Month: May 2012

Musicians from Around the Globe Gather to Celebrate Maritime Traditions

Musicians from around the world will come to Mystic Seaport to celebrate the musical traditions of the Golden Age of Sail at the 33rd annual Sea Music Festival, Thursday through Sunday, June 7-10.

The weekend’s festivities include concerts, a storytelling stage, instructional workshops, folk dancing, and a scholar’s symposium. The Festival is the premier sea music event in North America.

In addition to the Mystic Seaport Chantey Staff, scheduled performers include Maryland’s Calico Jack, the groups FUNI from Reykjavik, Iceland and Finest Kind from Ottawa, Canada, Tom Lewis, Lee Murdock, Rick Spencer, The Morgans, the S.S. Chanteens, and Yankee Frolics. Overall, 20 individuals and groups will perform at the Festival.

New for 2012 are a storytelling stage co-sponsored by the Connecticut Storytelling Center and an evening sea music “contra dance,” a style of partnered folk dancing traditional to New England. The storytelling stage will feature gifted storytellers from throughout the region, who will entertain the audience with original stories and folktales from a wide range of sources. The Museum’s Wendell Building will host the stage on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The contra dance will be held Saturday evening from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Mystic German Club’s Frohsinn Hall, located directly across the street from the Museum’s main entrance on Route 27. There is an $8 admission fee for the dance.

In addition, the annual Music of the Sea Symposium, hosted in partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and the University of Connecticut at Avery Point, will be held on Friday and Saturday, June 8-9. The Symposium, which features presentations of themed papers by some of the country’s leading maritime music scholars, explores the interaction between sea, music and song. The Friday session will be held from 9 a.m. – 3:15 p.m. on the Avery Point campus and is free to the public. The Symposium continues Saturday from 9:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. at the Greenmanville Church on the grounds of Mystic Seaport. Museum admission is required (free for members).

All workshops and daytime concerts in the Festival are included in regular Mystic Seaport admission. Museum admission is good for two days upon ticket validation (visit must be made within one week of purchase date). Special tickets are required for evening concerts and can be purchased by calling 860.572.0711, or at the Museum’s main entrance. Weekend passes are also available. College students will be admitted into the Festival for the youth rate upon presentation of a current student ID.

For more information, including ticket packages, musicians’ bios, and a schedule of performances, visit mysticseaport.org/seamusicfestival.

This event is made possible by the Friends of the Sea Music Festival, who raise funds each year to generously support sea music at Mystic Seaport.

About Mystic Seaport

Mystic Seaport is the nation’s leading maritime museum. Founded in 1929, the Museum is home to four National Historic Landmark vessels, including the Charles W. Morgan, the last wooden whaleship in the world.  The Museum is located one mile south of Exit 90 off I-95 in Mystic, CT. Admission is $24 for adults and $15 for children ages 6-17. Museum members and children 5 and under are admitted free. For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/.

Mystic, Conn. (May 16, 2012) – Mystic Seaport plans to kick off the summer season and prepare for the cracking of thousands of lobster claws at the 27th annual Lobster Days during Memorial Day Weekend, Saturday through Monday, May 26-28.

Members of the Mystic Rotary Club will serve lobsters-in-the-rough from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. Diners can enjoy their picnic-style meal under Mystic Seaport’s open-air Boat Shed where they can watch boats cruising on the Mystic River.

More than 3,000 lobsters will be cooked and served over the course of the weekend with all proceeds going to support the Rotary Club’s community organizations and projects.

In addition to a great meal, visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy the water as the Museum’s boat rental dock opens for the season, and the 1908 steamboat Sabino and catboat Breck Marshall will be operating a regular schedule of brief cruises on the Mystic River.

On Monday, May 28, the Museum will hold its annual Decoration Day ceremony. Costumed role-players will conduct an 1876 tribute and procession to honor those killed in the Civil War beginning at 10:30 a.m.

A special combination ticket of Museum admission and a single lobster dinner is available for $39, offering a $6 savings. The youth combination ticket (ages 6-17) is $32, offering a $4 savings. A senior combination ticket (ages 65 and older) is available for $37, offering a $6 savings.

A lobster dinner can be purchased separately from Museum admission for $21 (single lobster) and $37 (twin lobster). Lobster platters include coleslaw, corn on the cob, drawn butter, and choice of iced tea or lemonade. Hot dog platters are available for $7. Coastal Gourmet, the Museum’s food service provider, will also be offering wine and beer for purchase.

In the past, Lobster Days have raised as much as $20,000 for the Rotary’s charitable causes. Recipients include community enterprises such as Little League, the Stonington Community Center and college scholarships for local students.

For more information, visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/Lobster Days

About Mystic Seaport

Mystic Seaport is the nation’s leading maritime museum. Founded in 1929, the Museum is home to four National Historic Landmark vessels, including the Charles W. Morgan, the last wooden whaleship in the world. For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/.

First Responders Receive Free Admission and Family Discount

All active police, fire, EMT and ambulance personnel will receive free Museum admission during Safety on Sea & Shore Weekend at Mystic Seaport Saturday and Sunday, May 19-20, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Free admission will be extended to all first responder personnel with proper identification as a way of saying “thank you” for their dedicated community service. Family members of personnel will receive the Museum’s discounted group admission rate: adult $19; youth (ages 6-17) $10.50; and free for children ages 5 and under.

First Responders Weekend recognizes the work of present day emergency personnel, and celebrates the people, methods, and vehicles involved in maritime rescues in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Plans for the weekend include: hands-on activities such as a bucket brigade, a fire hose competition, a breeches buoy rescue demonstration; historic apparatus on display including antique fire engines and a horse-drawn ambulance; and dog rescue demonstrations by K9 police dogs and the New England Newfoundland Dog Club.

About Mystic Seaport

Mystic Seaport is the nation’s leading maritime museum. Founded in 1929, the Museum is home to four National Historic Landmark vessels, including the 1841 whaleship Charles W. Morgan, the oldest American commercial vessel in existence. For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/.