SEPT. 22-23

TIME TO SHIVER ME TIMBERS

The Portland Pirate Festival, Sept. 22-23: The second annual festival in Cathedral Park brings the excitement of the Spanish Main to the Pacific Northwest. Family tours of spectacular tall ships, cannon firing and sword-fighting demonstrations, live music and a pirate-themed market. Be a swashbuckling buccaneer in a re-enacted pirate battle. There's grub, grog and oh yes, plenty of parrots. 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Cathedral Park, Portland, Ore. Single-day tickets: $15, adults; $8, ages 3 to 12. www.portlandpiratefestival.com.

SEPT. 1-2

PADDLERS TAKE OVER KONA

Kailua, Kona, Sept. 1-2, Queen Lili'uokalani Outrigger Canoe Race. Now in its 35th year, the race is the biggest long-distance outrigger paddling challenge in the world. More than 2,500 paddlers come from California, Florida, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong and Canada to compete in the 18-mile race between Kailua and Honaunau.

Paddlers range in age from 18 to those in their 70s. In the "Open" Division, paddling "iron" means there is no escort boat and the same six people paddle for all 18 miles. A torchlight parade and entertainment, down Kailua's Ali'i Drive, follows the racing on Sept 1.

Day 2's six-mile races include a six-person division for teenagers. Other races consist of double-hull (two canoes lashed together), and OC-1 and 2 (small outrigger canoes that seat only one or two people). A lu'au, an awards ceremony and entertainment bring the event to a close.

On Sept. 1, the start is 7:30 a.m.; Sept. 2 start is 8.30 a.m. www.kaiopua.org.

OCT. 5-7: PARTY IN NEW YORK CITY

The New Yorker Festival, Oct. 5-7, celebrates the arts through readings, debates, musical performances, interviews and excursions around New York City. Look for the three-day program of events in the Sept. 17 issue of The New Yorker, on newsstands Sept. 10.

Established in 1999, the festival invites the top minds from a range of disciplines — from fashion to politics — to engage in public discourse with the people who live in the city. The New Yorker was first published on Feb. 17, 1925; the magazine is published 42 times a year. http://festival.newyorker.com.