June 29, 2007

The Party Pirate

Local Evergreen boy turns love of pirates into blossoming business

By Dona Nichols
Special to the Times

Long before Jack Sparrow launched the recent pirate trend, Cody Nichols was immersed in pirate folklore and history.
Nichols can cite pirate trivia faster than a scalawag can walk the plank. He knows how the famous buccaneer Blackbeard got his name and the names of the two most famous female pirates.

Cody Nichols, 13, shown here in full pirate costume with treasure chest and loot, is turning his love for pirates into a business. He also hopes to start a local pirate re-enactment club.

Today, Nichols’ encyclopedic knowledge of pirates is coming in handy. The 13-year-old’s favorite pastime is to dress like a buccaneer from the 17th century and attend a pirate festival or Renaissance faire.

Nichols also enjoys entertaining smaller kids at birthday parties. Thanks to the success of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, pirates are bigger than ever and Nichols is cashing in.

“Pirates had a mystique about them which is really unique,” Nichols said. “Like Johnny Depp said, they were the rock stars of the 17th century.”

Nichols shares his interest in pirates with his father who dons the regalia, which includes a Blunderbuss replica and an authentic sword.

“I really love doing this with Cody,” Ralph Nichols said. “Cody got me interested and before I knew [it], I was hooked after going to my first Renaissance festival and seeing what lengths people went to in order to replicate the era.”

Cody, who has lived in the Evergreen area most of his life, decided to turn his passion for pirates into a cottage industry after volunteering his services for local organizations over the past three months.

“He’s been doing pirate gigs for the last three nights in a row,” said his father, Ralph. “His biggest complaint this summer has been the fact that he’s only 13 and not old enough to work so I told him to start his own business doing pirate parties for kids.”

Both father and son have got the lingo down as they teach kids the pirate alphabet and how to talk like a pirate.
Cody has built up quite a repertoire of pirate songs and games that he brings to the party along with eye patches, swords, treasure maps and booty bags for all.

One of his favorite games is called “walk the plank” in which he supplies water pistols for everyone to squirt at the pirates’ victims as they walk down a plank of wood. Peg leg races are a big hit as well.

For those interested in hiring this young buccaneer for a party call (408) 210-6679 or email PirateNichols@gmail.com

For $200 you’ll get two stinky human pirates to entertain yer kids and yer street urchins. They supply everything but the grog and the grub.