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Show BRAVO, BUCCANEER Corpus Christi Fete To Revive Spirit of Colorful Pirute Days WNU Features. CORPUS CHRISTI, TEX. Spirit of swashbuckling Pi-! Pi-! rate Jean Lafitte, often termed the most romantic and color-I color-I ful figure in modern history, will again cross the American scene with the revival of Buccaneer Days at Corpus Christi. June 12 13 and 14. Discontinued during the war, Buccaneer; Davs will be revived this year, with nationally famous enter-i enter-i tainers, leading dance bands, colorful pageants, star-studded ; stae-e shows and other events added to emphasize the fun and entertainment" theme of the celebration. cele-bration. Although Jean Lafitte's crew was I the scourge of the gulf during the early 1800s, their contribution to I Gen. Andrew Jackson's defense of New Orleans in the War of 1812 won them a full pardon from Pres. j James Madison. Later Lafitte I moved his pirate band to Texas, and historians agree that in 1821 he j established his headquarters on the present site of Corpus Christi. From j time to time old Spanish coins have been found along the beaches surrounding sur-rounding the city, lending credence to the numerous stories of his buried treasure here. Pirate Jean Lafitte and his crew, portrayed by leading citizens of , South Texas, will be the central characters in the celebration. Fes-I Fes-I tivities start as the pirate brig sails JL.-.tM.at sW .T". J. MISS BUCCANEER' Modern Version Into Corpus Christi's harbor to "lay siege" to the city. As they storm the harbor, the "Pirate Chief will publicly proclaim that the city has been taken over in the name of aU good pirates. From that moment on. during the next three days, a series of events will be staged along the city's bay-front. bay-front. At least two events will be staged simultaneously to insure di- . versity of entertainment. One of the features of the '47 Buccaneer Days will be the Miss Texas bathing beauty finals, with . the winner going to Atlantic City's Miss America contest to represent the Lone Star state. Sail boat races, annual Galveston-Corpus Galveston-Corpus Christi open sea race, a professional pro-fessional aquatic show, a night-time water parade with floats and boats colorfuUy decorated with flowers, hidden treasure hunts, several national na-tional radio network programs originating origi-nating from the huge floating stage, motor boat races, gigantic street parades, pa-rades, barber shop quartet contest, swimming and diving contests, fireworks fire-works displays, old fiddler's contest, square dancing exhibitions and dancing to three name bands will complete the celebration program. This year's Court of the Queen of the Seas will be one of the most lavish pageants ever presented. |