UPPER KEYS EVENTS

Festival set to tap spirit of pirate days

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Posted - Friday, October 09, 2009 10:22 AM EDT

According to legend, the pirate Black Caesar roved Florida’s coastal waters in the early 19th Century. According to organizers of the Key Largo Pirates Festival, Black Caesar will appear again at the festival (as portrayed by an actor, of course).

For complete festival information, visit www.keylargopiratesfest.com.

The festivities start Friday, Oct. 23 with a parade. The procession will form at 5:30 p.m. along Caribbean Drive, ending at the Holiday Inn Tiki Bar, mile marker 100 oceanside.

Float judging and a costume contest will begin at the Tiki Bar at 7 p.m. There will be a Pirate Bash on the Bay with live music. Tickets are $20 per person plus tax and gratuity.

Those eager to come face-to-face with the fearsome pirate — or at least his modern-day stand-in — can do so Saturday, Oct. 24, from noon to 11 p.m. at mile marker 104 bayside. Caesar and his buccaneer brethren might be spotted haunting the “Pirate Bazaar and Thieves’ Market,” set to begin at noon at Big Chill, Sundowners, Cactus Jacks & Señor Frijoles. Pirate paraphernalia, memorabilia and art will be among the attractions for attendees.

Also Saturday, there will be underwater treasure hunts and an underwater poker tournament. Along with an above-water contest open to the public, the underwater action is part of a three-day Pirates’ Poker Challenge that coincides with the festival.

For nongambling types, a concert on Blackwater Sound commences at 2 p.m. off Sundowners and Big Chill.

At 6 p.m. pirate re-enactors invade Key Largo in a professionally choreographed re-enactment of Black Caesar’s return — complete with artillery line, encampments, battles and skits on Blackwater Sound. This can be viewed from Sundowners and Big Chill. There will be food, drink and music, with fireworks starting at 9 p.m.

Sunday, Oct. 25 will see Black Caesar’s By-Land-or-Sea Poker Run beginning at 11 a.m. at Sundowners, mile marker 104. The festival will culminate in a Buccaneer Finale at the Caribbean Club, mile marker 104 bayside.