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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260911T170000
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SUMMARY:New London Pirate Fest 2026
DESCRIPTION:New London Pirate Fest 2026 turns downtown New London into pirate territory on Friday\, September 11\, with a treasure hunt\, costumed characters\, sea shanties\, live music and an adult Pirate Pageant. \nOfficially returning as New London Privateers & Buccaneers Night\, the free event runs from 5 to 9 p.m. and invites visitors to dress accordingly. Pirate maps will be handed out beginning at 5 p.m. at The Golden Owl on Golden Street\, sending would-be buccaneers into downtown in search of clues and hidden treasure. \nAnd this is one night when showing up to Bank Street wearing an eye patch isn’t going to require an explanation. \nStart With the Pirate Map\nThe adventure begins at 5 p.m. at The Golden Owl. \nThat’s where visitors can pick up the New London Pirate Adventure Map before heading out into downtown. \nThe map turns the city itself into part of the event\, with participants following clues and searching for hidden treasure rather than spending the entire evening at a single festival site. \nPirate Fest has used the scavenger-hunt concept in previous years\, complete with winning treasure hunters. It returns in 2026 as one of the central pieces of Privateers & Buccaneers Night. \nCostumes are encouraged\, and visitors should expect to encounter other pirates roaming downtown as the evening unfolds. \nThe Bawdy Buccaneers Are Back\nA pirate festival needs pirates. \nThe Bawdy Buccaneers are returning for this year’s event\, bringing costumed pirate characters and plenty of appropriate misbehavior to downtown New London. \nSea shanties are also part of the evening. \nLong before they became the subject of an unexpected social-media revival\, work songs were part of life aboard sailing vessels. Sailors used rhythmic songs to coordinate jobs that required groups of men to pull\, push or move together. \nThe modern pirate version tends to be considerably more interested in singing\, storytelling and having a good time than hauling several tons of canvas into position. \nFortunately\, nobody at Pirate Fest is expected to raise a topsail. \nThe Pirate Duet Takes Over The Golden Owl\nThe Golden Owl isn’t just the place to collect a treasure map. \nFrom 6 to 8 p.m.\, Kasia Dent and Kyle Fleming perform as The Pirate Duet at The Golden Owl. \nThe pair will bring live pirate-themed music into the evening from the same Golden Street location serving as the starting point for the Pirate Adventure Map. \nThat makes it easy to build a night around both. \nPick up the map beginning at 5 p.m.\, explore downtown and follow the treasure hunt\, then make your way back to The Golden Owl while The Pirate Duet performs. \nThe Golden Owl itself is an appropriately unconventional setting. The independent downtown shop combines books\, art\, plants\, tea and community events in a space that has become another gathering place within New London’s arts scene. \nFor two hours on September 11\, add pirates to the list. \nPirate or Privateer?\nThere’s a reason organizers aren’t calling everyone a pirate. \nA pirate and a privateer could engage in remarkably similar behavior at sea\, but there was one enormous legal difference. \nPirates attacked ships on their own authority. \nPrivateers operated with government authorization\, typically during wartime. A government could issue a privately owned vessel permission to capture enemy ships and cargo. \nTo the country issuing that authority\, they were legitimate privateers. \nTo the sailors aboard the ship being attacked\, the distinction probably offered limited comfort. \nPrivateering became particularly important during the colonial and Revolutionary periods\, when privately owned armed vessels supplemented relatively small naval forces. \nThat history makes the term especially appropriate in a Connecticut port city whose fortunes have been tied to the sea for centuries. \nCaptain Kidd and the Golden Age of Piracy\nOrganizers also invoke the legend of Captain William Kidd as part of Pirate Fest. \nKidd remains one of history’s most famous names associated with piracy\, although his story is considerably murkier than the popular image of buried treasure and a pirate captain sailing outside the law. \nHe began his infamous final voyage as a privateer commissioned to pursue pirates and enemy French vessels. \nWhat happened afterward resulted in Kidd himself being accused of piracy. \nHe was eventually arrested\, transported to England\, convicted and executed in London in 1701. \nStories that Kidd buried some of his treasure helped turn him into a legend long after his death and contributed to the enduring connection between pirates\, maps\, clues and buried loot. \nMore than three centuries later\, New London gets its own treasure map. \nThe stakes are considerably lower. \nThe Pirate Pageant Begins at 8\nDon’t put too much effort into a pirate costume and then leave early. \nAt 8 p.m.