Ghosts of Pirate Cove

gopclogoOne of the first events we created for Newport Aquarium was a Halloween event called “Ghosts of Pirate Cove.” The pirate theme not only capitalized on the popularity of pirates, it allowed us to reinforce the brand by staging it in the shark tank. From idea to execution, we orchestrated all of the elements while working closely with the Aquarium’s marketing, guest services, husbandry and engineering departments.

We created a story about Captain Dubloon and his crew of pirates that depicted how his ship sank to the bottom of the sea. His ship was laden with treasure and when a massive storm rolled in, the pirates’ greed kept them from throwing the treasure overboard to lighten the load. The ship sank from the weight and the pirates turned to underwater ghosts. The show kicked off a treasure hunt throughout the aquarium for kids to set the Ghosts free by collecting treasures.

We conceived and oversaw the construction of a pirate ship hull that was sunken in the shark tank. We recruited and rehearsed an actor to play Captain Dubloon.

The swashbuckling Captain shared his story before sending the audience on their treasure hunt. He also became a spokesperson for the event in media interviews and guest appearances throughout the city.

We themed-out the entire Aquarium in pirate props and “ghost” pirates floating from the ceiling. We hung a billowing pirate ship’s sail from the ceiling in the lobby and the Ghosts of Pirate Cove logo was projected against it to create a “wow” factor for guests entering the Aquarium. We created a pirate soundtrack featuring swashbuckling pirates and funny clips culled from pirate movies played throughout the Aquarium as well.

Each year a new component is added to the event to keep it fresh. For instance, we brought in Hollywood make-up artist Ken Neiderbaumer off the set of the latest Pirate’s of the Caribbean movie to give kids demonstrations on pirate make-up.