Michigan Pirate Festival

Staff > Director

Meet Our Director

d'Booty, the Count of Derbyshire, is master of the Merenthia Shipping Company which transports trade goods all over the world. No stranger to ships, d'Booty was shanghaied by Captain Red and put to work aboard the "Scarlet Harlot". He found that he enjoyed the carefree life so much that upon reaching port he joined the crew officially, eventually commandeering his own pirate boat. Although d'Booty rarely goes pirating at sea, he maintains a large smuggling operation through his shipping company and finances many of the ships within the Brethren. He also uses his title to obtain the proper legal papers for the captains and their vessels.

countdbooty@ BrethrenOfTheGreatLakes.com

Dan Leonard

Dan is one of the founders of the Brethren of the Great Lakes and is the President of Michigan Pirate Festivals. He has promoted the study of history at museums, schools, and libraries throughout Michigan and the Chicago area.
He has been a pirate for over ten years portraying Count d'Booty, the Pirate Lord of Lake Michigan, and has spent countless hours researching and amassing his own personal library. Driven by his passion for history and boats, he has accumulated a large amount of historical knowledge pertaining to piracy.
Dan is a trained fencer and sword fighter and is certified through the National Muzzle Loader and Rifle Association for artillery and black powder use in public events, and has been a member of the Privateers guild since 2001.
He has worked for several period themed productions including the Michigan Renaissance Festival, Silver Leaf Renaissance Festival, Mayfaire and Derbyshire. He has experience in nearly all areas of production; Promotions, Marketing, Site, Entertainment, Vendors, Volunteers and Staff and has produced many of his own events.
He has also worked on a number of productions for community theater as Producer, Stage Manager, Assistant Director, Props, and Special Effects as well as taking acting roles in various productions.
Dan is a native of Grand Haven (who's school mascot is the buccaneer), holds a degree in Engineering, and over 20 years experience in automotive manufacturing. In addition to extensive traveling throughout the United States, he has spent time in the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico and Canada.