Min Smale is the chair of the Privateer Days committee. (Rick Conrad)

It’s the celebration that kicks off summer in Liverpool with a bang.

And the organizers of this year’s Privateer Days festival hope it’s bigger and better than ever.

Min Smale is the chair of the Privateer Days committee. This is her fourth year with the event.

“We’ve tripled our sponsor dollars over last year and it’s enabled us to do a lot more than we did last year. We keep posting new things and we keep getting great feedback,” Smale said in a recent interview.

“I think everybody is going to be thoroughly excited and have a great time.”

Last year’s festival almost didn’t happen, as organizers struggled to recover sponsor dollars and volunteers after the pandemic. Smale says there’s no fear of that this year, as their budget hovers around $70,000.

They doubled their board members this year to 10. And they have about 30 additional volunteers to help run the packed event schedule over the three-day festival. 

“I don’t think we’ve ever had this many eager volunteers come and help us. It’s overwhelming in a good way.”

Big sponsors like Atlantic Lottery Corp. and Coldstream Clear Distillery have come on board to help bring back the entertainment and beer tents.

Thirty artists are lined up to keep those tents hopping all weekend.

“I think the main thing I’ve heard in the last four years was, ‘When’s the beer tent coming back?’ And so we were very fortunate to be able to partner with a Nova Scotia brand like Coldstream Clear Distillery to help us get there.”

More than 60 craft, food and clothing vendors are expected to be set up in the park for the weekend.

Over a dozen events and booths are planned for kids and families, including bouncy castles from Yarmouth Big Bounce, a foam dance party and a superhero dance party.

And the popular Pirates of Halifax will return to this year’s event.

The weekend will also feature traditional historical re-enactments, like the encampment in Fort Point with the King’s Orange Rangers.

“My big things are family friendly, creating moments, support local and drive some business into the community as well as coming together as a community.”

A centrepiece of the weekend is the parade through downtown Liverpool on Saturday morning. And this year, the grand marshal will be well-known local musician and volunteer Dick Henneberry.

Smale says having a great team of volunteers has helped make preparations for this year’s festival go smoothly.

“Come out, enjoy yourself and we try to make everything as free or low cost as possible, just so we can all come together and have a great weekend.”

Privateer Days runs from June 27 to 29 at Privateer Park on the Liverpool waterfront. A full list of events is available on their Facebook page.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Min Smale is the chairwoman of the Privateer Days organizing committee. This year’s event is scheduled for June 28 and 29 in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)

The organizers of this year’s Privateer Days festival in Liverpool are promising a bigger and better celebration even as they cope with less funding and fewer volunteers.

Entering its 39th year, Privateer Days has become the biggest event of the year in Liverpool, drawing thousands to the downtown. 

Min Smale, who chairs the Privateer Days committee, says that because of the funding challenges, organizers decided this year to turn the traditionally three-day event into a two-day affair on June 28 and 29.

“I think this year is actually going to be even better than last year and we’re working with a third of the money,” she said in an interview.

“We’d rather condense the days down and go big than spread it over three and not be able to do as much, so it’s go big or go home. … Just trying to make it still historical, but family oriented and community supported.”

Privateer Days is a mix of the modern and historical, as it marks Liverpool’s history of privateering dating back to 1775. Privateers were private citizens sanctioned by the Crown to attack enemy ships and confiscate their property. The spoils were shared between the conquering crews and the Crown. Privateers were not pirates, and they were highly respected in the community.

Privateer Days features a parade through town, entertainment, craft vendors and food trucks on the waterfront, an historic encampment re-enactment in Fort Point Lighthouse Park, and a traditional colonial wedding.

Privateer Days features historical re-enactments, live entertainment, carnival rides and much more. (Chris LaRocque Photography via Privateer Days)

This year will also have carnival rides for kids and carnival games, inflatable entertainment from Yarmouth Big Bounce Rentals and a street dance on Friday night on Henry Hensey Drive near the waterfront, sponsored by Mersey Seafoods.

This is Smale’s third year on the organizing committee. She says it’s been a struggle since Covid to find people to help with the event. 

And board turnover has also affected their ability to look for funding. But she says the new board members are excited for this year’s event and committed to working on Privateer Days into the future.

“Over these last years, the turnout has increased. We’re looking forward to having the encampment back and doing the colonial wedding again and just trying to see with fresh faces, fresh minds, fresh ideas what new things we can bring to the table to make this year different and stand apart.”

She says that Privateer Days isn’t alone in struggling to find volunteers.

“In talking with other not-for-profit and charitable organization in south Queens, it’s not just Privateer Days that’s having issues with finding volunteers. It’s everybody. You kind of find the same people showing up in multiple boards. And we’re all just trying to do what we can.”

Smale said they’re also trying to engage more local businesses and encourage the thousands who attend Privateer Days to visit more businesses on Liverpool’s Main Street.

“Making sure that we’re adequately supporting those businesses and making sure that once the traffic in the park has died down for the day that we’re diverting them into the community so that we’re working hand in hand in supporting Liverpool thrive.”

The organizing committee is teaming up with Rafflebox and with local businesses for various fundraisers leading up to Privateer Days. Hell Bay Brewing is holding one on Saturday night featuring local musicians. They’ll be holding a 50/50 draw and donating $1 from each beer toward Privateer Days.

Smale says she’s learned a lot over the past three years about how important Privateer Days is to the community.

“In terms of South Shore events, people look forward to the Big Ex, people look forward to Privateer Days. It’s the end of the summer, it’s the end of the school year, it’s that kind of pivotal point of the start of summer in Liverpool.”

For more information or if you’re interested in volunteering with Privateer Days, check out their Facebook page.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below