Ahoy, thar mateys! 'Tis that time again: th' annual John Levique Pirate Days celebration, named after th' local fisherman who discovered John's Pass in 1848 after a terrible hurricane. Now, landlubbers from all over visit John's Pass Village t' eat, drink an' pillage. Arrr. Every year those sea dogs of th' John's Pass Merchant Association put on a festival fer old salts an' their wee sprogs. This year, there's a Pirates' Ball, Village-wide treasure hunt, parade, adult an' children costume contests, pirate ship invasion, and — me favorite — a pub crawl an' brawl. Mutineers can visit th' hurricane expo an' learn all about hurricanes jus' in case th' big storm hits again. Arrr. June 9-11, 7-11 p.m. Fri. (Pirates' Ball), 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Sat., 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sun., John's Pass Village, Madeira Beach, free admission, www.johnspass.com.
This article appears in Jun 7-13, 2006.