Port Washington Pirate Fest 2008 – Part 2

“There’s a hole in the middle of the sky”
At one point during the day Sunday when the great monsoons of the day started, I found myself in one of the marketplace pavilion tents. I noticed a steady stream of water falling in the middle of the tent. Rather than have patrons who weren’t paying attention walk into the stream, I decided I’d have some fun with it. I looked up and noticed there was a hole in the tent in that spot, so I positioned myself directly under the hole and started thinking of what to do. Then the song “theres a hole at the bottom of the sea” popped in my head, and I began parodying it.

“There’s a hole in the middle of the sky, There’s a hole in the middle of the sky, There’s a hole, There’s a hole, there’s a hole in the middle of the sky.”
“There’s a pirate who is wet under the hole in the middle of the sky”,
“There’s a pirate who is wet under the hole in the middle of the sky”, There’s a hole, There’s a hole, there’s a hole in the middle of the sky.”
“There’s a hat on the head of the pirate who is wet under the hole in the middle of the sky”, “There’s a hat on the head of the pirate who is wet under the hole in the middle of the sky”, “There’s a hole, There’s a hole, there’s a hole in the middle of the sky.”
“There’s an oar on the hat on the head of the pirate who is wet under the hole in the middle of the sky”, “There’s an oar on the hat on the head of the pirate who is wet under the hole in the middle of the sky”, “There’s a hole, There’s a hole, there’s a hole in the middle of the sky.”

And just as I was about to add the mug verse:
“Theres a mug that is almost full on the oar on the hat on the head of the pirate who is wet under the hole in the middle of the sky”

The mug shop next to me knocked one of their ceramic mugs off the shelf and broke a chunk out of it. To that I announced “Look 10% off on that mug right there!” The shop keeper cracked up, and I left.

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Port Washington Pirate Fest 2008 – Part1

This past weekend was the Port Washington Pirate Festival, 2008 edition. (now with extra soggy pirates!) Sadly we had a lot of rain, and some evil storms that managed to cancel a lot of the events. However the rain didn’t stop us from having fun. I’ll try to recall some of the better moments over the next few days, but for now I will start with a best and worst list, as is traditional.

Bests

• Getting to perform with my friends again; Ian, TJ, Al, Paul, Bob, Mike, and the full ensemble cast.
• Breakfast with the pirates
• I didn’t cause a single kid to burst into tears this time
• Special family visitors
• “Official” pancake voting / renaming ceremony.
• Name that kid! Behold the psychic powers of John T. Hawser
• Poke Mon, the Jamaican pirate game
• “Look a rhinoceros eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich”
• Bacon Boy
• Sharing lessons
• The great bagel puzzle
• The guest book
• The legend of Bluetooth the pirate
• “There’s a hole in the middle of the sky”
• Sailing on board the windy
• Singing “Haul Away Joe” with Tom Kastle, while under sail, on board the windy.
• Impromptu shanty set with “Governor Washington” while trapped under a shelter with some patrons
• Surprise, you’re a bartender
• “Personal Private Pirate Parade”
• Jennifer’s “Sing with me” sign
• Getting brought up on stage with Bounding Main, for Health to the company
• Pickle girl and 4 of 1

Worsts

• Tornado warnings
• Rain
• Having to break out my “authoritative” voice on a little girl
• Rain
• Soggy tent / Air Mattress
• Rain
• Missing the other two cruises I was scheduled for due to storms
• Rain
• Do I even have any feet left?

Pure magic

Sometimes things happen that just solidify in my mind why I put myself through the physically exhausting experience of interacting with people at faires and festivals. This weekend had a number of moments, but one in particular stands out. This one nearly broke me on the spot, and really… who wants to see a grizzly pirate tearing up…

Close to the end of the day yesterday Ian and I were wandering playing with patrons. He stepped away for a few minutes to talk to some people and I was left alone interacting with people as they strolled by. These interactions are not much more than a wal-mart greeter “good day, i hope ye be enjoyin yer day” type thing, when this little girl and her mother and father approached me. She was about five or six and had a definite case of shyness. She wore a pink princess shirt, and darker pink shorts, with an eye patch pushed up into her hair. I could tell she was really interested in talking to me though because her eyes were huge, and she just couldn’t take them off me. I knelt down to eliminate some of the physical barrier and spoke to her. I asked her if she was having a good time. She nodded. Her mother then spoke, “we’ve been looking for you all day!” “What? Ye have, well you can stop lookin’ now as ye done found me”. The mother chuckled, and at that the little girl produced a pink sequined purse she had been hiding. She raised it up in front of her, and very carefully unzipped the zipper. She then every so gingerly reached two fingers into the purse, her eyes still transfixed on mine. She struggled for a moment to try to find what she was looking for then ever so slowly and cautiously drew a small glass stone from her purse. I smiled, and her mother spoke “She’s had it with her since January!” I nearly lost it right there. I then smiled again and asked her to show me once more, “What color lass?” giving me a moment to fight for composure. She did, and so I leaned in closely and asked her “So you’ve kept it safe ?” she nodded. “good lass, and has it worked for you?” at that her eyes exploded with delight, and a glow came across her face that could have lit the darkest of night, her head began to nod so vigorously that I was afraid she might end up hurting herself. “Awww good lass, you keep it safe and it will always work for you, I promise!” she nodded and we parted ways. I then walked off away from people to give myself a much needed moment to recover, and to drink it all in.
Anyone who says there is no such thing as magic needs to have their head, and their heart examined. It’s all around you, you just have to know where to look.