Maritime history, folklore and culture will be on full display in Greenport as the Maritime Festival returns for its 33rd year later this month.
The annual event is hosted by the East End Seaport Museum & Marine Foundation and benefits educational programming, museum exhibits and the ongoing preservation of Bug Light.
The weekend will feature classic boat displays, kayak races and other maritime demonstrations as well as live music, roving sea shanties, children’s activities, a mermaid parade and approximately 100 vendors offering unique, hand-crafted items.
The tall ship Amistad will also be docked behind the seaport museum for the three-day event.
Here are some highlights of the three-day festival, which kicks off with the annual Land & Sea Gala in celebration of the village’s maritime history on Sept. 23. For more information on the festival, visit eastendseaport.org.
Friday, Sept. 23
Festivities kick off with the Land & Sea gala on Friday, Sept. 23 at Greenport Yacht & Shipbuilding Co. (201 Carpenter Street). During the gala, some favorite local restaurants will serve up bites to go with local wines, beers and spirits and there will be plenty of dancing plus an after party at Claudio’s. The event gets underway at 6:30 p.m. and tickets can be purchased online at eastendseaport.org/landandsea.
Saturday, Sept. 24
The festival is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday as the streets fill with vendors offering food, wine, beer, art and other craft items.
Mermaids, pirates and other sea creatures will march in the Merry Merfolk parade at 11 a.m. The parade includes an awards ceremony for best costumes in various categories and awards are distributed in Mitchell Park at the end of the parade.
This year’s parade will be led by grand marshals Elizabeth Peeples & Stefanie Bassett, co-owners of Little Ram Oyster Company. The couple left decades-long careers in interior design and advertising to run a 10-acre oyster farm and raise their son in Southold and founded the company in 2018. Peeples also serves as a Southold Town Trustee.
Throughout the day, you can visit the U.S. Coast Guard tent for demonstrations, Mitchell Park and Captain Kidd’s Alley for family activities and crafts and tour the F/V Illusion, a working fishing boat, from the commercial dock at 1:30 p.m.
Kayak races begin at 3 p.m. and you can also register for a two-hour cruise and tour of Bug Light that sets off at 4:30 p.m.
Daily schedule
10 a.m. Maritime Festival opens
10 a.m. to 1 p.m. U.S. Coast Guard tent (knot tying demonstration, fire extinguisher demonstration)
10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Captain Kidd’s Alley (crafts/treasure chest)
11 a.m. Maritime Festival Parade (Broad & Main Streets to Front & Third Streets)
Noon Merry Merfolk contest judging (Mitchell Park)
Noon to 2 p.m. Children’s games on the green (Mitchell Park)
1:30 p.m. F/V Illusion – Working fishing boat (Commercial Dock)
2 p.m. Kayak races setup and registration (Waterfront)
3 p.m. Kayak races begin
4:30 p.m. Two hour Bug Light cruise & tour (register at East End Seaport Museum)
5 p.m. Festival closed
Sunday, Sept. 25
The festival’s final day begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m. Vendors will once again line up along Front and Main streets and the day will feature a search & rescue demonstration by the Coast Guard from noon to 2 p.m. and a snapper fishing contest in the afternoon.
Daily Schedule
10 a.m. Maritime Festival opens
10 a.m. to 1 p.m. U.S. Coast Guard Tent (life ring toss, May Day call, line splicing, waist inflation demonstrations)
10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Captain Kidd’s Alley (crafts/treasure chest)
11:30 a.m. F/V Illusion – Working fishing boat (Waterfront)
Noon to 2 p.m. Coast Guard search & rescue demonstration
1 p.m. Story time by Miss Vicky from Floyd Memorial Library (Mitchell Park)
1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Snapper fishing contest (ages 8 and under) – Railroad/Commercial Dock
2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Snapper fishing contest (ages 9-16)
5 p.m. Eastern Long Island Hospital “Dream Green” raffle drawing (Mitchell Park); Festival ends
