 ENTERTAINMENT |
Blackbeard Festival at Hampton
by Afrique Kilimanjaro
Carolina Peacemaker
Originally posted 7/21/2010
This month, the City of Hampton, Va. celebrates its 400th birthday and the festivities kicked-off with a grand Pirate Festival and Ball. Hampton is known for achieving many historical firsts such as being the first continuously settled English speaking community in the United States. The town is also site of the establishment of the first free public schools in the United States. It was the first place where U.S. astronauts were trained and it is the home of one of America’s premier academic institutions, Hampton University.
Today, as Hampton celebrates its 400th birthday, the city commemorates the town’s pirate history by holding an annual waterfront extravaganza featuring immaculately dressed pirate characters.
Founded on July 9 , 1610, the town of Hampton rose to become a busy seaport overrun with the presence of menacing pirates. One of the most infamous was Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard. It was at Hampton,Va where Royal Navy Lieutenant Robert Maynard, under the direction of Virginia Governor Alexander Spotswood, departed the Hampton/Chesapeake waters in search of Blackbeard and his sailing ship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge.
Maynard fought and subsequently beheaded Blackbeard at Ocracoke Island, North Carolina displaying the pirate’s head on the ship’s bowsprit. Once Maynard returned to Hampton, he presented Governor Spotswood with Blackbeard’s head, flag and treasure. Spotswood subsequently placed Blackbeard’s head on a stake at the entrance of the Hampton River as a warning to all pirates not to enter or attempt to pillage the town.
The Hampton Pirate Festival commemorates the city’s once abundant pirate presence and the misdeeds of pirates such a Blackbeard, Stede Bonnet “the Gentleman Pirate” and Samuel “Black Sam” Bellamy along the Chesapeake, Hampton River and the Atlantic coast. Festival activities include several battle reenactments between the tall ships of pirates and the Virginia militia as well as a reenactment of Blackbeard’s final battle.
Visitors can also savor a plethora of seafood delights such as crab cakes and oysters, shrimp and fresh fish selections. Children also donned period costumes to portray their favorite pirate character. Ship enthusiasts could also enjoy the waterfront view and tour some tall ships, including Kalmar Nyckel, or view the marina’s abundance of private sailboats and powerboats adorned in pirate gear. Pirate party goers were able to dance the night away, listen to great music, watch nightly fireworks shows, purchase arts and crafts from vendors or catch a peaceful boat ride at the nearby Hampton Marina.
This year’s pirate festival may be in the history books, but there is always next year. For more information, contact the Hampton Convention and Visitor Bureau, 1-800-487-8778.
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