Talk of the Town - May 2017

Pirate Day in the Bay

We've got the Pirate Day schedule of events:  Colorful, costumed rogues fly the Jolly Roger over Bay St. Louis on the 19th and 20th of May.  Everyone's welcome to join the swashbuckling fun during this friendly festival.
- story and photos by Ellis Anderson 

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Pirate Day 2016

Pirate Day Event Schedule

"Pirate Central" is located at the corner of Beach Blvd and Main Street.
Don't forget the parking garage on the 100 block of Court Street.  There's lots of handicapped parking too!  

Friday – May 19th, 2017
4 pm – Event Begins with music at "Pirate Central"
4 pm - 7 pm - Music by DJ Ronald Avery
5:30 pm – Pirates' Arrival
5:45 pm – Pirates' Capture of the Mayor
6 pm – 9 pm - Pirates' Pub Crawl & Scavenger Hunt (Tickets required $20)
9 pm  - Captain Longbeard’s “Pirate Proclamation”
7 pm– 11 pm - Live Music by Pitcher Point

Saturday, May 20, 2017
11 am:  Music starts at Pirate Central
11 am:  Kids Zone opens
11 am:  Vendors Open
11am - 1pm:  Music by DJ Ronald Avery
1 pm:  Pirate Costume Contest - Children and Adults
2 pm:  Meet and Greet with Captain Longbeard’s Pirates
3 pm – 5 pm:  Pirate Parade Pre-Party and Pirate Central
5:30 pm:  Pirate Parade to the Ugly Pirate to meet the LaFitte Brothers
7 pm:  Pirate’s arrive from Parade @ Pirate Central
7:30:  Mayor’s Proclamation
8 pm – 11pm:  Live entertainment by the Regulators 
9 pm:  Firework display sponsored by the Silver Slipper Casino. Fireworks will be over the beach at the Bay St. Louis Harbor.

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​Swashbucklers from across the Gulf Coast will converge on Bay St. Louis on May 19th and 20th for the fourth Pirate Day in the Bay.
 
The family-friendly weekend includes a costume contest, theatrics by costumed participants, a pirates’ marketplace, live music and an invasion parade. 
 
For adults over 21, on Friday night there’s a pub-crawl/scavenger hunt, with a treasure chest prize filled with $1000 of loot.  The weekend of buccaneering will be capped off on Saturday night with a beachfront fireworks display. 

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Pirate Day 2016

The event is sponsored by the Mystic Krewe of the Seahorse (MKOTS), an organization created in 2014 with the mission of supporting the local economy while raising money for charities.  The group also sponsors other events through the year, including a popular Lundi Gras golf cart parade through Bay St. Louis and a putt-putt golf tournament. 
 
The story that Pirate Day is built around is loosely – very loosely – based on a historic maritime battle that took part in Bay St. Louis during the War of 1812. The tiny ship charged with protecting the town was the Seahorse. 
 
While the famous pirate Jean Lafitte and his crews fought alongside Andrew Jackson to save the city of New Orleans, there was no evidence that any pirate fought in the Battle of Bay St. Louis or crewed on the Seahorse.

The real history didn’t provide much opportunity for costuming, so the Mystik Krewe of the Seahorse founders made up one.   In their fictional account, a fierce pirate, Captain Longbeard, used Bay St. Louis as his headquarters until valiant citizens rebelled and drove the scalawags out of town.
 
Members of the organization role play as the story’s characters over the two days of the event. There’s no charge for most of the events and members of the public are invited to dress up and join in the spectacle or simply watch the fun.  

“You don’t have to be a krewe member to participate,” says MKOTS 2017 president John Rosetti.  “The more, the merrier!” 
 
Last year’s event was attended by at least 2,000 people.  This year, organizers are expecting an even larger turnout since the event’s been moved from late June to May, when cooler temperatures should make costuming more comfortable.   
 
Check the Seahorse website for schedule updates that may occur before the event.     Sponsorships and pub crawl tickets are available here.

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Pirate Day, 2015