Brixham Pirate Festival

Thanks Me Hearties! 

The 2018 Brixham Pirate Festival was a resounding success! Thanks to your generousity and determination of many people around the world, we defied the odds and put on our best festival yet!

Here is to an even bigger and brighter future! HUZZAH!



Ahoy There!

We’re the people behind the Brixham Pirate Festival, an annual gathering of the world’s most infamous pirates and scallywags.  It’s held on and around the Harbour in the heart of this historic little fishing port at the southern end of Torbay every year, on the first Bank Holiday weekend in May. 2018 will mark 300 years since Blackbeard’s death, and 10 years of the Festival, so it’s going to be extra special!



The next Brixham Pirate Festival is May 5th to 7th 2018

Come and join us! We aim to make the festival family friendly, suitable for everyone and all ages. As the first pirate festival in the year, many come to show off their pirate finery after the winter (you don’t have to dress up, but it’s fun if you do!) There will be LOTS of pirates, amazing music – sea shanties and pirate rock -living history and re-enactments with some big bangs, militias, cannon, and skirmishes involving the Golden Hind and maybe other historic ships in the harbour. There will be games, competitions, buskers, jugglers, street performers, street stalls. You’ll find lots to eat and drink and people having fun and being very merry; it’s a great atmosphere. And it will sometimes be loud! Once the day’s programme is over you can eat and drink in town (in pirate filled pubs) and hear more music too. You can drive, park n ride, come by bus, or come by ferry.

And it’s free! You don’t need a ticket to come!

Putting on the Festival costs lots of money. To make it safe and legal we pay for road closures, signs, licences, insurances, security people and first aid teams, safety fences - and extra toilets, stages, all the equipment, before we even get to the entertainment! That’s around £32000…..and we can’t charge an entrance fee….

How on earth do we do it? We need your help!!!

The Festival can only happen if we get enough pledges of support, some sponsors and donations. Everything raised goes to pay for the Festival; anything left over goes towards the cost of the next year’s Festival. As you might imagine, a big part of each year is spent raising funds. This year we’re trying something a little different: asking for your help to fund ONE thing.


We need £5000 for the Main Stage!

Could you help us raise the funds for one truly essential part of the Festival, the Main Stage? This is where the bands play during the day (11am – 6pm); it’s also where we locate our public announcement system using the stage sound system. 

£5000 will pay for the hire of sound & lighting equipment, the stage, and the technicians for the 3 days of the festival.

And there are prizes…

As a thank you there will be a draw with TWO winners chosen from go fund me donors: one prize for the person making the biggest single donation leading up to the 2018 festival, and one for the person drawn out whose name is drawn out randomly. More details soon!

Thank you for your support! It makes ALL the difference!