By Craig Horleman

Carl Popadick is steeped in history.

Whether he’s participating in reenactments as Revolutionary or Civil War figures, being a cowboy and even a pirate or at his carpentry job where he does historic restoration and remodeling, Mr. Popadick is fascinated by the past.

So it’s a natural fit for him to be involved in this weekend’s Buccaneer Bash in Bowers Beach. He’ll be putting on his pirate gear to portray Levi West, an actual pirate from the area, Saturday and Sunday.

Mr. Popadick, who lives in Atglen, Pennsylvania in Western Chester County, has been a historical reenactor for almost 50 years.

I actually started reenacting in 1973 or 74. I did the Revolutionary War for the bicentennial. I did every event that year except for Lexington and Concord. And then for years afterwards, I moved up to the Civil War, got mounted, bought a horse and was doing the Civil War and then I was actually at a Civil War event in Bentonville, North Carolina. I was coming out of a merchant’s tent and I knocked into unfortunately a Confederate woman,” he said.

“And while we were both turning a blind corner, she just looked at me and said ‘Do you know this guy Bill Hall?’ I said ‘No, I don’t.’ She said ‘You need to meet him. He’s a pirate. You look like you should be one.’ So I’ve been a pirate now for over 20 years.”

Mr. Popadick, who helped start the Buccaneer Bash over a decade ago with Bowers Beach Maritime Museum director Judy Martin, will be at the event with his group, Sons of the Waves, which is comprised of folks from neighboring states such as Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, along with Delaware.

“We do a lot here,” he said Wednesday while preparing for the event.

“We have a complete setup with a campfire. We have camps, tents. I have a lot of artifacts I put on display, some reproductions, a few original items that I put out that I can talk to people about. We do cooking. We have a lot of children’s activities,” he said.

He’ll have a heaving line where kids can haul cable across an area for time and they’ll also get to learn about maritime history.

As a reenactor, Mr. Popadick loves to spread his knowledge of the past.

“Everybody has seen ‘Pirates of the Caribbean.’ So they have this Hollywood version of pirates, which is actually fairly well done. They’ve incorporated a lot of real pirate history in that movie — little tidbits here and there. So we kind of bring the maritime part of it to life and to give you a little example when we’re talking about the cannons,” he said.

“When we say ‘We’re going to go shoot the cannon,’ that’s actually incorrect. There was only one tube called a cannon and that was a nine-pounder. All the other tubes had different names from swivel guns to sakers to mortars. ... So while we’re having fun making a lot of noise, we’re actually throwing some history out there,” he said.

Mr. Popadick figures he’ll be one of about 66 pirates throughout both days of the festival, which runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

After a two-year absence due to COVID, Ms. Martin said the Buccaneer Bash is coming back bigger than ever.

“We have more pirates, more music, more everything this year. We’re going to have a party,” she said.

“We have five bands. One of them will be on the Captain’s Lady, which will be doing cruises on Sunday. So you can get music and a cruise on the Delaware Bay. We will have food. We will have a petting zoo and they’ll be giving pony rides.

“We also have some period vendors who will be in the pirate camp. And the Zwaanendael Museum (in Lewes) will be here doing weights and pulleys for us. We have 30 modern vendors in the parking lot. And we probably are the only pirate festival doing this. We’re having a wedding on Saturday.”

The wedding between two of the pirates in one of the groups will take place on the camp stage at 4 p.m.

Ms. Martin said she is looking forward to a large turnout this weekend.

“The past two years, we had to cancel. People were disappointed because we get over the weekend between 6,000 and 7,000 people. We have grown over the years. So now when I go around locally and I just happen to be talking with people, it’s like ‘Are you doing the pirate festival this year? And if you are, we’re going to be there.’ So we’re expecting a big crowd,” she said.

“A number of the pirate crews who have joined, they actually now call us and ask to be included. And I get calls from musicians as well wanting to be included. We are getting to be very well known.”

