Ahoy, ye scurvy skallywags. Time to grab your buckos and head to the beautiful shire of Yorktown, Va, over the weekend of April 27-28, when the historic district will be awash in rogues, wenches, and all sorts of trouble-minded folk gathering for the annual Yorktown Pirate Invasion. Whether you’re an old salt or a landlubber, there’s a jolly good time to be had by all.
The action occurs at Riverwalk Landing near the base of the Coleman Memorial Bridge, but the celebrations will send privateers and buccaneers alike staggering all throughout town. Bring a few doubloons for the Pirate Invasion Market, which kicks off the Festival each day (8 a.m. Saturday, 9 a.m. on Sunday, allowing you to sleep off the grog a wee bit). Get the lads and lassies enrolled in Pirate School and Training while you sing shanties with your mates, or pick up some plunder at the Smuggler’s Auction at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. There’s a Pirate Trial at 2 p.m., with the potential of taking a particularly scurvy dog on a long walk off a short plank.
Seafaring marauders of all ages will also find blacksmith demonstrations, a town-wide scavenger hunt, and a pirate encampment that will bring you back to the 17th and 18th centuries. Roving musicians, dancers, and storytellers will be on hand to swap the legends and lessons in between blasts of the cannon.
If you haven’t yet got your sea legs under you, a free trolley is available to shuttle you around the different destinations.
So raise the Jolly Roger, amass the whole crew, and heave-ho your way to Yorktown for a weekend of outright shenanigans. It’s the type of fun that doesn’t stop, even when you’ve struck colors.
