Oak Island Treasure - the world's greatest treasure hunt - Oak Island Treasure

 This year's Explore Oak Island Days promises to be a swashbuckling event.

 However, instead of pirates slinging swords, instead of ships firing canons, the weapons will be words of believers and non-believers alike.

 For the first time the weekend celebration (June 19 to 21) will include an experts' debate on the merits of the mystery of Oak Island.

 "Oak Island has its believers and it has its skeptics," said Oak Island Tourism Society communications director Danny Hennigar. "We've gone out and recruited two of the world's biggest skeptics and two of the biggest supporters and they're going to put on a show."

 The debate has been titled "Commotion by the Ocean."

 Representing the believers will be D'Arcy O'Connor and Les MacPhie, two men who have devoted much of their life to studying the history of Oak Island.

 "Although pragmatic in their views, it is fair to place them on the side of those of us who believe there is something very solid to the story of Oak Island," Mr. Hennigar said.

 Representing the non-believers are Richard Joltes, an historian/folklorist from Massachusetts, and Dan Conlin, curator at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax.

 "Both men believe the story of Oak Island is more hype than substance," said Mr. Hennigar.

 The debate, which will follow a dinner, is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on June 20.

 Mr. Hennigar, who counts himself among the believers that something very special once happened at the island, said he is excited to see the debate move from bar stools and internet chat rooms to a public forum.

 "Oak Island has always stood up well to criticism," he said. "And there are a lot of critics. Whatever you believe, this will be an exciting event."

 Also new this year is an art show and sale. Artists are being invited to Oak Island for June 1 to see the island first-hand and paint their impressions.

 The resulting items will be on display all day June 21 and will be for sale.

 "This is something we've never done before," Mr. Hennigar said. "Oak Island, like all of our islands, is very beautiful in its scenery."

 Returning for the second year is a series of guided school tours scheduled for the month of June.

 "That was a big success last year," Mr. Hennigar said. "We had five schools tour the island and they came from as far away as the Valley."

 Of course Explore Oak Island Days will include exclusive walking tours beginning on June 19.

 The following is the itinerary.

 June 19: an historical guided walking tour of Oak Island and its 214-year-old history.

 The two-hour tour starts at 6 p.m.

 June 20: Island displays of artifacts, movies and more opening at 10 a.m. An art exhibit and sale will be on display all day.

 First walking tour of the day starts at 10 a.m.

 At 12:30 p.m. guest speaker Graham Harris offers his theory of Oak Island lore and introduces his new book, "Pirates: A Voyage of Discovery."

 At 2:30 p.m. guest speakers from McGill University will give a presentation on deep shaft recovery potential.

 The second walking tour begins at 4 p.m.

 At 7:30 the debate and a buffet-style dinner will be held.

 June 21: Island displays of artifacts, movies and more open at 10 a.m. An art exhibit and sale will be on display all day.

 There will also be a Kids' Zone set up for the day.

 First walking tour of the day starts at 10 a.m.

 At 12:30 p.m. the guest speaker will be Steven Sora. Mr. Sora has authored four books and over 100 articles about the Knights Templar. He will speak about what he feels is a strong possibility of what happened at Oak Island.

 At 2:30 p.m. the last presentation of the festival will be by Rick Ratcliffe, recently retired of the provincial registrar for treasure trove licences.

 The last tour of the weekend is at 4 p.m.

 The events are open to all.

 You can register in advance by calling 275-3718 or e-mailing the society at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it