By Sarah Morton Taggart | [email protected]

Shiver me timbers! The Ruth Vine Tyler Library was hijacked by pirates on Sept. 21. Children of all ages got a chance to play pirate games, make pirate crafts — and explore a 20-foot-long pirate ship complete with hidden rooms, a deck and a slide.

International Talk Like a Pirate Day, which officially takes place on Sept. 19, is a satirical holiday that encourages landlubbers to “talk like a pirate.” The library has celebrated the day in the past, but not to the same extent as this year.

“It all started with the ship,” said Alesha Adamson, a library employee. “We found the pirate ship online and decided to have a big party. Maria (Sommer) put together the crafts and the food bank donated snacks.”

The celebration attracted more than twice the usual number of visitors to the library — more than 650 patrons compared to the 300 or so on a regular Saturday according to David Bird, Tyler Library manager.

One family stopped by the library in the morning, then came back in the afternoon so they could participate in the event. Their 3-year-old son enjoyed making a pirate hat out of construction paper. Kids also had the chance to make pirate ships out of recycled plastic bottles or “walk the plank” and receive a costume eye patch for completing the challenge.

All librarians were in costume, and music from a pirate station on Spotify added to the festive atmosphere. 

“We loved watching the kids air sword fight along the bridge of the ship,” Bird said. “Perhaps the best thing that happened was when a young family with two little kids all dressed up like pirates walked into the building and looked through the doors to see the pirate ship. They lost their minds. They ran/bounced their way out the door so excited to play pirates in their costumes. They spent three hours at the library enjoying every bit of the event.”