Lusty pirates, fugitive emus abound at Utah Pirate Fest By RANDI WESTON Standard-Examiner correspondent MARRIOTT- SLATERVILLE^ Those attending the Utah Pirate Festival this weekend: Prepare to have your timbers shivered. The Utah Pirate Festival is in its fourth year and, from the looks of it, is better than ever. The festival features a brand-new Outland- ers Inn where attendees can imbibe adult beverages and meet two professional Captain Jack Sparrow cosplay- ers, one Captain Hook co- splayer, and even a pair of fugitive emus. "The emus were arrested for loitering in Box Elder County," joked Sue Bodily, co-owner of the festival. "It took an entire week to bring them to justice. The sheriff's deputies didn't know how to go about incarcerating an emu, so they contacted Deborah at Pack N' Pounce Animal Rescue." The lawless emus are available for adoption through Pack N' Pounce and can be seen at the festival today. Proceeds from the Utah Pirate Festival benefit both Pack N' Pounce and the Intermountain Renaissance Arts Foundation. In addition to the new Outlander Inn where attendees can relax with tankards full of Blackboard's Brew, Dead Men Drink No Ale, or Chasin' Booty from Wasatch and Squatters breweries, guests can enjoy some espresso and pastries at Brew Haha's, a pi rate-style cafe. Bodily said the festival has some educational activities for children as well. "In one of the games we've got, children choose a captain and then have to go find him or her somewhere in the park," Bodily said. Once the children find their captain, they find out what the Articles of Agreement — the contract new crew members signed before swearing an oath of allegiance to a particular captain — are, sign their allegiance, and return to the ticket booth for a prize. Another game involves children asking around for information about a mysterious character called "The Patriot" who will hand them their privateer articles. Through this game, they'll learn the role of a privateer — a polite name for a pirate — in seizing British ships in America's fight for independence. Before children set out on their pirating careers, they can find everything they need to loot and pillage — cutlasses, treasure chests, pirate hats, maps and slime-filled pirate bombs — at the various vendor tents lining the festival grounds. Pirate cosplayer Amber Ward took the time to check out one of the slime-filled pirate bombs and answer some questions. When asked why she'd decided to come to the festival, she said: "You get the chance to dress up as pirates. It's like Comic Con, only piratey; and it smells better. Nerds stink." Ward also said she thinks the festival offers a lot in the way of culture and history. Kim Ogren, a fortune teller and rune reader with Gypsies of Bloodstone, agrees. "It's a great time. You get to see all kinds of interesting characters. Some of them are period and will teach you about the period they're portraying," Ogren said. For others — staying true to the characters of the pirates they're portraying at the festival — it's all about the booty. Captain Redbeard, aka Brian Weller from Grand Junction, Colorado, said he has two reasons for attending the Utah Pirate Festival. "We come for the ladies and the mead," said Weller, before allowing for Angelia Long's correction that they come for the ladies and/or nien and the mead. Long said she also appreciates the chance to just be someone different for a day or two. "Multiple personality disorders, we all have them," Weller joked. "This is better than a theme park. You get to experience different cultures, personalities; you get to see people use their imaginations. Plus, it supports the arts. And from what I understand, the ladies like the arts." Coming to the Utah Pirate Festival with some canned food will get you a dollar off your admission, but coming in costume will get you much more. Captain Jack Sparrow, aka Jake Larson, said dressing up and pretending to be someone else is very freeing. "It's just like putting on a mask. It frees me to do and say what it is that's on my mind — all within the confines of the character," Larson said. "So many people here dress up and act completely out of what they normally act like. You get to create a character that is going to be remembered. It adds to the atmosphere; everyone is going to enjoy it and no one is going to judge you. I encourage people to dress up, to try it. For one day, try it. You'll be surprised at how welcomed a character will be in this community." The Utah Pirate Festival finishes its run from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. today. More information can be found on the festival's website, www.utahpiratefesti- val.comt.