2008 Woodie Awards
Pirate holiday catching on
Brittany Wilmes
Issue date: 9/21/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
Shiver me timbers! On Sept. 19, seafarers and landlubbers alike celebrated International Talk Like A Pirate Day. Created in 1995 by John Baur and Mark Summers, and pushed to popularity in a Dave Barry column in 2002, the day has become a favored holiday of pirate lovers everywhere.
Baur and Summers explain on their Web site that the idea emerged after a game of racquetball that ended with the players lobbing pirate curses at their opponent along with the rubber ball. Right then and there, on June 6, 1995, the friends decided to found Talk Like A Pirate Day.
Summers decided on Sept. 19, as June 6 is D-Day, and he knew he would remember the date because it coincided with his ex-wife's birthday. They celebrated, as they quip on the site, "pretty much on our own, with our friend Brian Rhodes actually reminding us that the event was coming up."
The founders decided that Dave Barry would be the perfect spokesman for Talk Like A Pirate Day, and when Baur located Barry's e-mail address in 2002, they knew what they had to do. They received a reply from Barry a few days later agreeing the day was a "very excellent" idea. In September of that year, he wrote a column on the holiday, prompting thou sands of people across the globe to celebrate.
Enter Amy Dunn.
She first learned of the holiday during her sophomore year in high school, and has been celebrating ever since.
"I've always been a big lover of pirates, and I think that any day of the year where I'm allowed to talk like one and it's socially encouraged to do it is all the better," the Gonzaga junior said.
Dunn said that the day is mostly celebrated by devoted pirate fans.
"There are really hard-core pirate fans here. I feel like Talk Like A Pirate day is contagious," she said.
The holiday's official Web site, www.talklikeapirate.com, also created by Baur and Summers, contains information on everything from pirate pick-up lines to German pirate lingo to an advice column written by "Cap'n Slappy" (Summers). Baur, or "Ol'Chumbucket", also offers his advice from time to time.
According to the Web site, this year's festivities included free pirate-based podcasts, local parties and festivals, pirate-themed concerts and dances and the release of an independent pirate film.
The founders also co-wrote a book called "Pirattitude: So you wanna be a pirate? Here's how!" The book takes a look into popular pirate culture, and gives advice on pirate parties, dress and speech.
Summers and Baur recommend that pirate devotees across the globe who celebrate in costume send their photos to the Web site to be posted. Dunn says that she will at least wear her pirate bandanna. n
Asked how she celebrates during the rest of the year, Dunn replied, "Constant swashbuckling, really."
Baur and Summers explain on their Web site that the idea emerged after a game of racquetball that ended with the players lobbing pirate curses at their opponent along with the rubber ball. Right then and there, on June 6, 1995, the friends decided to found Talk Like A Pirate Day.
Summers decided on Sept. 19, as June 6 is D-Day, and he knew he would remember the date because it coincided with his ex-wife's birthday. They celebrated, as they quip on the site, "pretty much on our own, with our friend Brian Rhodes actually reminding us that the event was coming up."
The founders decided that Dave Barry would be the perfect spokesman for Talk Like A Pirate Day, and when Baur located Barry's e-mail address in 2002, they knew what they had to do. They received a reply from Barry a few days later agreeing the day was a "very excellent" idea. In September of that year, he wrote a column on the holiday, prompting thou sands of people across the globe to celebrate.
Enter Amy Dunn.
She first learned of the holiday during her sophomore year in high school, and has been celebrating ever since.
"I've always been a big lover of pirates, and I think that any day of the year where I'm allowed to talk like one and it's socially encouraged to do it is all the better," the Gonzaga junior said.
Dunn said that the day is mostly celebrated by devoted pirate fans.
"There are really hard-core pirate fans here. I feel like Talk Like A Pirate day is contagious," she said.
The holiday's official Web site, www.talklikeapirate.com, also created by Baur and Summers, contains information on everything from pirate pick-up lines to German pirate lingo to an advice column written by "Cap'n Slappy" (Summers). Baur, or "Ol'Chumbucket", also offers his advice from time to time.
According to the Web site, this year's festivities included free pirate-based podcasts, local parties and festivals, pirate-themed concerts and dances and the release of an independent pirate film.
The founders also co-wrote a book called "Pirattitude: So you wanna be a pirate? Here's how!" The book takes a look into popular pirate culture, and gives advice on pirate parties, dress and speech.
Summers and Baur recommend that pirate devotees across the globe who celebrate in costume send their photos to the Web site to be posted. Dunn says that she will at least wear her pirate bandanna. n
Asked how she celebrates during the rest of the year, Dunn replied, "Constant swashbuckling, really."