The trick, for a maritime history museum staging a Halloween show, is not just to be scary, but to be accurately scary.
So says Denise Kegler, performance and gallery programs supervisor for Mystic Seaport, while chatting about the upcoming Nautical Nightmares: A Creature Among Us, the annual Halloween “traveling play” the Museum has been staging since 2015.
The original production, written and staged by Museum staff, volunteers, and local theater professionals, is this year based on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, itself celebrating its 200th birthday (Shelley wrote the book in 1817, and it was published in 1818). We won’t give away too much of the story except to say it involves a whaling captain back from a journey to the Arctic, a Creature, a bride, a heinous crime, and a plucky police matron intent on solving the grisly case.
Basing the program in classic literature “adds historic depth and provides us with authenticity,” Kegler says. “What I love is that we have the fantastical and the theatrical, but through accurate costuming, we root it in research and make it authentic. It has a sense of realism even though the story is fantastic or grotesque. We make certain that even though it’s a Halloween play designed to scare people, it lives up to the core values of Mystic Seaport.”
The event takes about an hour from start to finish, and progresses across the Museum’s 19 acres as the story unfolds. The police matron also serves as tour guide. The cast of 17 includes six tour guides, six scripted characters (the scary parts) and five supplemental characters, who add to the ambience of the story.
When the script was being written over the summer, it was originally envisioned to include the iconic mob scene from Frankenstein, complete with pitchforks and torches. Kegler said that plan changed in the wake of the white supremacist march in Charlottesville, VA, in mid-August that resulted in rioting and the death of one protester. “After the circumstance this summer, we wrote it out of the script,” she says. “It would be insensitive to do otherwise. The image of that mob has been changed forever.”
Costuming for the annual event relies on existing Museum stock and new creations. The “costume shop” at the Museum is home to dozens of circa late-19th-century outfits, from shoes to hats, for males and females, overseen by Rebecca Bayreuther Donohue in the Interpretation Department.
Auditions were held the last week of August, and a costumer was on hand at the try outs to take each hopeful’s measurements. The stock is then checked against the actors as decisions are made, so that once the roles are finalized, costumers know exactly what needs to be created and what can be reused.
Casting is confirmed about a week after auditions, and then each player must come in for his or her first fitting. What can be used from the existing stock is marked for alterations. The shop staff then get to work on the new costumes need to be created. This year the whaling captain needs an outfit suitable for a man just returned from the Arctic (complete with lots of faux reindeer fur). A mix of staff and volunteers work on the costumes. And those costumes take a beating, as there are seven performance days, and 16 shows each night.
“There are unique challenges and interesting elements that go into staging this every year,” Kegler says. “We use what we can from what we have and the rest we make from scratch.”
Jim Carlton (left) sampling Japanese tsunami marine debris — a large dock from Misawa, Japan — on the Oregon coast. Photo credit: Debby Carlton
A new study, led by Williams College-Mystic Seaport Maritime Studies Program Professor Emeritus James T. Carlton, documents for the first time that plastic marine debris may be significantly increasing the transport of non-native species across the world’s oceans.
The study appears in the September 29 issue of Science. The analysis of the samples that formed the basis of the study was conducted at the Marine Sciences Center located at Mystic Seaport.
Carlton and his colleagues demonstrate that, since 2012, nearly 300 species of marine life have landed alive on the coasts of North America and the Hawaiian Islands after rafting across the Pacific Ocean on debris swept out to sea by the Japanese earthquake and tsunami of March 2011.
Because the organisms traveled on primarily non-biodegradable objects, such as fiberglass vessels and plastic buoys, they survived far longer than marine scientists predicted. Coastal species were believed to be unable to live for more than two years on the open ocean. However, the Japanese species were still arriving on American shores in 2017, six years after the tsunami.
“This study of a remarkable ocean rafting event of unprecedented magnitude and duration reveals for the first time the profound role that plastic marine debris can now play in transporting entire communities of species in the world’s oceans—for far longer lengths of time than historic dispersal on natural substrates (such as wood) would have been possible,” Carlton says.
