Pirate Faire coming to Gloucester Harbor
Pirates are coming to Gloucester.
Thankfully, they’re not the real ones, who were mostly unpleasant, murderous and not really much fun.
These pirates are musicians and actors and people who enjoy dressing up in outlandish costumes.
The New England Pirate Faire will be in Gloucester’s Stage Fort Park, facing Gloucester Harbor, for two weekends, June 19 and 20 and June 26, and 27. Hours are 10 to 5 p.m.
This area was the site for the city's first settlement, in 1623. Some 1,800 people were at last year’s one-weekend pirate extravaganza. The faire was in Salem for five years prior to moving to Gloucester.
This year’s expanded faire offers family fun with ocean breezes, a small beach, rocks and boulders, puppets and marionettes, food vendors, a balloon artist, music, songs, sea shanties, a Tortuga Marketplace (where you can buy jewelry or a pirate cutlass) and, of course, pirates.
The pirate characters include Edward “Blackbeard” Teach, Anne Bonney, and the Barbarossa Brothers. There are also picnic tables, parking and the charm and little shops of nearby downtown Gloucester
And many of the pirates will be singing. The two music directors (and pirates) perform pirate songs, Celtic music and Sea shanties around Boston as the popular group Ice Cream Social.
The faire is in the Essex National Historic Area (978-281-8865). The park contains Gloucester's visitor and welcoming center, where staffers have information on everything from whale-watching boat schedules to where to find good seafood dinners.
Gloucester, some 30 easy miles north of Boston, offers on-site premium parking at Stage Fort Park for $15 per car, and there is free street parking within walking distance.
The Essex National Historic Area website is http://www.essexheritage.org/sites/stage_fort_park.shtml
Posted by Dan Sheridan
