Town Crier Articles

 

The annual Blackbeard Pirate Festival returns to Hampton from June 3 to 5 at Mill Point Park. The event features costumed re-enactors, cannon battles, mermaids, music, vendors, lectures, and fireworks.

 

On Friday night, the festival kicks off with a ‘Pirate's Parlay’ from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Mill Point Park. This free party is a family-friendly event featuring a performance by the Clan MacCool Band. The public is encouraged to show up in their finest piratical attire.

 

On Saturday, the festival runs from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and returns on Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

 

 

Events include:

 

Character vessels: Included is Blackbeard's sailing ship Adventure, Royal Navy vessels Jane and Ranger, and merchant vessels which engage in battles on the Hampton River Saturday and Sunday.

 

Character actors: Dozens of professional pirate re-enactors, and living history interpreters from all points of the compass will be in attendance, along with Helena the Mermaid, Fins and Seashells, Circus Siren Mermaid, and more.

 

Weekend performers include Mark Miller/Rusty Cutlass, The Brigands, Chaste Treasure, Press Gang, the Natterjacks, and Field Musick Virginia.

 

On Saturday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., scholars Dr. Jamie Goodall, author of “Pirates of the Chesapeake Bay: From the Colonial Era to the Oyster Wars,” and Jeremy Moss, author of “The Life and Tryals of the Gentleman Pirate, Major Stede Bonnet,” will offer free lectures at St. John's Church, sponsored by the Hampton History Museum.

 

The Museum will also hold its annual Steam Punk Show Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. (also free and open to the public).

 

Fireworks over the Hampton River will be on Saturday, June 4, at 9 p.m.

 

The festival was previously named the third-best pirate festival in North America by USA Today.

 

For more information, visit the Pirate Festival website.