New England Pirate Faire Draws Record Crowds

The New England Pirate Faire which ran last weekend (August 11-12), drew some of the largest crowds in the park's 82-year history with well over 1,000 people in attendance over the two-day weekend, according to David Goss, Director of Museum Studies and Scholar-in-Residence with the Institute for Public History at Gordon College. This in spite of the somewhat dodgy weather forecasts for both days.
Crowds of people, many of them families with young children, came from as far away as New Jersey to celebrate all things piratical. The combination of scripted scenario, variety acts, merchants and food vendors, plus the historical setting of Pioneer Village itself, helped to make the weekend a success.
Talks are already underway for a 2013 show.

A Primer for the NEPF!

 The New England Pirate Faire Facebook page has been getting hit with a lot of questions from people who have never been to this kind of show before, so as a public service to their patrons, Pastimes presents an overview of the faire and what to expect. The blog page is here:
http://pastimesentertainment.blogspot.com/2012/08/nepf-primer-for-first-timers.html

Work at the Village

The weeds take over in the early spring

If you've ever been to Pioneer Village for a tour, you may be saying to yourself, "that doesn't look so tough, wearing a costume, giving tours..." However, when the historical interpreters are not actually giving tours, they are don't just sit around the fire chatting, oh no. Like the times that we portray, there is always some chore that needs to be done at the village. There is constant sweeping, gathering debris and brush, cutting and splitting firewood, building fires, raking leaves, and cutting the grass, shrubs and weeds that threaten to overtake the village on an almost daily basis.
The village is in a constant war of attrition with the surrounding forest. There is constant encroachment by weeds, flowers, vines and shrubs. The elements, including wind rain and salt air, constantly wear on the unfinished wood, roof thatching and daub. There is also an abundance of small critters on the site, birds, rats, mice, gophers, squirrels and insects, not to mention the wear and tear of people walking on, sitting on, and touching furniture, doors, and artifacts, as well as the occasional acts of vandalism by local youths. When you are a tour guide at the village, in many small ways, you actually experience the hardships encountered by our ancestors. The main difference is that at the end of the day, we get to journey back to the 21st century.

After a season of hard work

Pirates Come to Pioneer Village!

Pioneer Village and Gordon College's Institute for Public History proudly present the return of The New England Pirate Faire at Pioneer Village: Salem 1630, Forest River Park, Salem, MA. The village will be the host for an entire weekend of pirate mayhem. 
Produced by Revere-based Pastimes Entertainment, the faire will run August 11-12, 2012 from 10 am till 5 pm. Tickets are $12 for adults, $8 for children(4-11) and Kids 3 and under are free. There will be games, music, swordfighting, pirate musket fire demonstrations, hand crafted goods in our merchant village. The faire will be held rain or shine! Like us on Facebook!(new england pirate faire). For more information visit us at www.pastimesentertainment.com.