- November 23, 2024
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Becky Parker wanted pirates.
As Ormond Beach MainStreet’s new executive director, this was the first time Parker had been at the organizational helm of the Riverfest Seafood Festival, held at Rockefeller Gardens and Fortunato Park Nov. 19-20. She wanted to add a large area for pirate crews and mermaids and reached out to Heather Walters, who is with the Crewe of Thee Leviathan of Daytona Beach.
“Becky just wanted to have pirates so she reached out to me and asked if I could help. This is my area for my particular crew. My husband Jeff and I are from Palm Coast but we cover Ormond Beach all the way down to Ponce Inlet. We are part of the Fun Coast.”
HEATHER WALTERS, Crewe of Thee Leviathan member
“Becky just wanted to have pirates, so she reached out to me and asked if I could help,” Walters said. “This is my area for my particular crew. My husband Jeff and I are from Palm Coast, but we cover Ormond Beach all the way down to Ponce Inlet. We are part of the Fun Coast.”
Leviathan has crews in 36 states and nine countries. Pirate crews participate in community events and fundraisers. They welcomed kids and their families to take photographs with pirates and mermaids at the seafood festival.
The Ancient City Privateers and other crewes also took part in the festival.
“The thing we enjoy about it the most is we can go to any of those places and call up our crew mates even if we’ve never met them before and they welcome us into their city,” he said. “We have folks just like family that we can go hang with.”
Music played in the background as festival goers perused artists’ wares, sipped on Yuengling and ate from plates stacked high with savory seafood. Children played in the Kid Zone while Diamond Jim made balloon creations for everyone. Also, Kid Fish offered fishing clinics and handed out 300 fishing poles.
“This is our first year here,” said Kate McLean, of Edgewater. “Look at all the food. We have barely made it anywhere. We are already like, which ones are we going to choose?"
Editor's note: This story was updated at 9:33 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 23, to include the fact pirates from the Ancient City Privateers and other crewes took part in the festival.