\, adults get their chance to compete in the Pirate Pageant. \nPrizes will be awarded to the winners\, giving anyone who has gone beyond a plastic eye patch and borrowed bandana an opportunity to put the full ensemble to work. \nThe pageant also gives the evening a natural finale after several hours of treasure hunting\, music and roaming downtown. \nPirate Fest continues until 9 p.m. \nA Pirate Night in a Maritime City\nNew London doesn’t have to work very hard to find an appropriate backdrop for a pirate festival. \nThe downtown streets sit beside a harbor that has shaped the city for centuries. \nMerchant ships\, whalers\, naval vessels\, ferries\, submarines and sailing ships have all been part of New London’s story. Even today\, the downtown waterfront isn’t simply decorative. Ferries arrive and depart\, trains run beside the harbor\, commercial and military vessels travel the Thames\, and the city’s relationship with the water remains impossible to miss. \nPirate Fest takes that very real maritime identity and has some fun with it. \nFor four hours\, the history gets considerably less serious. \nThe Beginning of a Maritime Weekend\nPirate Fest also arrives at the beginning of a particularly busy weekend on New London’s waterfront. \nThe much larger Connecticut Maritime Heritage Festival 2026 follows over the weekend\, bringing ships\, demonstrations\, living history\, family activities and other maritime events to the city. \nThink of Friday night as the playful opening act. \nFirst come the pirates. \nThen comes the fleet. \nEvent Details\nEvent: New London Pirate Fest 2026\nOfficial Name: New London Privateers & Buccaneers Night\nDate: Friday\, September 11\, 2026\nTime: 5–9 p.m.\nLocation: Downtown New London\nAdmission: Free\nPirate Adventure Maps: Available beginning at 5 p.m.\nMap Pickup: The Golden Owl\, 19 Golden Street\, New London\nFeatured Characters: The Bawdy Buccaneers\nActivities: Pirate Adventure Map\, treasure hunt\, costumed characters\, sea shanties and Pirate Pageant\nCostumes: Pirate attire encouraged\nAdult Pirate Pageant: 8 p.m.\nPageant Prizes: Prizes awarded to winners \nThe Pirate Duet at The Golden Owl\nPerformers: Kasia Dent and Kyle Fleming\nDate: Friday\, September 11\, 2026\nTime: 6–8 p.m.\nLocation: The Golden Owl\nAddress: 19 Golden Street\, New London\, CT 06320 \nNew London Pirate Fest 2026 brings treasure hunting\, sea shanties\, costumed buccaneers\, live music and a Pirate Pageant to downtown New London for a free Friday-night celebration. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \n\n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown. \n 
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/new-london-pirate-fest-2026/
LOCATION:The Golden Owl\, 19 Golden Street\, New London\, CT\, 06320\, United States
CATEGORIES:Golden Owl
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260912T193000
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UID:10007479-1789241400-1789248600@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:This Chaos Live at The Golden Owl in New London
DESCRIPTION:This Chaos performs at The Golden Owl in downtown New London on Saturday\, September 12\, bringing an intimate night of live music to the independent bookstore\, art space\, and community gathering place on Golden Street. \nThe performance runs from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.\, with a $10 suggested donation. \nLive Music Inside The Golden Owl\nThe Golden Owl isn’t a conventional music venue. \nLocated at 19 Golden Street in downtown New London\, the independent shop combines books\, art\, plants\, loose-leaf tea and coffee with spaces designed for people to actually stay awhile. \nLive music is part of a broader calendar of community programming that has included open mics\, writing groups\, creative gatherings\, Dungeons & Dragons and other small-scale events. The shop’s Owl Lounge provides space for performances and gatherings alongside art\, books and comfortable seating. \nThat makes a show here considerably different from seeing a band across a crowded club. \nThere’s little separation between performer and audience\, and the room itself becomes part of the experience. \nEvent Details\nEvent: This Chaos at The Golden Owl\nDate: Saturday\, September 12\, 2026\nTime: 7:30–9:30 p.m.\nVenue: The Golden Owl\nAddress: 19 Golden Street\, New London\, CT 06320\nAdmission: $10 suggested donation\nPerformance: Live music by This Chaos \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/this-chaos-live-at-the-golden-owl-in-new-london/
LOCATION:The Golden Owl\, 19 Golden Street\, New London\, CT\, 06320\, United States
CATEGORIES:Golden Owl
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/This-Chaos-Live-at-The-Golden-Owl-in-New-London.jpg
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