Pirates share loot with hospitals

Proceeds from book launch to help sick kids

What happens when you include pirates, knights in shining armor, dragons, animals and a historic island all in one story?

You get one heck of a children's book.

But, if it wasn't for one Dartmouth man's extreme costume parties we might not have ever seen this adventure.

“My wife and I used to throw these themed parties,” said Dwight Parker, founder of Pirates of Halifax. “We did crazy hats, celebrities, you name it, we did it. One evening, I was looking at my three-storey deck and thought I could make this look like a ship. Pirates of the Caribbean had also just become popular at that time so we thought it would be perfect.”

After a few thousand dollars, Parker set the sails of his ship and forged his costume. For his party, he decided to play the role of Captain Jack Sparrow.

The day of the party arrived and the celebration began. Parker says there were 100 people dressed to the nines and claims they partied from mid-afternoon to the very next day. Throughout the party, a camera was passed around.

The photos were uploaded to Facebook the very next day and along with the upload came a phone call for Parker.

“It was around the time when Facebook was first getting started. I wasn't on it at the time,” said Parker. “The photos started getting sent around in August and picked up some traction for accuracy. In September I got a call from some guy in the insurance industry and he said they're having a big convention in downtown Halifax. Would you come over and be a pirate?”

Parker was a little confused but thought why not and attended the convention in his best pirate attire. Upon his arrival and his walkthroughs, his character was a massive hit. So massive, they asked him to continue his efforts the following day. Parker entertained the convention for three days.

He and his wife decided to continue the fun by visiting The Tall Ship Festival. During these visits, Parker saw an interesting market opportunity.

“We couldn't go any more than 25 feet and people wanted to take pictures with us,” said Parker. “We had the ships inviting us on-board for drinks and food, it seemed to strike a chord. I knew then I had to get a bunch of guys to do this.”

He got his friends on board and founded Pirates of Halifax in 2007. Parker saw the rich history of Halifax and wanted to bring it back to life.

“It was for fun more than anything,” said Parker. “With the mystery of Oak Island and the privateering, I thought it would be smart to have a group to do these festivals.

So, that's what we did.”

Parker and his crew did as many festivals as they could and built their name. Gaining success in their roles they have been the official pirates for the Tall Ship in 2009,

2012 and 2017.

Now that they are a wellknown and established group the pirates are doing well in the industry. Through their many performances, it was in 2019 when Parker met Cydni Bussey, author of Annie Goes to Oak Island. She approached him with an interesting opportunity for the pirates.

“We met Cyndi during one of our tours on Oak Island,” said Parker. “We took pictures and chatted for a while about her book. A few months later she called me and said she was going to do another book and asked to use our pirate characters.”

Parker says it was a nobrainer to say yes.

The book follows Annie, a dog, on Oak Island who finds herself separated from her group. Along her journey she meets the Pirates of Halifax, among other characters, and they embark on an entertaining adventure to find her friends.

Seeing these characters brought to life on the page was special for Parker.

“It's a full-circle moment,” said Parker. “It started as a party at my house, and now it's grown into something that is giving back to the community and that warms our hearts. The reward is seeing the smile on people's faces that we entertain and this book does that.”

Annie and the Pirates of Halifax was released Nov. 24 and the pirates held a special launch for the book at Alderney Landing Rotunda.

All proceeds from the book went to IWK Hospital Foundation & St. Jude's Children's Hospital in the U.S.

“They both do such great work. Anything we can do to help contribute to childhood disease prevention and just improve the overall health of kids is the way to go,” said Parker.

Parker hopes through the success of the release he can give parents and children a sign of relief.

“Being able to make a difference to these children is very fulfilling,” said Parker. “I know from my visits to the hospital as a pirate to spread cheer, it's just so heartwarming to be able to see a smile on their face after brain surgery or cancer treatment. For parents too, seeing those few moments, where you take them away from thinking about the issues, that's what I do it for.”

Annie and the Pirates of Halifax is available at Chapters and Indigo online and in some stores as well as anniegoesto.com.