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| St Johns Pirate Festival a Swashbuckling Success |
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 | | Submitted Photo | | Cherie Hagley (left) and Darin Tillinghast (right) came to the festival in Darin's Eastward Ho sloop Nirvana and dressed in style |
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By Peter Marsh
On the grey weekend of September 20-21 that marked the end of summer, the sky was gloomy but the scene at Cathedral Park under the majestic St. Johns Bridge was anything but bleak. It was time for Portland's annual Pirate Festival! Several acres of parkland were fenced off and turned into a magical meeting ground for pirates of all ages and styles.
The most stunning feature of this pirate revelry was the shear number of people in costume: at times, it seemed like fully half the crowd was dressed in piratical garb ranging from the authentic-looking re-enactors to youngsters of all ages wearing whatever they could find lurking at the bottom of their closets! Their inspiration ranged from Halloween to motorcycle leather with a fair helping of punk, belly dance and thrift shop thrown in to liven the mix.
The admission fee in this family-friendly event included unlimited time for kids on the inflatable playgrounds, climbing wall and pirate games like hoisting the skull and cross bones and tying knots, plus non-stop music from bands as varied as Captain Bogg & Salty and the Brothers of the Baladi.
Mock battles on the beach between the redcoats and the pirates took place every two hours with an abundance of cannon and small arms fire echoing off the girders of bridge piers. Thankfully, sword-fighting contests were restricted to the demonstration area, since their were enough swords being worn on the grounds to equip a small navy!
Among the traditional skills on display, blacksmith Jim Rich stood out. He is is a professional blacksmith, tall ship sailor and 18th century musician who uses traditional tools and techniques. He provided the tools in the blacksmith shop scene from "Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl" and forged the knives carried by the pirates, including Jack Sparrow, for all three films.
Jim has sailed for years as professional crew on the brig Lady Washington and the privateer schooner Lynx. He sings and plays 18th century woodwinds with several Northwest early music ensembles and also performs sea-songs & chanteys of the 17th & 18th centuries.
I'm sure many parents are still explaining to their children that the "Captain Jack Sparrow" who greeted everyone at the gate was not the real movie character-so accurate was his impression. He was, in fact, Dave Nichols, one of the most influential and respected men in the "V-Twin industry" and editor of two of America's leading motorcycle publications.
Down at the dock, four yachts were moored, with a couple more anchored out. All their crews were also dressed for the occasion. The 48' Chinese junk Flying Dragon, owned by Sergei and Nancy Joslin and a familiar sight on local waters for many years, was pressed into duty as the resident pirate ship, equipped with a gun on the foredeck, and aided the pirates during the battles on shore.
This year, the Portland Pirate Festival was partnered with the Children's Cancer Association, a local Portland non-profit that brings the joy of music, the magic of wishes, the power of information and compassion to seriously ill children and their families.
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