story & photos
by Christopher Annino
The sound of groggy buccaneers walking an uneven stride haunted the streets of Downtown Mystic October 4th and 5th. It was estimated that over 6,000 people attended the annual Mystic Pirate Invasion presented by the Downtown Mystic merchants. Saturday’s festivities were aimed towards adults. Each individual who participated in the events on Saturday took part in a pirate themed scavenger hunt. Participants where given a poster with pictures of pirates to find in local bars and food merchants.
On Sunday, a treasure hunt occurred in Downtown Mystic for kids. Twenty-nine local businesses participated to find “booty” at each location using a treasure map. The hunt lasted throughout the morning until the afternoon. Around high noon at Bank Square Books, it was pirate story time. Following that, was a pirate costume contest in which young and adult swashbucklers participated.
This year, the siege of pirates arrived on the Argia at Mystic River Park, a militia and Symfony ship arrived at the Steamboat Inn dock in an effort to beat back the invaders. As cannons fired back and forth, the pirates kidnapped and imprisoned some community leaders for ransom, including a mermaid. The proceeds went to the Terri Brodeur Breast Cancer Foundation. Music was provided by Pirates for Peace, a four-man ’60s, ’70s and ’80s genre band from Plainfield. This year’s event was a complete success, both spectators and participants feel that it’s a wonderful new tradition to this community.