[Watch] Giant Halloween Pirate Ship Feeds the Needy

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Fancy a pirate ship this Halloween? You might be thinking of dressing up as Jack Sparrow or the tentacles headed Davy Jones from the Pirates of the Caribbean. But did you ever think of building your own pirate ship this Halloween? Well, a New York father just did that for his daughter.

According to a CNN report, a father in New York won Halloween by building a 50-foot long, 20-foot tall pirate ship that towers in front of his home in Rochester.

Motivated by His Children

“I’m a big fan of Halloween,” DeMatteo told FOX TV Stations. “It’s been growing bigger and bigger each year. I always try to out-do myself.”

The father of three said his kids absolutely love the ship. “They help me build it. They play on it, and they like the attention they get too,” DeMatteo shared.

“I have no background in this, I just do it for fun for my kids, and that’s what makes it so great,” Tony DeMatteo told CNN. “It’s also been a rough year for a lot of people so we decided this would be a perfect opportunity to put a smile on people’s face and just give them a sense of normalcy.”
The father of three said he was motivated to build the pirate ship by his children, whose faces “light up with excitement” whenever they see Halloween decorations.

The pirate ship after it was completed.

How did he do it?

A few years back, DeMatteo’s now 13-year-old daughter asked for a “Pirates of the Caribbean” themed Halloween. To make her wish come true, he designed a small pirate ship. But this year’s ship is twice as big.
Made from recycled metal, wood, and rope, the vessel is complete with black pirate flags and a huge skeleton hanging from the bowsprit. It’s also outfitted with some impressive effects, including six cannons that light up, a fog machine and even fire blasters. DeMatteo said he also produced a soundtrack that synchronizes with the effects of the cannons and fire blasters.
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The whole project cost about $3,000 in supplies and took a week to build, he said.
“It might look expensive but I bought everything second-hand and made a lot of the props myself,” DeMatteo said. “It’s been gathering crowds and everyone just loves it. When people come by they get so excited, it’s fun to see how much people enjoy it.”

Fire blasters on the pirate ship.

Grabs Attention on Social Media

“A lot of people ask about the cannons. Here is close up. Fog and light shoot out when a cannon blast rumbles the earth in the sound track”, wrote DeMatteo on Instagram sharing a closer look of the ship cannons

His social media posts have already garnered hundreds of views, and DeMatteo said he was surprised by the attention.

“I’ve been incredibly surprised by the reaction,” DeMatteo revealed. “I didn’t think people were going to like it this much.”

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Built To Feed the Needy

While the purpose of the pirate ship was to bring joy to his family and his community, there’s also a good cause behind this dad’s Halloween spirit.
DeMatteo asks people who stop by to bring canned goods or another food donation that he provides to people in need in the community. So far, his garage is completely packed with food donations.
But the fun’s not over yet — on Halloween, two professional pirate actors will be at DeMatteo’s home to pirate the ship and give out bags of candy to kids.

Larger One Next Halloween!

As for whether DeMatteo will do an even larger display next year remains to be seen.

“We’re already thinking about next year,” DeMatteo chuckled. “But, I don’t have a solid idea yet. I probably won’t do a pirate ship again unless I get some sort of overwhelming feedback that we should.”

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Source: CNN