More than 10 million tons of plastic waste from nearly 200 countries enter the ocean every year. The authors argue that vastly expanded coastal urbanization has increased the amount of such plastic available to be washed into the sea. Hurricanes and typhoons then sweep the debris into the oceans, as happened when hurricanes struck the Caribbean and Florida Keys in fall 2017. Riding on that waste, a new wave of potential ecological invaders is pushed out to sea, where they often survive for years before landfall.
“These scientists have taken the unusual tack of looking at a natural disaster and coming to new conclusions about how our activities and structures influence species distributions in the oceans,” says David Garrison, program director in the National Science Foundation’s Division of Ocean Sciences, which co-funded the research.
A Japanese tsunami boat newly landed on the Oregon coast — being sampled by Dr. John Chapman, a co-author of the study. Photo Credit: Russell Lewis
The expected increase in the size and frequency of extreme weather incidents due to global climate change is likely, the authors argue, to significantly increase the amount of debris in the oceans, and, with it, the number of possible ecological invaders. This creates the potential for vast economic costs and environmental impacts.
The research on which the paper is based was a partnership between Carlton, Deborah Carlton, and Megan McCuller, all of the Williams College-Mystic Seaport Maritime Studies Program; John Chapman and Jessica Miller (Oregon State University); Gregory Ruiz and Brian Steves (Smithsonian Environmental Research Center); Jonathan Geller (Moss Landing Marine Laboratories); and Nancy Treneman (Oregon Institute of Marine Biology).
The Williams-Mystic program, managed by Williams College, educates undergraduates via a semester-long academic investigation of the sea, accompanied by original research opportunities and learning experiences at maritime sites throughout the United States. More than 1,700 students from over 100 colleges and universities have participated since the program’s founding in 1977. Williams-Mystic is need-blind, meaning that financial need is not an impediment to admission. for more information, please visit mystic.williams.edu
John Tayson’s “Harbor Scene,” Oil, 24 x 18 won the Rudolph J. Schaefer Maritime Heritage Award.
The Maritime Gallery at Mystic Seaport honored 11 artists at the opening of its 38th Annual International Marine Art Exhibition and Sale on Saturday, September 23. The International is a juried show that features the finest examples of contemporary marine art in the United States. This year artists from around the world presented examples of their most recent work. All submissions are a new work that has not been previously exhibited.
Participating artists were honored with four awards of excellence and seven named awards – including the Rudolph J. Schaefer Maritime Heritage Award, which recognizes the work that best documents maritime heritage for future generations.
“By successfully showcasing each year some of the finest art available from leading marine artists, this exhibition continues to delight art lovers,” said Monique Foster, director of the Gallery. “We are pleased to be able to present this unique exhibit that recognizes outstanding work and allows art enthusiasts to add to their collections and showcase marine art in their homes.”
All of the award winners and the entire exhibition may be viewed in the Maritime Gallery at Mystic Seaport through December 31, 2017.
