By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

GARYVILLE – It’s a rare opportunity for a group of children to be allowed to dance and sing like pirates in the middle of a library, but that was the case last week in St. John the Baptist Parish when local performer Capt. Papillion paid a visit to various local branches as part of the library system’s summer reading program.

Papillion explained that his pirate-themed show is an effort to get the younger set more excited about opening books during summer vacation.

“I like to use the imagery of books being a sort of treasure box of ideas and imagination,” Papillion said. “Pirates like adventure, they like to dream big and you can find those ideas in books. I tell the groups that it is their way to pursue happiness.”

Decked out in full pirate regalia from head to toe, Papillion engaged children at the Garyville branch getting them to dance around the room to interactive songs and other activities. Between each song, Papillion entertained the group with stories about adventures at sea and places he’d traveled.

“I try to explain as best I can that when a person writes a book they are essentially writing out their dreams,” he said. “I want the children to understand that they are partaking in that dream through reading. I also try to encourage some of them to take down their own dreams so that maybe down the line, they can be an author too.”

After all the songs and all the discussions, Papillion offered a special treat to each child in attendance – the opportunity to hold his sword and pistol, but only under close supervision.

“Everyone wants to feel like a pirate once in their life, right,” Papillion said.