It’s nearing that time of year again, where all the pirates congregate at the quayside in Conwy, North Wales. After a successful 2-day event in 2016 where around 10,000 hearty pirates attended, this year will be bigger and better as it has been extended to 3 whole days; 27th, 28th and 29th May. 2017 will be Conwy Pirate Weekend’s 6th year!
Being the official photographer of last year’s event was a privilege, because it was the first large event I had photographed and it was one of the best! The sun was shining; the quayside was filling up and I was getting nervous. Am I going to be able to capture everything? How am I going to direct people? Directing people was the biggest hurdle I had to overcome; after meeting the organisers and the stall holders I became more at ease and started getting into the swing of things.
My favourite part of the Saturday was the very first pirate wedding hosted on the Vilma Tall ship, where the captain married the couple. The couple didn’t wish to have a big white wedding, a pirate ceremony aboard a tall ship was their dream. Local businesses all got involved to offer the couple some amazing gifts to make the day memorable.
After a long day, with a lot of after sun, came the second and final day of the event. While Saturday saw gorgeous sunshine, Sunday was greeted with on and off showers! The showers didn’t put any of the pirates off, in fact it brought more fun to the day. My highlight for Sunday was the barrel race, while the competitors were ready and raring to go, the weather threw in another obstacle; they already had to race each other while running with a barrel, high-five a steward at the end and then run back and give the loudest AAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!! The new obstacle for Sunday was a slippery surface to run on, this made the barrel race even more entertaining.
Now to look forward to this year! I will be hovering around the event armed with my camera again and I will also be sharing a stall with Amazengrave this year. Amazengrave will be providing the official merchandise for this year’s event and I will be selling photographs of last year’s event as well as taking orders. If you are attending the event this year, then pop over to the stall to say hi or grab a wondering pirate and have your photograph taken with them. I look forward to seeing you there!
