NorCal Pirate Festival

Nothing like it. The event, the performers, vendors etc. i suggest to people just go. I don't drink anymore but always great beer that started right there on the waterfront next to where the festival is held

Shiver me timbers!Arrgh!I'll take a bit of grog.Well there's always fun to be had. There is a little pirate in all of us. Great food. Interesting vendors. Awesome fun. I put on my eye patch, head scarf, grabbed the wench (no disrespect babe) and off we went. Yo ho, Yo ho, a pirates life for me. Glad it survived the pandemic and is back.

Although the Norcal Pirate Festival is held on Father's Day weekend, I'd say that the crowd is aimed towards adults rather than the children. Yes, there are a few shows and games for the kiddos but some of the CosPlay could possibly be more or less offensive towards for parents. With the trends of temperatures from last year(2016) and this year(2017), I'd say come hydrated. Water bottles here are expensive af and there's limited shade so don't forget the sun block. Now, on wards we go! I love the crowd here. The ambience and crowd reminds me of my college years (yea, this was totally me back then!). The Cos play is amazing! The details some people put in their costumes are amazing and elaborate. It's crazy how they play it off in the sun and heat! But they do it and obviously love it! The booths can be expensive but you gotta consider most (if not all) are home made and original. The hats, jewelry, head pieces, dresses, and corsets are enough for me to come back. Limit the selfies 'cause the sellers get salty over it. If needed, most vendors have online boutiques.Food is good. Loved the meat pies and turkey legs. Although there isn't a lot of food choices there is a lot of beer. Loved the live music and the audience engagement.

It was so awesome to see all the pirates gathered in one place. My preschooler son is super into pirate everything so we got these tickets on Groupon where the children were free. My son was star-struck and it was so cute to see. Every pirate that he approached to show off his compass stopped and talked to him and I appreciated that. There was zip-lining, a pirate school where they can do activities and get a bead for every activity they completed and get a certificate of certain pirate levels. My 2nd grader liked that one a lot. There was a cannon battle which took place on the waterfront, where it was loud and booming, but there was a good breeze to give us a break from the hot sun. We definitely want to come back next year in full-on pirate gear!

Two words: Pirate boobies! Damn, the corset-laden lasses abound here and there is enough cleavage around to make a mountain range of boobies. That's the best part. I saved it for first. Here comes the next part.. To quote the eponymous Eric Cartman from the episode of South Park that poked fun at theme parks (Cartmanland), "Lines! Lines! Lines!" I despise lines too, and though I'm no Cartman, I have a litany of dislikes I found here including my hate of the bright searing sun of the afternoon crisping my skin and sucking dry my hydration levels. Lessons: bring water people. And forms of shade. And all of your patience. And I guess bring your kids if you have spawned some. All your cash too - a frilly number you can get on the interwebs for $20 - 75 will cost you $40 - $300 here; I kid you not. After a few stalls like that I stopped trying to shop and just enjoyed the spectacle. We caught one of the "land/shore cannon battles" where loud canons were fired from shore and from a pirate ship of sorts. Honestly it was really loud and became hearing-hazard obnoxious quickly and then slowly by the 10th or 15th BOOM (see video). A man asked me afterward if I felt the vibration through the cement Boardwalk (no) and I answered in pirate, "aye, right in me clitty!" He looked intrigued and I quickly implemented my vanishing techniques. Anyhow besides that bit of dirty from yours truly it seemed great for kids, families, babies, strollers and outdoor-voice family showdowns in the parking lot (someone's feet *really* hurt). It's also a low-cost ($7-10 ticket) event ride with opportunity for corset aficionados, mermaids, princess-brides, steam punk and feather-laden folk and others looking to get more mileage out of their costumes or ren-wear or burnerwear or underwear.

We go every year on Father's Day Weekend! Good activities for the kids at the Pirate School, Mermaid tank, a whole stage of jugglers and stories for them. Also physical activities like the bouncy pirate ship and the zip lines. Great music everywhere. Shopping, food, cannons! We go both days.

