If you didn’t make it to the 7th Annual Mid-Columbia Pirate Festival at Clover Island Inn this weekend, you truly missed out. On a whim on Saturday morning, my wife asked me if I’d like to go to the pirate festival that day. As a father, I’m always open to taking my kids to an event that will give them happiness and wear them out. So, I agreed, and off we went.
We missed most of the festivities but we were able to meet some truly wonderful people. My daughter loves “ghost pirate movies” and she wore her Aztec gold necklace from Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. We made our way through the vendors, met a large iguana, and reached the table in the back. Sitting on one side was Dragon Dronet, a propmaster whose reputation is next to none. If you’ve ever been to RadCon in Tri-Cities, chances are that you’ve met him at one of his panels. I was in awe of some of the molds he had on his table for sale. I quickly recognized the belt buckles he had designed for Batman, Batman Returns, and Batman & Robin. He regaled my daughter with tales of how he made the Aztec gold for Pirates, and for a four-year-old, she followed pretty well. I was fortunate enough to purchase a piece of Aztec gold he had made from the mold he used for the movie. It’s made from pewter and plated in gold.
Pete Christensen
Sitting to the right of Dragon Dronet was a man by the name of Isaac C. Singleton, Jr. Isaac is an actor best known for being the voice of Thanos for Marvel’s video games and TV shows. Isaac was also featured in The Mandalorian, Planet of the Apes, Anger Management, Deadpool, and other works. You may recognize him from Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl as Captain Barbossa’s right-hand man, Bo’sun.
Pete Christensen
Isaac is a very big man at 6’5″ and my daughter was terrified. That’s probably why he has had a steady line of work all of these years.
Isaac was very nice and shared stories from his career with me. I had to know, of course, if he really slapped Kiera Knightley. He explained to me how it was done and how he didn’t actually slap the starlet but was able to make it convincing. I was bummed that I forgot to bring my copy of Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, a video game that featured his voice as Thanos.
The moral of the story is this: next time you see an event pop up in Tri-Cities, try to attend because you never know who you’ll meet.
LOOK: 38 Amazing Actors That Have Called Washington State Home
Sure, Washington is known for Amazon, coffee, wine, apples, grunge music, Microsoft, and Boeing. But you may not know how many actors and actresses have come from the Evergreen State. Yeah, our state has had an impact on the television and film industry. We’ve got A-listers, an Oscar winner, and faces of big franchises.
Check out our list below, I’m sure you’ll find some surprises.