Ladysmith’s Kid’s Pirate Days are online once again this year. The Ladysmith Maritime Society and their merry band of buccaneers have a treasure trove of online community events planned for May 31 to June 6.
Volunteers from LMS, Ladysmith Family and Friends, Ladysmith RBC and the broader Ladysmith community came together to plan the festivities.
Prior to the pandemic, Kid’s Pirate Day was a one-day event hosted at the Ladysmith Community Marina that attracted well over 1,000 participants — many of whom donned their best pirate garb to enjoy activities like face painting, bouncy castles, music, and maritime education.
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Last year, Kid’s Pirate Days was hosted online for the first time. LMS and their volunteers had to pivot on the fly. They managed to produce five 30-minute episodes of community-themed pirate content. LMS and RBC distributed activity kits with all manner of fun items for kids to follow along with the videos at home.
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Dean Richards of OnTrack Media filmed and edited the videos for both this year and last year’s event. This year there will be three 15-minute videos to make the content more engaging for kids and more lead time to spread awareness about the event.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Richards said. “I’m excited to see how much more engagement we can get from the general public.”
The videos feature Inga Anderson from LaFF, beloved clown and balloon artist Twiggly Wiggly, the pirate crew of RBC led by their captain Allison Brind and some of Ladysmith’s long-time community pirates.
“We thought it was fun last year but it was so much better this year,” Brind said. “We practiced here numerous times before filming.”
“It’s a really fun community-minded activity that brings everyone together in a way that’s COVID safe,” she added.
Parents can pick up their pirate activity kits at RBC on May 27, at LaFF — now at the South Davis Road School — on May 28, and at the Ladysmith Community Marina on May 29. Pickup times will be 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. for each date and location.
If COVID-19 protocols allow for it, there may be an in-person celebration at the Transfer Beach Amphitheatre on June 6 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., but LMS is planning an alternative just in case. To stay up to date with everything Pirate Days, visit lmsmarina.ca or the Kid’s Pirate Day page on Facebook.