The 43rd year of Dickens on the Strand was a year of firsts. The first time a day of Dickens has received 7 inches of rain in a day, the first time the festival has canceled a day, and the first time it has ever expanded to a 2nd weekend.
Though we didn't make it to the 2nd weekend, we definitely were there for the wet Friday and flooding Saturday of the show.
Our amplified show for Fezziwig Friday night turned out to be the last time speakers were used over the weekend as we proceeded to perform wherever the people were huddling out of the bursts of pouring rain that continued all day on Sat.
We were proud to be one of the things that helped people forget how cold and wet they were.
Harvey the Corpsman waits around for the Bilge Pumps set to begin, while holding off the downpour with his mind.
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The Bilge Pumps manage to get in their full show at Fezziwig's Friday Night event right before the monsoon began.
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On Saturday morning, the street vendors were mostly gone due to the storms and the streets were small rivers.
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The band sets up in front of LA Kings in one of the few places out of the rain where there wasn't already an impromptu performance going on.
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Much to the delight of the stream of people trying to stay out of the streams.
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Harvey the Corpsman finds creative new ways to keep his hat on in the storm winds
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Harvey uses his invisible rope to tie down Splice the Rigger. One would assume as a sacrifice to the rain gods.
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Maroon the Shantyman and a familiar-looking Jack Sparrow scout for a place to perform out of the rain.
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Jack decides to attack some of the local population who are huddled out of the weather.
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And this is the view for most of the day of the street.
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Off the street, though, the characters remain quite interesting, thanks to the Stilt Lady's living Christmas tree.
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The Bilge Pumps decide to elevate their show by going to one of the high sidewalks for a set
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There is always room for more handfuls of booty during "Pirating the Seas".
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While the show went on, the water rose, threatening to trap the patrons right next to the Bilge Pumps for the whole weekend.
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Maroon serenades the crowd with "The Pirate Christmas Song as part of the festival's last show.
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The band snags a migrating Sparrow to help them crank out a show to the faithful souls that still remained in the Strand.
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You gotta be tough to survive on a weekend like this. Tough enough to stab babies? Maybe.
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Sunday morning, the band learned of the cancelation of the festival day, so they get together for a quick rehearsal for the following weekend's gig.
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Go back to Past Landings page
or on to more pictures of The Bilge Pumps jaunts from 2016!!
| Pirates on the Prairie V | Mardi Gras Galveston | Medieval Fair of Norman | Railean Rum Distillery | | TMCA Spring Fling | Texas Pirate Festival | Taking the Stage III | Messina Hof Winery | | TCC TLAPD Party | Texarkana Ren Faire | Magical & Medieval Faire | Texas Ren Festival | | Louisiana Ren Fest | Railean Rum Distillery | Dickens on the Strand | GP Farmers Market |
For booking information contact Craig Lutke at: 214-415-9563 or by e-mail at
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