshore, many residents maintain that a ghostly Teaser replays her last voyage across Mahone Bay…. and certainly on the last night of the Pirate Festival, two ships venture out onto the Bay and replay the scene .. ending with a spectacular display of fireworks.

Awesome, no?

Music, Music, Music

Posted by KiwiKaboodle on 1 June 2011 1 comments

So you already know all about what a lovely scenic part of Nova Scotia this is, but what about music? Somehow Cape Breton has cornered the market on musical prowess — and I don’t intend to take anything away from Cape Breton’s unique, footstomping musical good times: surely the only place you can find something similar is in the backcountry of Scotland or Ireland. It’s truly magic. But Lunenburg County has it’s own world-famous musical talents floating around too … for instance, you never know when you’ll be able to hear Old Man Luedecke playing. There are all kinds of internationally famous musicians who call our county their home, and they often perform around here – sometimes even free concerts! What more could you ask for!! I found an interesting event which might captivate some of you musical enthusiasts which runs for the duration of the summer: the South Shore Bluegrass Association is having an Acoustic Music Jam every Thursday starting June 2nd, 7:00pm-10:00pm at the Bluegrass park in New Canada. Admission is only $2 and canteen snacks are available. Everyone is welcome – jammers or listeners alike.

And this isn’t the only ongoing musical event – the bandstands in Mahone Bay and Lunenburg often have live free performances throughout the summer … and then there’s Mahone Bay’s Pirate Festival and Lunenburg’s Folkharbour Festival … but let’s save that for another day .. too much wow in one day might scare you off…