Pirates in Pagosa Springs, Colorado

Mermaids, knights in shining armor, craft beer and belly dancing? I am so there! And I will be, because I’m attending the 5^th Annual Pagosa Renaissance & Pirate Festival on July 19-21, 2013.

This festival is a fundraiser for the Pagosa Springs Chamber of Commerce, and the town’s 1700 residents have truly embraced this event. Last year more than 2400 people attended the Pagosa Renaissance & Pirate Festival in Town Park.

“It has grown so magically,” says event organizer, Stacy Kirby.

She has worked hard to keep the festival as authentic as possible, and although we all know that there weren’t mermaids during the renaissance period, Pagosa Springs has one for their magical weekend. Despite her mermaid, Kirby does insist all vendors and performers must fit with the theme of the festival,  and as many of you know, authenticity is one of my measures of a good fest.

This 3-day event turns Town Park into a renaissance village, presided over by sitting royalty. Thunder Mountain Colorado Living History will be there to make sure things stay true to the renaissance theme. This nonprofit is a historical, educational, restoration and re-enactment organization dedicated to re-creation of history and cultural events. In Pagosa, they re-enact the renaissance and teach children what the period was all about.

Crafted with families in mind, children will be endlessly entertained from the moment they arrive at the festival and are given their quest. This quest involves solving eight riddles throughout the day in return for small prizes. Once he or she collects all eight prizes they will win a custom made pirate mug or pirate name tag.

Other children’s entertainment includes Sarah the Mermaid, the Salida Circus, weapons practice and more.

In addition to the many activities and vendors, there will be music, magic and theatrical performances throughout the weekend. Pandora Celtica will close out each day of the fest at 6 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday.

Food will include Mediterranean cuisine, turkey legs and other scrumptious items worthy of a king or queen. Beer will be provided by Pagosa’s two breweries, Pagosa Brewing and Riff Raff Brewing.

The Pagosa Renaissance & Pirate Festival is a family friend event that costs only $3 for adults and $2 for youths and children under 48″ are free.   Visit the event website for other information.

We are looking forward to exploring Pagosa Springs during our stay, and these adventures will result in follow-up blog posts about this trip. In the meantime, if you want to join us at the Pagosa Renaissance & Pirate Festival, go to VisitPagosaSprings.com to start planning your trip.