Pirates from the Caribbean are jumping ship to speak in Auburn Friday, April 12, as the Coalition for Dwarf Advocacy hosts the crew for a night of autographs, questions and answers, costumes and the 10th anniversary of The Curse of the Black Pearl.
Lt. and Stacia Hemmes are adopting a son from China who has dwarfism, and this event was organized by Coalition for Dwarf Advocacy and Marty Klebba, an actor from Pirates of the Caribbean who also has dwarfism, to help the Hemmes family fund the adoption.
"I contacted (Klebba), and this is the group's way of assisting families that are adopting children with dwarfism," Stacia said. "It will benefit other families as well through Coalition for Dwarf Advocacy, and then our family."
The event will feature four celebrities from the Pirates of the Caribbean who will meet everyone in attendance. Klebba, who plays Marty in the first three Pirates movies, will be in attendance along with Kevin McNally (Gibbs), Lee Arenberg (Pintel) and Vanessa Branch (one of Captain Jack Sparrow's girlfriends from Tortuga).
"These actors are taking the time out of their schedules just out of the goodness of their hearts to do this event, so they are very committed to their fans and to helping others," Hemmes said. "It is just amazing. I can't believe people's generosity and love for our son who isn't even here yet. It's going to be a great night."
Kayla Jackson, sophomore in pre-chemistry education is a huge fan of the Pirates of the Caribbean and said she is very excited for this event.
"It's good for all types of people," Jackson said.
"It appeals to kids because pirates are cool. It appeals to grown-ups because you've got the love intrigue and the action and adventure, but you've got the comedy in there too."
Jackson said she was happy about the cast members that will be in attendance, and because the event is helping other people, she thinks that makes it even better.
"Gibbs, he was always one of my favorites," Jackson said. "He had a lot of funny lines that I like to quote when I am hanging out with my mom."
Chris Lewis is also helping host the event. Lewis is personal friends with Klebba, and also handles Klebba's business and publicity.
"It's really all about helping the Hemmes family," Lewis said. "So we hope everyone will show up and help them out. You know generally, premieres where you get a chance to see the stars are going to be in L.A. or New York or London. Everyone loves Pirates of the Caribbean and this is your chance to see them live in person."
Pirates of Caribbean is the fifth highest grossing film franchise and makes approximately $930 million for each movie, according to Lewis. Only the Harry Potter movies make more money per film.
"It should be an interesting evening," Lewis said. "Just to kind of celebrate the 10th anniversary of the release The Curse of the Black Pearl. While putting this together, so many of the cast members were saying 'Oh my gosh has it really been 10 years'."
Tickets for this event are $15 for adults, $12 for Auburn students and military and $10 for children 17 and under. For more information or to buy tickets visit: http://coda.ticketleap.com/pillage-and-plunder-world-tour.
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