With funding from the Delaware Division of the Arts and Delaware Humanities, the event is free but donations are accepted.

“The donations pay for the event because with five bands, you can imagine how expensive this is to put on. And the pirate crews are wonderful. They mostly volunteer their time. So we attempt to help them out with some things and especially gas and accommodations now are rather expensive. But otherwise we come out ahead. It took us probably six years before we broke even. So now if we come out a little bit ahead, we’re happy,” she said.

Aside from the financial angle, the Buccaneer Bash helps with the museum’s visibility.

“This is our hook to get people to the museum. And one of the things we do is we have a scavenger hunt for the kids. So there are things in the pirate camp they have to find on a card that has to be marked off by the pirates. And one of the stops they have to make is at the museum. So they get a taste of what we have. And then hopefully they will come back with their parents and see the museum,” Ms. Martin said.

“The pirate festival has been very good for publicizing the fact that Bowers is here and it’s a nice little place to come and visit.”

The museum at 3357 Main St., is open Memorial Day through Labor Day on the weekends between 2 and 4 p.m.

Activities for this weekend’s Buccaneer Bash, which will also include demonstrations, sword fights and a costume contest, will take place in and around the area. For more information, call Ms. Martin at 302-222-6341 or email bbmm76@outlook.com.

‘Twelfth Night’

This Memorial Day weekend, Del Shakes returns to downtown Wilmington with a sneak peek of the songs from its world premiere Spanish-English musical, “Twelfth Night, O Lo Que Quieras.”

The free concerts will take place Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 5 p.m. in Rodney Square.

Written by Tanaquil Márquez and Liz Filios with contributions by Robi Hager and Ximena Violante, “Twelfth Night, O Lo Que Quieras” is a new adaptation of Shakespeare’s all-time great romantic comedy, “Twelfth Night, or What You Will.”

The musical reimagines Viola and Sebastian as Venezuelan immigrants whose shipwreck brings them ashore in the fictional land of Illyria, which bears some resemblance to contemporary America. This bilingual musical will explore the Latinx immigrant experience while asking the question, “Can you survive through love?”

The performance is free to the public. Seating is first come, first served. Audience members must bring their own chairs (no more than 30 inches high).

For more information visit here, call 302-468-4890 or email info@delshakes.org.

Strawberry Festival

Delaware’s state fruit will be on display Saturday as Young Farmers & Ranchers raise money for scholarships and leadership opportunities.

The annual Strawberry Festival run by Delaware Farm Bureau’s YF&R Committee features a fun-zone for children, u-pick strawberries, face painting, the farm bureau foundation’s mobile ag lab, a petting zoo and interactive activities along with a concession stand offered by the YF&R complete with pulled pork sandwiches and strawberry shortcake.

The fundraiser will be hosted at Bobola Farm & Florist at 5268 Forrest Ave. in Dover from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. Wristbands for the fun zone are $6 each. Attendees can save $1 on wristbands by bringing a canned good the day of the event to help Fill-a-Ford. A Ford truck has been donated for the day by Willis Ford of Smyrna.

“This year, we’re working with the food bank, too. The national YF&R has a program called Harvest for All so that’s why we’re doing this. We want to help farmers feed other people by donating to the two things — money and food donations,” said state YF&R chair Mollie Lynch.

Ultimately, the committee hopes to raise funds for the YF&R’s yearly operations and its two scholarships. Funding for these offerings traditionally comes from events like the Strawberry Festival and annual Antique Tractor Pull which will be held Saturday, July 30 at the Delaware State Fair.

“The Strawberry Festival helps fund the YF&R,” she said. “It helps fund the leadership conference every year. We have a lot of kids who are in college or are just starting families, so money is a little tighter. This event allows us to work for our conference money; we take pride in that. We also donate a lot of money to other causes throughout the year.”

Now Showing

New in theaters this weekend is the highly anticipated “Top Gun: Maverick” and the animated “The Bob’s Burgers Movie.”