Many local hamlets and villages host an annual Christmas tree lighting to kick off the holiday season.
But New Suffolk’s tradition keeps with its nautical heritage.
The New Suffolk Waterfront Fund will host its second annual sailboat lighting along the waterfront on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 5 p.m. The boat, an eight foot American Sail Inc. vessel, is once again on loan from New Suffolk residents, brothers Paul and Ted Maffei.
“We like to keep with a maritime theme, that’s our history down there,” said New Suffolk Waterfront Fund board member Linda Auriemma. “Everybody does a tree. We do a sailboat.”
The brothers had joked that, these days, this is the closest the boat gets to water, Auriemma said.
The choice of centerpiece is fitting considering the New Suffolk Waterfront is the launch site of a weekly sailboat race around Robins Island in the summer. New Suffolk was also the site of the U.S. Navy’s first submarine trials.
The boat’s decor will once again incorporate recycled materials, this year made by New Suffolk Waterfront board member Lauren Grant. Similarly last year featured a string of Christmas lights studded with aluminum cans made by New Suffolk Common School students.
Expect carolers and cookies at this free event. Case’s Place, the restaurant located on the waterfront, will be open for dinner.
The sailboat will remain lit at night throughout the holiday season.
