For Burnaby's Julie Desroches, it's not just a pirate-themed Halloween display. It's a symbol of resistance, of honour among thieves and living life as a better human being.
That's because the Desroches family's annual Halloween display was inspired from a place close to death.
Six years ago, around Halloween, Julie Desroches, a child psychologist and mother of two, was struck with a pregnancy-related illness that left her hospitalized and nearly dead.
"The whole pirate thing for me became very symbolic of what I went through. I was facing my own stormy sea," she told the NOW.
She saw her supporters - friends and family - as her "pirate crew," as she struggled with the medical and legal systems.
She watched a lot of pirate movies in the years it took to recover, and during that time, she came up with the idea to create a pirate-themed Halloween display. Last year, she was finally well enough, and with the help of her friends and family (her crew), made it a fundraiser to help children in Africa.
Through donations collected online and on Halloween night, the Desroches raised $2,500 for the Saint Stephen Children's Centre in Makondo, Uganda, run by a man Desroches met 15 years ago while volunteering in Africa.
The money went towards a roof for the centre, and this year, Desroches wants to bring in electricity, so the children aren't forced to study in the dark and the centre can run computers.
"It would give them a much better chance in the future, so it's pretty exciting," Desroches says.
Last year's display brought roughly 200 visitors, and this year Julie is hoping for more.
There will be games and treasure hunts for kids, interactive elements to play with and themes and characters from popular pirate lore, like Pirates of the Caribbean, Long John Silver and Captain Hook. Of course, there is trick-or-treating, and anyone who dresses as a pirate will get extra candy.
She focuses on fictitious pirates - not the murderous thieves of actual history - but the Robin Hoods of the high seas.
The display is child-friendly - Desroches did not want to make it scary for the little ones.
New this year is a post-strike nod to B.C.'s teachers.
"They are the honourable pirates of the year. They are the ones that fought the bigger system, so we will have a tribute to them in our shrine," she says.
"All of it really, at the end of the day, is about celebrating honourable people," she says.
"You have to live an honourable life. Yes, you have to fight hard things, but you can do it in a way that's more honourable, in a way that's just and fair and more kind. ... It's about being good people. Even when you have stormy seas, you have to band together."
For more on the Desroches' pirate home, or to donate, go to www.piratehouse.ca. For information on the beneficiary in Africa, go to www.ststephenchildrenscentre.org.
