Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country | Founded 05-05-05

Real-Life Treasure Hunter Mike Daniel at the Hayes Center July 29

Ahoy, mateys. Are you fascinated by treasure trunks laden with stolen booty, sunken ships that hold wondrous and tragic secrets, and that spine-chilling pirate known as Blackbeard? If so, the Hayes Center has an evening for you!
On Tuesday, July 29, at 7:00 p.m., Mike Daniel, world-renowned naval historian, underwater adventurer and marine coordinator for the film industry, will present his exciting and educational seafaring lecture titled Pirates, Shipwrecks and Treasures.

This lecture, presented in conjunction with the Blowing Rock Stage Company’s production of Peter Pan—on stage at the center from July 18 to August 3—is appropriate for ages 6 and older, and includes the true stories of some of Daniel’s most renowned discoveries, as well as bone-rattling information on the nefarious Blackbeard, on whom Peter Pan’s Captain Hook is based.

In 1996, Daniel discovered Blackbeard’s flagship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge (QAR), one of the world’s most important underwater archaeological discoveries. In 1972, Daniel—who is currently the president of Maritime Research Institute, North Carolina’s partner in the excavations of the QAR—discovered the treasure-laden Spanish galleon, the 1656 Nuestra Senora de la Maravilla, the richest treasure ship found to date in the Western hemisphere. In 1990, Daniel discovered the 1838 Seminole Indian War battle site in his hometown of Jupiter, Fla., the history of which is the foundation of the United States’ presence in South Florida. An authority on Columbus, Daniel acquired the permit to excavate the harbor of Isabella, Columbus’ first city in the New World. He is also an authority on Ponce de Leon and his discovery of Florida.

As a result of Daniel’s many deep-sea discoveries and his retrieval of some of the most valuable treasures ever recovered from the sea, he has appeared on Good Morning America and been featured in People magazine, National Geographic, Smithsonian and American Archaeology, among others.

Mike Daniel will present his lecture in the Wilson Theatre on the Hayes Center’s second floor. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students, and are available now by calling the box office at 828-295-9627. Tickets are also available online at www.HayesCenter.org.

Want To Go?
Date: Tuesday, July 29
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Hayes Performing Arts Center
Cost: $10 adults/$5 students