The annual Grecian Food Festival starts Thursday and runs through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. through Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church 247 Washington St. I expect to go every day at least for some takeout if not for an entire meal. But Saturday is the big day in Norwich.

With the Grecian festival still in full swing, A Taste of Italy opens at Howard T. Brown Memorial Park at 11 a.m. with a full day of food, Italian music and entertainment and more food. Instead of the traditional fireworks to close out the event, this year the Norwich Italian Heritage and Cultural Committee is bringing in the Dick Campo Band for a Big Band concert at 7 p.m.

After all that food, you could use a brisk walk to Otis Library at 261 Main St. for what promises to be an exciting lecture on real pirates of New England. Like many New Englanders, my family loves Cape Cod. My parents had a time share there in October – no crowds, still good weather, an occasional threat of a hurricane.

So we’ve heard the many true and legendary stories about the pirate ship Whydah over the years and Captain “Black Sam” Bellamy. We were thrilled when explorer Barry Clifford found the wreck off the coast of Wellfleet in 1984. We visited the museum to see the real pieces of eight coins and real pirate clothing and guns and cannon balls and a real skull and cross bones flag.

Through National Geographic, Clifford sent the Whydah exhibit on a national tour for the first time this summer. Alas, Norwich doesn’t have the facility to host such an exhibit. But Otis Library got the next best thing -- Clifford himself, along with two display cases of items recovered from the sunken ship in the library atrium.

You can check out the displays now for free. The 7:30 p.m. lecture Saturday night, a fundraiser for the library, is $25 per person, or $55 for a VIP reception at 6 p.m. It’s not too late to call Otis to make reservations for either the reception or the lecture, (860) 889-2365.

See you there.