Rudolph J. Schaefer Maritime Heritage Award
Given in Memory of Rudolph J. Schaerfer’s devotion to preserving maritime history
and making it accessible and enjoyable, the judges recognize the artist whose work best documents our maritime heritage, past or present and for generations of the future. John Tayson, Harbor Scene, Oil, 24 x 18 (pictured above)
Stobart Foundation Award
This award is given to encourage the importance of painting from life. The judges recognize the work that attracts their attention, most by virtue of its uniqueness of style, quality of light and atmosphere. Don Demers, Mcloons Dock, Oil, 11 x 14
Maritime Gallery Yachting Award
This award celebrates the singular pleasures of going to sea. The judges recognize the work that best captures the beauty and excitement of sailing in all its many forms. Russ Kramer, DAUNTLESS Around the Lightship (study), Oil, 9 x 15
Marine Environmental Wildlife Award
This award acknowledges the importance of preserving the fragile balance within the world’secosystems. The judges recognize the work that best depicts marine mammals, fish or birds in their native habitat. Susan Van Winkle, Melting Away, Alabaster, 9 x 8 1/2 x 13
Thomas M. Hoyne III Award
Given in memory of Thomas M. Hoyne III’s dedication and contributions to accurate, historical representations of the great Gloucester fishing schooners and the men who sailed them, the
judges recognize the work that best documents an aspect of the marine fisheries industry of today or yesterday. Laura Cooper, Mackerel Seiner Returning to Port, Salem, MA, 1890, Oil 13 x 18
Museum Purchase Award
The Museum Purchase Award is chosen by a committee of the Curatorial staff of The Mystic Seaport. They will select, for purchase, one work appropriate to the current needs of its Permanent Collection, which emphasizes the commercial maritime experience of the 19th and 20th centuries. Maris Platais, TOURIST aka SABINO, on the Kennebec, Acrylic, Pen & Ink, 16 x 22
Award of Excellence
Brad Betts, Drying Sails in Camden Harbor, Oil, 24 x 18
Ian Hansen, Ship DREADNOUGHT, Oil, 26 x 24
Cindy House, Evening Dunes, Pastel, 15 x 20
Ronny Moortgat, Awaiting Orders, Watercolor, 12 x 20
Elizabeth Mumford, Rolling Home to Dear New England, Gouache, 22 x 27
The pingo in the Noatak National Preserve that is the subject of John Grade’s MURMUR. The small figure on top is John Grade. Photo credit: John Grade Studio.
Mystic Seaport announces its lineup of new exhibitions for the 2018 calendar year, including the international debut in May of The Vikings Begin, a presentation of priceless Norse artifacts from Sweden.
The Museum will begin the year with the opening in January of a kinetic sculpture installation, Murmur: Arctic Realities, from contemporary artist John Grade that will transport visitors to the Alaskan tundra with the aid of mixed-reality technology.
Joining The Vikings Begin in May will be an exhibition featuring the Vinland Map, a document that ignited a controversy in 1965 as it purported to prove the Vikings reached the New World long before Christopher Columbus. Is the map legitimate? Experts conclude it is not, but it still has a lot to tell us about issues of authenticity and the origins of modern America.
The year concludes in November with the only American display of Death in the Ice: The Shocking Story of Franklin’s Final Expedition, an exploration of the mysterious fate of Sir John Franklin and his crew on their expedition to find the Northwest Passage across the Arctic in 1845. Artifacts recovered from the recently discovered wrecks, of the ships will be presented for the first time in this country.
“We believe this lineup of world-class exhibitions confirms a new era at Mystic Seaport, one that uses our collections and knowledge along with that of partner institutions and artists to present relevant, current themes around our timeless relationship to the sea,” said Steve White, president of Mystic Seaport. “Our goal is to bring a fresh perspective to the museum-going experience and anyone who dons a HoloLens headset to view Murmur will certainly agree that we are redefining that space.”
Murmur: Arctic Realities will present a groundbreaking new experience by John Grade, one of the world’s leading contemporary artists. Visitors will encounter what appears to be a natural landform – a mound intricately carved from Alaskan yellow cedar. This vast sculpture represents a pingo, a hill of ice that grows over centuries in the Arctic’s highest latitudes, then collapses, pockmarking the tundra. Grade’s work replicates exactly a pingo in Alaska’s Noatak National Preserve, mapped by the artist using photogrammetry. Visitors will not only witness the pingo’s impressive scale, but will also be able to enter inside the sculpture as its walls open and close, mimicking the pingo’s lifecycle at a time when this is accelerating due to unprecedented environmental change.
Murmur will incorporate the use of Microsoft’s HoloLens Mixed Reality technology. Grade will map fragments of Noatak’s landscape into the gallery so that visitors wearing a wireless HoloLens headset will see themselves within a holographic representation of the North. By allowing visitors in Connecticut to traverse an Alaskan marsh, Murmur will revolutionize the public’s grasp of what a museum experience can be.
