Ahoy, mateys! The Galveston Pirate Festival is setting sail this weekend, offering a weekend full of pirate-themed festivities. Declared “Galveston Pirate Festival Week” by a City of Galveston proclamation, the coastal celebration includes pub crawls, sword fights, boat parties, and more.
About Galveston Pirate Festival
Galveston Pirate Festival Week is an official, city-sanctioned event that celebrates Galveston’s pirate lore. Throughout the week, visitors have been invited to take part in themed activities at locations around the island, including historical programming, pub crawls, pirate tours and other costumed events.
Produced by WebTek Promotions, the team behind the Galveston Steampunk Festival and Ghost Coast Festival, the pirate festival is alike a niche, costume-heavy affair for the whole family to enjoy.
Attendees are encouraged to dress in their best pirate attire and embrace the festival’s swashbuckling atmosphere.
Galveston Pirate Festival 2026 events
The week’s activities include a Friday pub crawl in downtown Galveston, along with other pirate-themed gatherings and tours.
On Saturday, September 19, Moody Gardens will host the main festival from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The official schedule includes an opening ceremony with cannon fire, live performances, a shipwrecked sideshow, kids’ barrel racing, sword fighting, a costume contest and fire performances.
The festival’s pirate marketplace will feature pirate apparel, crafts, oddities, specialty goods and themed merchandise. Food and drinks will also be available from participating vendors, including Snowie Texas, Twisted Nachos, Haak Wines and Thirsty Bead Meadery.
Visitors can also connect with local groups such as Black Hearted Pearl’s School of Pyracy and the Whodah Krewe.
Other family-friendly attractions listed for the festival include:
- Giant children’s play area.
- Treasure hunts.
- Free face painting.
- Balloon art.
- Mermaid meet-and-greets.
- Magic and juggling performances.
- Barrel races.
- Bottle ring toss.
- Giant Connect Four.
- Pirate games and demonstrations.
An afterparty at Texas Tail Distillery will follow the main festival from 8 to 11 p.m. The event is open to the public.
Festival tickets are on sale at $27.61 for adults and $17.07 for kids (12 and under).
On Sunday, festivalgoers can tour the 1877 tall ship Elissa before boarding the Seagull II for a one-hour harbor tour featuring views of Galveston’s maritime landscape, Battleship Texas and, potentially, dolphins.
Ticket information for Galveston Pirate Festival
As mentioned, the main Saturday festival tickets are $27.61 for adults and $17.07 for kids. Individual tickets are priced as such:
- Friday Legendary Pirate Tour: $43.42
- Friday Pub Crawl with Tour Guide: $43.42
- Friday Self-Guided Pub Crawl: $27.61
- Sunday Elissa Tour & Historic Harbor Boat Tour: $48.69
For more information on the festival, see the official website here.
