Greenport Maritime Festival is Coming September 23-24

It’s almost Mari-time!

Planning is in full swing for Greenport’s signature Maritime Festival, now in its 33rd year. Celebrating the village’s seafaring history with classic boat displays, a Merry Merfolk Parade and all manner of nautical-themed activities, the festival will take place Saturday and Sunday, September 23–24, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Hosted by the East End Seaport Museum & Marine Foundation, the festival kicks off on Saturday with the Merry Merfolk Parade. Each year, mermaids, pirates and costumed sea creatures make for a colorful and whimsical parade, which is co-sponsored by Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Marine Program and will conclude with an awards ceremony for best sea creatures in various categories on a new stage in Mitchell Park. This year’s grand marshals are the Goldsmith family of Goldsmith’s Boat Shop in Greenport, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year and is the oldest continuous marine dealership in the U.S.

The festivities this year feature a couple of new events, including the Cardboard Regatta, co-sponsored by the Greenport Harbor Brewing Co., at 1 p.m. on Sunday. Entrants will race in cardboard crafts of their own creation in race categories that include Scallywags (single riders), Young Buccaneers (kids age 12 and younger), the Jolly Roger Regatta (adults), the Privateers Outlaw Race (anything goes) and Business Class (for companies).

“(The latter) is a great opportunity for local businesses to challenge each other, and we are hoping that an elected official of one geographic area will challenge other elected officials to race for bragging rights,” says Tracey Orlando, executive director of the East End Seaport Museum & Marine Foundation.

Awards will be given to top finishers and for various categories, including the ugliest and prettiest boats, best captain, slowest finisher and the Andrea Doria award for the dubious distinction of the most spectacular sinking.

“It’s going to be a blast, with 13 opportunities to win,” Orlando says.

A second new event, the Life Vest Challenge, will be hosted by Sea Tow, the marine towing and assistance organization, which will be on hand all weekend teaching about water safety. In the Life Vest Challenge, participants will be required to put a life vest on in 30 seconds or less.

While festivals in past years have featured tall ships, Greenport was visited by tall ships earlier this summer, and none are expected for this year’s festival, Orlando says. But other classic boats will be on display, including U.S. Coast Guard boats and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy training vessels. Orlando adds that 25 Midshipmen from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy will be participating in the parade. Among other activities, the U.S. Coast Guard will stage its always-popular helicopter rescue demonstration (time TBD), which Orlando calls “a big part of our festival’s tradition.”

The weekend’s festivities will also include live entertainment, including roving sea shanty singers; food, beer, wine and oyster tastings; kayak races; Captain Kidd’s Alley treasure chest and crafts; kids’ games on the green; snapper fishing contests; roller skating; artisan craft vendors; and food trucks. The event closes with the Eastern Long Island Hospital Auxiliary’s “Dream Green” Raffle Drawing, with a grand prize of $50,000 and 65 cash prizes in all.

Setting the tone for the festive weekend will be the annual Land & Sea Gala on Friday evening, September 22. In a new location this year — Crabby Jerry’s dock and restaurant — the event is “a community gala with 400 of your closest friends from the village,” Orlando says. This year’s gala has a theme — “Mardi Gras Maritime” — with guests invited to don feathers, boas, beads, mermaid crowns and the like. The gala goes from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., with VIP early access beginning at 5:30. Afterward, guests can walk over to Claudio’s Waterfront for the after-party.

Proceeds from the festival and gala benefit East End Seaport Museum & Marine Foundation’s educational programs, museum offerings and the preservation of Long Beach Bar (Bug) Light.