Has anyone been here before? A friend and I were thinking of checking it out, but their website (http://www.alexbay.org/premierevents.html) doesn't seem to have much.
Rebecca,
I live right near there. I have never been, but from talking to a few people who have gone, it is very crowded, and is just another excuse for people to get together and get drunk. They say it is nothing like a renaissance festival. ( gee, you mean you don't get drunk at ren faires :D ;) )
I have seen pictures posted in the local newspaper from years past, and they do have a pirate ship thats sails i nto the harbor and they put on a mock battle.
They have a small parade and people line both sides of the steert to watch. Looked very crowded in the pictures, but other then the piad actors i saw no one in pirate garb.
If you do go, the town is not that big, so get there early, caus e it will be crowded. There are a lot of liitle gift shops and restaurants, plus it is a popular area for boaters and fisher men. So summer time it is packed there. Plus Boldt castle and Singer Castle are there which are pouplar tourist attractions.
I went up there on Monday, more for Boldt Castle than for the pirate fest. I took a 2hr boat trip (the 2 Nations one from Uncle Sam) and then explored Boldt Castle for a couple hrs. When we got back, I walked through the main street of town. There were a lot of pirate decorations and stuff for sale, but I only saw a few pirates (besides all the little kids). One group were walking back after just finishing up some sort of act, and the other group was making balloon animals (and swords and hats) in front of some restaurant. I wound up buying a really nice pirate hat, since I've been eyeing that one for a while. But it didn't turn out to be a very piratey day for me, as a whole. It seemed like it was much more aimed towards small children.