Climb aboard for the 2013 Utah Pirate Festival By BECKY CAIRNS Standard-Examiner staff MARRIOTT-SLATERVILLE — Our favorite pirates have fled the high seas and set sail for a new location to stage their annual festival of mayhem and merriment beginning next Friday, Sept. 13. The Utah Pirate Festival will drop anchor at Millcreek Hollow Farm in Marriott-Slaterville this year, a switch from the event's previous venue at the South Marina of Willard Bay State Park. The marina was already booked for another event, but organizer Sue Bodily says the change — to the grounds of the annual Utah Renaissance Festival and Fantasy Fair — offers more ambience for pirates and pirate wannabes alike. "I think it makes for a better site all around," says Bodily, explaining that the farm boasts plenty of trees and ponds and even a creek. The locale reminds her of a cove, she says, just the sort of hidden-away spot that real pirates might have sought out — PREVIEW ate 7 p.m. WHAT: Utah Pirat Festival WHEN:10a.m.-7 Sept. 13-15 WHERE: Millcreek Hollow Farm, 3105 W. Pioneer Road, Marriott-Slaterville TICKETS: $6; $4/ages 6-12, free/5 and younger. 801- 458-2925, www.utahpirate. com "a place to pull your ship in and dock and not attract attention." Yet, at least two ships will attract plenty of attention when "docked" at Millcreek Hollow Farm: The Lady, a dead ringer for Captain Jack Sparrow's beloved Black Pearl, and The Crimson Heir, a vessel painted a cheery red. And Captain Jack himself will be there, too, in duplicate, triplicate — or even more. A new Jack Sparrow Look-Alike Contest takes place sometime Saturday afternoon, with winners declared in four categories: Best Walk, Best Talk, Best Costume and Best Overall. "He's the ubiquitous, lovable bad boy, so everybody wants to be Jack Sparrow — so we figured we'd give them a chance to strut their stuff," Bodily says. Mermaids and music Captain Hector Barbossa, Sparrow's nemesis, makes his debut at the festival this year and will be joined by a pirate from another fictional tale, the Dread Pirate Roberts of "The Princess Bride." Children can try to sign on with one of these famous captain's crews by learning more about pirates and that infamous pirate code. As Bodily says, "It's a sneaky way to get in a little education." Mermaids will also make a splash at Millcreek Hollow Farm, where two swimming pools will be set up for them to swim about or engage in water fights with each other — or with festivalgoers. People have always been intrigued by mermaids, who are seen as beautiful sirens of the sea but also as sometimes- frightening creatures, Bodily says. "Anything that's unusual, people are either in awe of or a little bit leery of," she says. These mermaids have elaborate costumes — costing up to $2,500 a piece — and belong to a Salt Lake City group that performs at various events, Bodily says. Captain Cutlass and the Stormcrows, a Salt Lake City band, is a new addition to the Utah Pirate Festival and will perform twice a day, around noon and 5 p.m. "That might be subject to change if we have other pirates raiding the premises or something," Bodily quips. More fun, savvy? The Utah Pirate Festival began in 2011 and drew a crowd of about 1,000 last year, says Bodily, who also oversees the Utah Renaissance Festival and Fantasy Fair and the Sleepy Millcreek Hollow Halloween attraction. The pirate event has expanded to three days this year, she says, in order to provide more opportunities for good family time. Other activities include magic shows, storytellers and games like "Soak a Bloke" or "Drench a Wench," in which folks can douse others with sponges or buckets of water. An artisan marketplace offers pirate garb and assorted trinkets for sale; food vendors will dish up traditional hamburgers and hot dogs, along with such pirate-inspired dishes as "long pork." "I like to say 'long pork' but it isn't really, you know," says Bodily, who explains that pirates discovered the hard way — when meeting some of the native inhabitants of the Caribbean — that long pork is actually human flesh. The Carib Indians were cannibals, she says, and when they wanted protein, "If there was a stray pirate, he was as good (to eat) as a pig or something." Joking about a long pork sandwich may seem "a little bit gruesome," Bodily says, but fear not — the Utah Pirate Festival will only serve up some equally old-fashioned but more palatable pulled pork. Contact reporter Becky Cairns at 801-625-4276, bcairns@standard.net. Follow her on Twitter at ©bccairns. 201