When pirates attack Wiscasset Harbor on July 4, two of the people who may be most enjoying themselves are Alan and Judith Boyes. They'll be two of the pirates.

The Boothbay couple, both officers of the Wiscasset Yacht Club, will be coming in on the Pagan Moon, the Boyes' 34-foot sailboat with dark red sails and a dark green hull. That's how the boat always looks, but it fits perfectly with the occasion.

“It looks like a pirate ship,” Alan Boyes said.

The couple will be styling, too; he, in a bought pirate costume; she, in one she's assembling in part from items she found a collectibles store up the coast in Warren.

“It's been quite a challenge, that's for sure,” she said about making her costume look as authentic as possible.

She'll be portraying Irish pirate Anne Bonny, who, according to Boyes' research, was raised as a boy. “She was a ruthless pirate, but I'm just not feeling that way,” Boyes said. This will be a nicer interpretation of Bonny, she said.

That's a good thing, because the day's events are aimed at being family-friendly.

Alan Boyes said club members are enthused about the pending attack and other festivities. A half dozen or so plan to dress as pirates, but the more people who do, the more fun the day will be, Judith Boyes said.

“If we can really make a presence, that would just be awesome,” she said.

“We welcome anyone who wants to be a pirate,” on a boat or on land, she said. If interested in being a volunteer pirate, call the couple at 207-633-5341.

The town, the yacht club and the Wiscasset Area Chamber of Commerce have all helped plan the day's events.

The “Treasures of Wiscasset” parade is set to start at 10 a.m. on Hooper Street, continue onto Federal Street, then hit Route 1 and end on Water   Street.

At 11 a.m., a 21-gun salute and flag-raising are planned on the Waterfront Pier, to honor veterans.

The pirate attack on the harbor will start around 11:45 a.m. after boats have done a circle or two, Alan Boyes said. Black-powder cannons belonging to yacht club members will be fired both on and off shore during the attack.

“It'll be quite loud and there'll be a huge amount of smoke,” he said.

Pirates will hand out treasure maps leading to a sand pile at the club. The pile will feature goody bags of children's items donated by Papa Geppetto's Toys & Treasures in Wiscasset, the business' co-owner Julie Groleau said.

“Whenever there's something we can do to help the community, we'll do it,” Groleau said. “We like doing it.”

While at the yacht club, children can make their own boats with a shingle and easy-to-assemble parts. Those post-attack activities are set to wrap up around 1:30 p.m.

Club members will be serving up strawberry shortcake will local ingredients at 3 p.m. Proceeds benefit the club's general fund.

Julie Bellefleur's Bellefleur Bakery of Wiscasset is donating the shortcakes.

In other festivities, from 5 to 7 p.m., old fashioned carnival games, tall tales and an open mic for talent are scheduled on the waterfront; rockabilly band Pete Whitham & the Cosmik Zombies, out of Portland, are set to perform from 7 p.m. to 9:15 p.m.

The celebration concludes with a bang, or many of them, with fireworks at 9:15 p.m. They'll be set off from Wiscasset Middle School, making for great viewing spots including the Main Street and Recreational piers and across the Sheepscot River in Edgecomb.

Look for some new designs and a couple of new colors to be in the mix for this year's approximately 25-minute show, Central Maine Pyrotechnics owner Steve Marson said. His company has been doing Wiscasset's fireworks shows for about 20 years.

Susan Johns can be reached at 207-844-4633 or sjohns@wiscassetnewspaper.com.