Yarg! Thar she blows!
This weekend, Shoreline Aquatic Park will transform into the swashbucklers’ paradise of “Pirate Island” during Pirate Invasion Long Beach.
The two-day festival on the waterfront, taking place June 29 and 30, will feature a treasure trove of pirate-themed features and activities, from flags of skulls and crossbones to meals fit for a seven seas sailor.
The event was founded 17 years ago by Fred Khammar and has since become an annual buccaneer bash for audiences of all ages.
The smallest scallywags can enjoy inflatables, magic shows, face painting and photo-ops with pirate and mermaid actors. As for live entertainment, there will be bidaily pirate battles complete with swords, cannons and dangerous duels, along with fire-dancing and sword-fighting shows.
Anyone looking to summon the style of Jack Sparrow is invited to dress in their desired pirate garb, with the winning pirate costume-wearers to be named the Duke and Duchess of the Pirate Invasion.
In addition, there will be a variety of food, drink and merchandise vendors to check out and attendees are welcome to sing along to sea shanty crooners, hard rock bands and folk music performers on a live music stage.
The festival’s main event is The Nowhere to Rum Pirate Pub Crawl, open exclusively to attendees 21 and older. Crawlers will be guided to Peninsula Lighthouse by Chips the Pirate and stop for a drink at three locations along the route before being invited to hang in the VIP section with the Spanish King and Queen.
“The centerpiece of the adventure is the Nowhere to Rum Pirate Pub Crawl,” said Jesel Ortloff, vice president of Alfredo’s Beach Club and daughter of Khammar, in a public statement. “We started this last year and it was a huge hit.”
Anyone who’s up for the crawl can choose from four available pub tour times on Saturday and three on Sunday; participation in the crawl is $45 and comes with a “I survived the Nowhere to Rum Pub Crawl, 2024” T-shirt.
A fire dancer lights the ends of her flaming hula-hoop as she prepares for her performance at the Pirate Invasion Long Beach on July 30, 2022. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune) 
A Captain Jack Sparrow actor that goes by @captainjacksparrowed on Instagram poses with his pistol as the sun sets behind the Hotel Maya in Long Beach during the Pirate Invasion Long Beach on July 30, 2022. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune) 
A pirate that was firing a canon dismantles the components after the last canon firing of the day at the Pirate Invasion Long Beach on July 30, 2022. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune) 
A group of pirates pose for a picture at the cannon firing station at the Pirate Invasion Long Beach on July 30, 2022. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune) 
Gibson Reedy and Paula Jaszkowski take a selfie in their pirate outfits at the Pirate Invasion Long Beach on July 30, 2022. The couple came to the event to stock up on pirate costume accessories for their upcoming pirate-themed wedding. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune) 
A pirate actor sits aboard a set ship during the Pirate Invasion Long Beach on July 30, 2022. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune)
General admission tickets to Pirate Invasion Long Beach are $20 for adults and $10 for children ages 12 and under. Admission to the event does not include parking, however parking options will be available in the surrounding area.
There are also a pair of VIP options: $125 for Silver VIP and $200 for Gold VIP. Silver VIP comes with a pair of complimentary drinks, an event T-shirt and VIP area access. Gold VIP includes a spot in the pub crawl plus a special tankard (a large beer mug made of maple and mahogany) for the first 100 VIP Gold ticketholders.
Pirate Invasion Long Beach will take place this Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Shoreline Aquatic Park, located at 200 Aquarium Way. To learn more about Pirate Invasion Long Beach, visit the event’s Instagram and Facebook pages or pirateinvasionlongbeach.com.
