Bangor daycare christens pirate ship sandbox

BANGOR – The city has a new ship to add to its fleet.

Anchored at 107 Maine Ave., the Parkside Pearl was christened Thursday during a special ceremony at Parkside Children’s Learning Center. Dozens of junior pirates, many of them sporting black eye patches, were on hand for the event.

Made by co-founder Paul Leonard, the 24-foot replica of a pirate ship – complete with a traditional spoked ship’s wheel, gangway and plank, full sail and an 18-foot mast topped with a Jolly Roger flag – actually is a sandbox.

Presiding over the christening was Richard Greene, mayor of Bangor, whose waterfront currently plays host to three cruise ships.

The Parkside Pearl, he said, “is another ship that calls Bangor its homeport. Without further ado, I’d like to christen the Parkside Pearl on behalf of the Bangor City Council and the citizens of Bangor.”

Attired in full pirate regalia, Lucas Jordan, 5, of Waltham had the honor of actually christening the ship.

But instead of a bottle of bubbly, Jordan struck the bow of the ship with Parker, a green parrot-shaped pinata.

It took several whacks to crack the parrot open so that it could spill its treasure trove of fruit rollups, candy, “gold” doubloons and small toys out onto the grass.

Leonard, who founded the daycare with his wife, Liz, built the pirate-themed sandbox over several weekends this summer. He said it took about 140 hours to build the sandbox, which is made of natural cedar and composite lumber.

The mast was made from a tree he cut down from the family’s yard in Brewer, Leonard said.

Despite their young ages, the children enrolled at Parkside know a lot about pirates and pirate ships. They learned about them during a weeklong Pirate Week summer camp session that included such activities as making pirate costumes and flags.

Here is some of the pirate information the children shared, both about the ship and about pirates:

“It’s a pirate ship,” Hanna Kolyvek, 4, of Hampden explained matter-of-factly. She said the ship was used for “driving to the castle” to rescue a princess.

Connor St. Peter, 3, of Kenduskeag also volunteered some information about pirates.

“They have swords and they fight the bad pirates,” adding that he was among the good pirates plying the seas of Maine Avenue, where the learning center is located.

Cole Dumond, 3, of Brewer elaborated. “Pirates have a hook and they look for treasure,” he said. “You can have an eye patch and you can see with one eye and you look for coins.”

“We have to fight mean people,” Dumond said, adding, “We had to get some bubbles and blow them for the party.”

Asked if the group would someday set sail aboard the Parkside Pearl, Dumond said, “You can’t really move. You have to pretend you’re moving it.”

On Thursday, Paul Leonard said more is in store for Parkside’s play area.

His next project will be an observation deck from which youngsters can watch aircraft arriving and departing from Bangor International Airport, the runways of which are located just across the street.

The public will have an opportunity to check out the Parkside Pearl on Saturday, when the daycare will present Family Fun Day from 2 to 4 p.m. with members of Fusion Bangor and the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce.

The event will include free family tours of the nearby Challenger Learning Center of Maine and Maine Air Museum. The city’s fire department also will have a ladder truck on display.

For more information, call Parkside at 941-2122 or visit its Web site at www.parksideclc.com.