The Mystic Seaport installation will be Murmur’s international debut and is made possible in collaboration with the Anchorage Museum.
The Vikings Begin: Treasures from Uppsala University, Sweden May-September, 2018
Collins Gallery
One of the world’s finest early Viking age collections is coming to Mystic Seaport. Priceless treasures, including helmets, shields, weapons, glass, and other artifacts are safeguarded at the Gustavianum, Uppsala University Museum in Sweden, Scandinavia’s oldest university. These collections, dating as early as the seventh century, are now the focus of a major research initiative designed to significantly advance our understanding of how the Norse culture evolved. Thematic sections on Viking warfare, trade, the Baltic Sea, a ship burial, Norse gods, and relations to other cultures will employ rare archaeological finds in the discovery of how this maritime society lived more than a millennium ago. This exhibition represents the first instance most of these artifacts will have ever left Sweden.
The installation at Mystic Seaport will be the international debut of The Vikings Begin, and is made possible in collaboration with the Gustavianum, Uppsala University Museum.
The Vinland Map May-September, 2018
R.J. Schaefer Building
When it was first unveiled by Yale University in 1965, the Vinland Map immediately became one of the most valuable and controversial documents in the world. This parchment map was dated by Yale to about 1440 – an incendiary claim as the map depicts at its far western edge Vinland, the mysterious land discovered by explorer Leif Ericsson in about 1000, what we now know to be Newfoundland. Did Norse knowledge of the New World exist within mainland Europe before Columbus sailed? The Map suggests so. Its publication riveted a public deeply invested in the question of First Contact, and eager for evidence of an American connection to Viking history. The Map’s discovery also ignited a firestorm of debate as scholars, historians, and scientists across the globe argued over its meaning and authenticity. Today most scholars concur the Map is a forgery, which does nothing to diminish the role it has played in our national conversation about who we are and where we come from.
This exhibition will place the Vinland Map on display in the U.S. for the first time in more than fifty years, allowing those who have followed the saga to see its primary evidence for the first time. Mystic Seaport will engage historians, archaeologists, scientists, and other leading experts to share the Map’s story and discuss its outsized role in modern American history.
This exhibition is made possible in collaboration with the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.
Death in the Ice – The Mystery of the Franklin Expedition November, 2018-April, 2019
Collins Gallery
In 1845, Sir John Franklin led the Royal Navy’s sturdiest two ships into the Arctic to great international acclaim. His mission: to discover a Northwest Passage to Asia. Franklin and his crew of 128 men were never heard from again. Thirty-seven expeditions were launched from several countries in a decades-long effort to discover the fate of Franklin’s men. Tantalizing clues, including graves, provisions, Inuit tales, and a single handwritten note told a grim story, but the men and ships were never found.
This most enduring of mysteries leapt back into the headlines in 2014 with the discovery of Franklin’s flagship, HMS Erebus, then two years later with the discovery of HMS Terror, each incredibly well preserved at depths of less than 100 feet in the Arctic Ocean. Dives aboard the wrecks are rapidly changing our understanding of what befell Franklin’s expedition.
This exhibition pulls together every strand of this epic history, including expedition materials from London, Inuit culture and knowledge that led to the wrecks’ discoveries from Canada, and artifacts raised from HMS Erebus, seen for the first time in 170 years.
This is a travelling exhibition developed by the Canadian Museum of History (Gatineau, Canada), in partnership with Parks Canada Agency and with the National Maritime Museum (London, United Kingdom), and in collaboration with the Government of Nunavut and the Inuit Heritage Trust.
Traveling Exhibitions
Peoples of the Whale: Captain George Comer and the Inuit of Hudson Bay Embassy of Canada, Washington, D.C. April-July, 2018
Capt. George Comer (1858-1937) enjoyed dual careers as a successful Arctic whaling captain and an accomplished – though not formally trained – anthropologist. He is best known for his close association with the Inuit of the west coast of Hudson Bay. This exhibition explores this remarkable relationship.
