PROSPECT, Maine — ARGH! It was a pirates life for everyone at Fort Knox over the weekend.
The historic state park in Prospect came alive with pirates big and small Friday through Sunday in an effort to fight the British by land and by sea.
"When I say charge, that's when you go with the sword with the slice and the slice and the choppity chop," said pirate, Tink.
She's preparing her band of hellions for battle.
"I saw their eyes and they're full of vengeance," said Tink. "Pirately vengeance. My guess is, even though it's a parlay, it's not going to go well. The pirates don't really take kindly to rules, order, laws, all that British stuff."
Tink admits that after facing her pirate clan, the British invaders may decide to surrender.
"They're going to be probably curled up in a little ball crying for their mommy," added Tink.
Friends of Fort Knox's Michael Locke said he has been coming to the park since he was the same age as many of the young pirates in Tink's band of hellions.
"The events we have are geared to get people here," said Locke. "When somebody comes, they're likely to come back."
Organizers with the Friends of Fort Knox nonprofit organization, like Locke, say hosting events like October’s “Fright at the Fort” and the weekend’s “Pirate Parlay” get visitors who otherwise wouldn’t return to see Fort Knox again, back to the park.
In 2018, Fort Knox saw more than 110,000 visitors thanks in part to Tink and the nearly 30 pirates.
"It's a good life," added Tink. "It can be a short but merry life but you know, for the short among us, it's about the best it could be. Arr."
Kids got to interact one-on-one with the pirates all weekend and learned how to pull rope, sing pirate songs, and sword fight, among other pirate activities.