Pirate Daze expands to Birch Bay this weekend

Pirate Daze is returning to Blaine and expanding to Birch Bay this weekend with plenty of family-friendly activities for attendees.

While Pirate Daze usually accompanies Drayton Harbor Days, which is canceled for 2021, the Blaine-Birch Bay Park and Recreation District 2 (BBBPRD2) will host the event independently this year. Pirate Daze will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, August 7, at Blaine Marine Park and the Birch Bay Vogt Community Library location at 7968 Birch Bay Drive. 

“We’re really looking forward to being back out in the community,” BBBPRD2 activity coordinator Kaileigh Hubbard said. “Other than Splash Days, this is our first big event since Covid. We’re excited to bring Pirate Daze back to the community and be really creative about how we do it.”

Both locations will have a variety of activities and will be accessible via the event’s Red Pearl bus shuttle to ensure all participants have access to both sites, Hubbard said. The bus leaves every half hour starting at 10:30 a.m. in Birch Bay and 11 a.m. in Blaine. The event will follow CDC recommendations, and shuttle riders will need to wear a mask if unvaccinated and strongly advised to wear a mask if vaccinated, Hubbard said. Other Covid-19 precautions are still being discussed.

Activities at Blaine Marine Park include an art station, water balloon fights, the Whatcom County Library System’s pop-up library and the Blaine Community Theater’s performance of “The Pirates of Penzance.”

The library location will make use of its proximity to the Birch Bay tide flats. The Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce will be holding a buried treasure dig, burying coins and other treasures in the bay for kids to dig up, Hubbard said. The library location will also have activities like an obstacle course and temporary tattoos.

Both Pirate Daze locations will have photo opportunities with mermaids, storytelling and food. BBBPRD2 will sell hot dogs at Blaine Marine Park, and food vendors will be set up at the Birch Bay chamber office at 7900 Birch Bay Drive.

A majority of Pirate Daze activities will be free, with the exception of food vendors and Blaine Community Theater’s water balloon sales during their performances.

Information about Pirate Daze can be found at bbbparkandrec.org or the Facebook event page at bit.ly/3ykduvq.