Comer and his whaling crew fared well in the cold North, thanks in large part to the support of the Inuit, who also possessed strong whaling traditions. The Captain appreciated the remarkable ingenuity, skills, and character of his Inuit companions. They willingly shared their knowledge and helped him survive. Surrounded by one of the earth’s most harsh environments, the two groups worked together and enjoyed each other’s company.
The Inuit also supported Captain Comer’s efforts to document their rapidly changing culture, enabling him to conduct comprehensive studies of Inuit life; the first ever made in the Hudson Bay region. Today, his studies and collections provide a unique and striking record of shared legacy.
This exhibition is made possible in partnership with the Embassy of Canada and the Canadian Museum of History.
Viking Treasures, a Mixed-Reality Art Installation, the Vinland Map, and Artifacts from the Tragic Franklin Arctic Expedition of 1845 Highlight Museum’s Year
Mystic, Conn. (September 19, 2017) — Mystic Seaport announces its lineup of new exhibitions for the 2018 calendar year, including the international debut in May of The Vikings Begin, a presentation of priceless Norse artifacts from Sweden’s Gustavianum, Uppsala University Museum. The schedule includes also the first display in the U.S. of the controversial Vinland Map in more than 50 years.
The Museum will begin the year with the inaugural opening in January of a Mixed-Reality installation, Murmur: Arctic Realities, from contemporary artist John Grade that will transport visitors to the Alaskan tundra. The year concludes in November with the only American display of Death in the Ice: The Shocking Story of Franklin’s Final Expedition, an exploration of the mysterious fate of Sir John Franklin and his crew on their expedition to find the Northwest Passage across the Arctic in 1845.
Murmur: Arctic Realities
January-April, 2018
Murmur: Arctic Realities will present a groundbreaking new experience by John Grade, one of the world’s leading contemporary artists. Visitors will encounter what appears to be a natural landform – a mound intricately carved from Alaskan yellow cedar. This vast sculpture represents a pingo, a hill of ice that grows over centuries in the Arctic’s highest latitudes, then collapses, pockmarking the tundra. Grade’s work replicates exactly a pingo in Alaska’s Noatak National Preserve, mapped by the artist using photogrammetry. Visitors will not only witness the pingo’s impressive scale, but will also be able to enter inside the sculpture as its walls open and close, mimicking the pingo’s lifecycle at a time when this is accelerating due to unprecedented environmental change.
Murmur will be the the world’s first use of Microsoft’s HoloLens Mixed Reality technology as the core element of a major museum exhibition. Grade will map fragments of Noatak’s landscape into the gallery so that visitors wearing a wireless HoloLens headset will see themselves within a holographic representation of the North. By allowing visitors in Connecticut to traverse an Alaskan marsh, Murmur will revolutionize the public’s grasp of what a museum experience can be.
The Mystic Seaport installation will be Murmur’s international debut and is made possible in collaboration with the Anchorage Museum.
The Vikings Begin: Treasures from Uppsala University, Sweden May-September, 2018
One of the world’s finest early Viking age collections is coming to Mystic Seaport. Priceless treasures, including helmets, shields, weapons, glass, and other artifacts are safeguarded at the Gustavianum, Uppsala University Museum in Sweden, Scandinavia’s oldest university. These collections, dating as early as the seventh century, are now the focus of a major research initiative designed to significantly advance our understanding of how the Norse culture evolved. Thematic sections on Viking warfare, trade, the Baltic Sea, a ship burial, Norse gods, and relations to other cultures will employ rare archaeological finds in the discovery of how this maritime society lived more than a millennium ago. This exhibition represents the first instance most of these artifacts will have ever left Sweden.
The installation at Mystic Seaport will be the international debut of The Vikings Begin, and is made possible in collaboration with the Gustavianum, Uppsala University Museum.