We went to the 3rd annual Northern Calif. Pirate Festival in Vallejo on Sun 6/21/09 - FREE event. FREE parking at Vallejo Baylink parking, there's also an Overflow Ferry Parking just behind it. Plenty of street parking too if you go early. We got there maybe 10 min before 10am.There's lots of people dressed up and lots not dressed up. I think it's better to dress up if you can - maybe more fun. We didn't so it was kinda lame.Many booths to buy stuff - hats, coin, etc.Food booths - overprices fair food. Thing that looked good to me was the Smoked Turkey Leg - huge thing if you get it.Other food:Acropolis - gyros, piroshkis, etc.Acropolis Cart - pickles, pretzels & cookiesArrrr-T-Chokes - friend got the fried artichokes -only 4 tiny pcs w/ a container of butter $10.. it was hilarious.Chocolate delights & confectionsfruit ice - $5 - flavors they had: pineapple, coconut, orange, lemon, pina colada & appleFyne Pirate Grub - turkey legsGelato Nellie's OystersHeritage Foods - shepherd's pie, etc.Vallejo Music Theatre-Rogues Reef - hot dogsSt. Cut-Throats-sandwichesThe Buccaneer Bull - burgersThe Captain's Nuts - roasted almondsThe Tamale Cart - didn't seeHighlight for me: Cannon Display: 11:30am. Lots of cannons being blown - Very loud!! Bring Earplugs!Cannon Battle: 2pm on the Water! Cool. Pirate ships, cannons, guns! Bring earplugs!We stayed from 10am-2pmWorth it if in the neighborhood or at least once. Great place to take photos.Hope if you missed it, you can go next yr & it's still FREE.Location: located on the Vallejo Waterfront. 289 Mare Island Way, Vallejo.SF ppl: From the SF Ferry Building take the Vallejo Baylink Ferry & it's only a few short steps west of the Vallejo Ferry Terminal.

I went this year with my pirate loving 6 year old. There was a $10 admission fee for ages 12 and up which wasn't bad- parking was a bit of a trick for me since I'd never been there before but across the street from the ferry building is a parking structure $5 all day (no cash- must have a card and know your plate number at the kiosk).Once inside there are a few bouncy houses that require tickets- look at the map you get at the entrance if you want to avoid adding to your costs. There are great shows on the various stages that kids will love. The cannon fight show is also great - ear plugs are good to have but you can always just plug ears for the little ones. The best by far was pirate school!!! My son spent over an hour at every game. He painted his own pirate flag, he learned to swab the deck, how to load a cannon, pirate terms, a dice game, how to walk the plank, and best of all how to board a ship. After completing all tasks he got beads and then his own certificate and pirate name. I could not believe they were doing this for free (FYI donations accepted). It was the absolute best part of the fair for him.I honestly would return just to have my kids go through pirate school again- that alone was worth the cover price.

Finally made it to the annual Pirate Festival this year on a beautiful and mild Sunday. Deceptively mild considering I returned home as a red crispy critter. I'll know better next time. Great costumes! Cool pirates, scary pirates, drunken pirates, fancy pirates, a vast assortment of wenches...sexy and not so sexy, a scattering of oddball tribal natives and a random impressively strapping Viking with the requisite golden blond long locks.Plenty of activities for the young and impressionable. There's a school to learn how to be a proper pirate which taught important things like gangplank walking with style, there were fencing lessons, enormous bounce houses, bungee swings, a mermaid viewing which entitles one to being splashed, parrot shows, etc.There's actually a ton of activities for the little ones and for us taller folks the wallet withering sport of spending lots and lots of money at the big variety of festival vendors whether it be on costuming, clothing, swords, accessories or the food and beverages. It's a great event and deal at only $10 per person and free parking. We had a great time and I am looking forward to next year. I may even go in costume next time!

Ive been wanting to check this place out for a bit now and finally got to attend this year. Went with the wife and our 4 year old daughter who loves mermaids and pirates and we had a blast! Great family event with lots of cool costumes to see. There was plenty enough to do for the family. Theres a pirate school where our daughter did different activities and recieved a pirate certification. There was a mini ship replica she was able to climb in and play on. Mermaid shows where you get to interact and take pictures. We watched a sword fight and cannon battle. There was bouncy houses that cost $5 per entrance. There was zipline and other activites for bigger kids. Story telling and an act with a parrot. Staff and atteendes were really nice where we were able to take lots of pictures. Got personlized size pizzas for $9 that were good. I would def make another family trip