12 Oct 2022
A Complete Recap of PiratePalooza 18
This is a recap of PiratePalooza 18, created to encapsulate the events of the day, because those who attended have no memory of what actually happened.
The 18th running of the PiratePalooza Pubcrawl & Pubsing happened on Saturday, September 17th, 2022, in the City of Decatarrrr. PiratePalooza 18 represented a festive return to live-action piracy, following the long, strange period that included Curse of the Commodore (PP2020) and Grog Quest (PP2021).
There were many smiles to be seen at PiratePalooza 18, though not as many teeth.
This year marked the arrival of fresh pirates, many from the shores of Newcastle. We welcome all of you who joined us in the sacking of the city and hope that you will consider joining us once again in Septembarrrr of 2023 (final date to be announced).
Twain’s Brewpub & Billiards
Two long years spent down in the hold was far more than many sailors could stomach, breeding dissatisfaction, displeasure, and dysentery – and so it was that an oily haze of disgruntlement hung low over this year’s gathering at Twain’s.
Between sips of beer and snippets of shanties, pirates were quietly muttering amongst themselves and casting ugly glares in the direction of their oblivious captain.
As the crew gathered for the traditional reading of the invasion orders for the City of Decatarrrr, their frustration exploded into open mockery: interrupting the captain’s speech every few seconds with ugly puns and hilarious double entendres. No sooner had he finished reading the orders than the crew rose up in unison to bind him in chains and call for a new captain, dragging the old one behind them like a rusty old anchor.
O’Sullivan’s Irish Pub
It wasn’t until the crew had reached O’Sullivan’s Irish Pub and gotten two rounds under their belts that they realized that their old captain had slipped the chains and legged it out of town. By that point they didn’t care, as good old O’Sullivan had cracked open fresh casks of ale.
O’Sullivan’s teemed with pirates for more than an hour. Those that couldn’t fit inside could be found staggering up and down the sidewalk, licking the walls in a neighboring ice cream shoppe, scuffling for rum, or curled up in some nearby bushes.
They would occasionally burst into song.
Then they hurled insults.
Then they sang about hurling insults.
And then they just hurled.
So much hurling.
It was quite honestly the biggest mess since the last time the pirates invaded Decatarrrr, so this recap of PiratePalooza 18 may prove historically useful at some later date.
The Virginia Reel
Eventually, many of the pirates staggered out into the square, where in time-honored tradition they worked themselves into a frenzy that could only be satisfied by a dance battle to see who would become their next Captain.
The pirates were impressed with the size of the stage set up for Placida Latina, the 2nd annual celebration of Hispanic/LatinX performance, food, and culture, and the second year that PiratePalooza and Placida Latina had crossed paths.
The Virginia Reel tends to provide a rough measure of the strength of PiratePalooza’s attendance, and this year there were three lines of dancers – not too shabby for a “rebuilding” year!
Unfortunately, none of the pirates vying to be the new captain bothered to write down the names of the winners of this year’s reel before they stumbled over to the Brick Store Pub for a pint.
No sooner had they gone than Captain Drew climbed out of the bushes where he had been sleeping to declare himself the winner of the 18th Annual PiratePalooza Virginia Reel!!!!
An unidentified official from PiratePalooza TV declared that Captain Drew is the Official Winner of the 2022 PiratePalooza Virginia Reel.
This is about as official as it can get for a recap of PiratePalooza 18.
The Brick Store Pub
By 5pm PiratePalooza had moved into the back alley of the Brick Store Pub and climbed belowdecks (upstairs) to sing shanties and chanteys and all sorts of really loud hollering music. Rum-slurred voices rang out beneath the low-slung beams of the world famous Belgian Bar, while fiddles and squeezeboxes howled in the Rennie Rumyard out back.
Due to extenuating circumstances, the Brick Store was unable to be as musically accommodating as the Palooza’s normal final destination and as a result there was no official pub sing this year.
Many attendees keenly felt the loss of the pub sing, yet there were many who were very happy just to spend time together catching up on their adventures after several seasons without seeing each other in person.
Mutiny on the PiratePalooza
As the evening shadows began to creep down the alleyway Captain Drew slipped into the Rennie Rumyard, attempting to blend in with the rest of his (former) crew.
Due to a number of factors (chiefly a nostril-stinging odor) this subterfuge proved unsuccessful and the Captain was quickly apprehended, chained to a post, and his crimes read against him.
Fortunately, his (former) crew are almost entirely illiterate and suffer from attention deficit dis-OH LOOK IT’S A BUTTERFLY!!!
As a result, nobody knows what really happened. No they don’t.
Except that Captain Drew is really, really cool and won the Virginia Reel again.
And was voted back in as Captain.
And that is the offishul recap of PiratePalooza 18.
Collectible Mutiny Pins
Cynics will tell you that this year’s mutiny was simply a marketing ploy to sell collectible mutiny pins (fewer than 20 left as of press time!!).
The so-called “proof” of this alleged ploy is the fact that Captain Drew himself was selling collectible PiratePalooza Magnetic Mutiny pins (for only $10 each, $2 extra if you need them shipped), and “how could he not know about the mutiny if he was selling commemorative pins???”
What a crackpot conspiracy theory!
Why would such a handsome Captain (recently re-elected by unanimous consent) and winner of the Virginia Reel need to sell highly collectible PiratePalooza Magnetic Mutiny Pins at such an affordable price???
Remaining Pins Now for Sale
Fortunately, you have one more chance to order a pin by mail!
Simply send an email inquiry to piratepalooza@gmail.com with the subject “Purchase Request for PiratePalooza 18 Mutiny Pin”.
In the body of your email include how many pins you would like to purchase, and someone will reply with confirmation on availability, total price with shipping, and instructions on how to pay for them.
At this point we are only able to accept Venmo, PayPal, and CashApp.
Please be prepared to provide a shipping address!
Thanks to the Pubs
The pubs of Decatur have been great sports through the years- Thank You!
Thank You to the Crew
To the crew who rose up to invade the City of Decatarrrr please give yourselves a hand! Or a hook. Whatever it takes. Without YOU PiratePalooza is nothing. Your creativity and sense of fun is what makes this worth doing every year. We love seeing your ferocious rum-soaked faces! And, if this was your first year, we hope enjoy this recap of PiratePalooza 18 and that you’ll be back for many more!
Thank You to the Musicians
Even though circumstances prevented us from bringing you the performances that they had planned, and a few of our musicians could not attend when the event date changed, we understand how much practice and thought that they put into this year’s PiratePalooza. It shows how much they love interacting with the pirates of the Palooza.
Please show these musicians love (and tips) next season at the Georgia Renaissance Festival, and if you’re interested in following them we’ve provided a few links to some of their social media accounts:
- The Long and Short of It (Facebook)
- Landloch’d (Facebook) (Website)
- Toucan Dubh (Facebook)
- Tenpenny Travelers (Facebook page pending)
- The Shenanigans (Facebook)
- Barehead Bards (Facebook)
There are even more PiratePalooza bands that were unable to join us this season, but we’re hoping that they can make it back to us in the future.
An additional great big THANKS! to the additional musicians who showed up at this year’s PiratePalooza, unaware that our music is planned weeks ahead of the event – your presence was VERY APPRECIATED!
PiratePalooza 19
The date for PiratePalooza 19 will be announced in the coming weeks, so please follow PiratePalooza. Click the button or whatever. Ring a damn bell. Whoop-de-doo and hee-haw!
Notes
Commodore Stephen Decatur got off scott free this year.
Captain Drew did not “vote himself back in as Captain” or “cheat at the Virginia Reel” so shut-up already!
