Where did the Pirates Go?

I spent a long weekend recently visiting the Cayman Island Pirate Festival. What could go wrong with a pirate festival that takes place on a tropical island? Nothing until you add politics to the blender and then you’re left with a bland liquid better for stomach relief than intoxication.

Was there a pirate invasion as the schedule promised? Well, there were two boats of pirates that landed. The first pair that got off each ship did a little swordplay. The rest strolled off. During the invasion a woman in a red gown strolled onto the beach, sat down, then got back up and left. (It was later discovered she was the real governor of the island). A couple of redcoats formed a nice line on the beach.

There was a parade. The lead float was a replica of the Black Pearl complete with a Jack Sparrow impersonator. The rest of the floats celebrated the Pirate’s Theme Week which was… Pillage? Plunder? A celebration of maritime heritage? Save the sea turtle? No, The Melting Pot! Among the floats was a pot in which people sat waving flags of different countries.

Other activities included a beauty contest to elect the queen of all festivals, a steel drum band competition and a kid’s pirate costume contest. The bars and restaurants were all decked out in pirate decorations and had their pirate week’s meals and drink specials going as well as the perquisite pirate parties. But without a pirate band making music (and more pirate themed events) in sight the whole festival left me wondering where all the pirates went?

Perhaps they never existed? A tour bus driver made the statement that there were no pirates on the Cayman Islands. True or not, I thought it odd that a tour company would distance itself from a national festival that brings in tourists.

Upon my return I searched the internet for news stories on how the pirate festival was covered this year and stumbled upon an article the Caymanian Compass published on July 16, 2013. The article is old and the board meetings it describes are even older but it does explain the subdued pirates. According to Former Premier McKeeva Bush, there was a lot of debate about the future of Pirates week during the 2009 election and he wanted to either cancel it, package it with Batabano (another culture festival) or otherwise reorganize it. During a Tourism Attraction Board meeting in March 2010 Bernie Bush, then director of the Pirate Festival made a presentation to the tourist board. (McKeeva had made a push for Bernie for the position.) The minutes notes that Bernie and McKeeve had met and agreed that the name of the festival would not change but a recommendation was made to change the branding and remove any reference to piracy. Give credit to the politicians. They managed to come up with as a new twist on a pirate festival, a pirate festival that doesn’t refer to piracy. It was noted that McKeeva wanted more emphasis on Caymanian Heritage.

Reading through the welcoming messages from government officials in the Official Souvenir Program for this year’s Pirate’s Week you’ll come across phrases like “annual festival that celebrates this unique Caymanian heritage,” “this one of a kind festival is a celebration of our unique culture,” “Pirates Week is a celebration of the Cayman Islands’ heritage and culture.” In the article “The Story of Pirates Week” the festival is described as a “celebration of Caymanian Culture”.

So that’s the sad truth, pirates are being pushed out to make way for more steel bands. It’s the Caymanians festival to run it as they see fit, but they shouldn’t call it a Pirate Festival.