Complete with brew, brats and ax throwing, hundreds of Santa Clarita residents attended the fourth annual SCV Brewmasters Pirate Festival on Saturday.
Set up on the Chica golf course at Vista Valencia, those in attendance walked around the festival grounds dressed in pirate garb, sampling craft brews and listening to live performances from multiple bands.
Sitting next to the stage sat a replica pirate ship, owned and operated by the company Under the Black Flag, for an event billed with a headline performance by the Bullet Boys with a special appearance by “Pirates of the Caribbean” actors Martin Klebba, Vince Lozano, David J. Kono and Henry T. Yamada for the five-hour fest.
“We do these events because we can let people come on board and we try to be as historically accurate as possible to educate people about the Golden Age of Piracy,” said Chris Borden, owner of Under the Black Flag.
A number of the tents sold food and pirate gear, as well as selling replica swords and weapons used during the golden age of piracy.
“We do a lot of Renaissance and pirate fairs, and this is our first year here selling our medieval-touch-of-fantasy themed wares,” said Diana Bayhylle, owner of Glastonbury’s Gifts. “All of (the swords) are either imports or custom-made.”
Borden was asked to bring the ship to the Pirate Festival in order to give ticket-holders the feeling they were pirates returning from sea, he said.
“How it’s set up really gives you the feeling of being a pirate,” said Borden. “You hit the docks, there’s brewmasters and alehouses and you want to see your friends and relax after a long voyage at sea.”
This year’s Pirate Festival was dedicated to supporting two charities, “Back To The War Zone,” which provides help to veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and “Prayer Angels For The Military,” which provides care packages to our active military overseas, according to the event website.
“The festival benefits veterans,” said Ben Law, co-owner of the Brewery Draconum, “and that’s all we needed to know to get us out here.”