The Vinland Map May-September, 2018
When it was first unveiled by Yale University in 1965, the Vinland Map immediately became one of the most valuable and controversial documents in the world. This parchment map was dated by Yale to about 1440 – an incendiary claim as the map depicts at its far western edge Vinland, the mysterious land discovered by explorer Leif Ericsson in about 1000, what we now know to be Newfoundland. Did Norse knowledge of the New World exist within mainland Europe before Columbus sailed? The Map suggests so. Its publication riveted a public deeply invested in the question of First Contact, and eager for evidence of an American connection to Viking history. The Map’s discovery also ignited a firestorm of debate as scholars, historians, and scientists across the globe argued over its meaning and authenticity. Today most scholars concur the Map is a forgery, which does nothing to diminish the role it has played in our national conversation about who we are and where we come from.
This exhibition will place the Vinland Map on display in the U.S. for the first time in more than fifty years, allowing those who have followed the saga to see its primary evidence for the first time. Mystic Seaport will engage historians, archaeologists, scientists, and other leading experts to share the Map’s story and discuss its outsized role in modern American history.
This exhibition is made possible in collaboration with the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.
Death in the Ice – The Mystery of the Franklin Expedition November, 2018-April, 2019
In 1845, Sir John Franklin led the Royal Navy’s sturdiest two ships into the Arctic to great international acclaim. His mission: to discover a Northwest Passage to Asia. Franklin and his crew of 128 men were never heard from again. Thirty-seven expeditions were launched from several countries in a decades-long effort to discover the fate of Franklin’s men. Tantalizing clues, including graves, provisions, Inuit tales, and a single handwritten note told a grim story, but the men and ships were never found.
This most enduring of mysteries leapt back into the headlines in 2014 with the discovery of Franklin’s flagship, HMS Erebus, then two years later with the discovery of HMS Terror, each incredibly well preserved at depths of less than 100 feet in the Arctic Ocean. Dives aboard the wrecks are rapidly changing our understanding of what befell Franklin’s expedition.
This exhibition pulls together every strand of this epic history, including expedition materials from London, Inuit culture and knowledge that led to the wrecks’ discoveries from Canada, and artifacts raised from HMS Erebus, seen for the first time in 170 years.
This is a travelling exhibition developed by the Canadian Museum of History (Gatineau, Canada), in partnership with Parks Canada Agency and with the National Maritime Museum (London, United Kingdom), and in collaboration with the Government of Nunavut and the Inuit Heritage Trust.
Traveling Exhibitions
Peoples of the Whale: Captain George Comer and the Inuit of Hudson Bay Embassy of Canada, Washington, D.C. April-July, 2018
Capt. George Comer (1858-1937) enjoyed dual careers as a successful Arctic whaling captain and an accomplished – though not formally trained – anthropologist. He is best known for his close association with the Inuit of the west coast of Hudson Bay. This exhibition explores this remarkable relationship.
Comer and his whaling crew fared well in the cold North, thanks in large part to the support of the Inuit, who also possessed strong whaling traditions. The Captain appreciated the remarkable ingenuity, skills, and character of his Inuit companions. They willingly shared their knowledge and helped him survive. Surrounded by one of the earth’s most harsh environments, the two groups worked together and enjoyed each other’s company.
The Inuit also supported Captain Comer’s efforts to document their rapidly changing culture, enabling him to conduct comprehensive studies of Inuit life; the first ever made in the Hudson Bay region. Today, his studies and collections provide a unique and striking record of shared legacy.
This exhibition is made possible in partnership with the Embassy of Canada and the Canadian Museum of History.
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, America’s oldest commercial ship and the last wooden whaleship in the world. The Museum’s collection of more than two million artifacts includes more than 500 historic vessels and one of the largest collections of maritime photography in the country. The newly opened Thompson Exhibition Building provides a state-of-the-art gallery to host compelling, world-class exhibitions. The Collections Research Center at Mystic Seaport provides scholars and researchers from around the world access to the Museum’s renowned archives. Mystic Seaport is located one mile south of Exit 90 off I-95 in Mystic, CT. Admission is $28.95 for adults ages 15 and older and $18.95 for children ages 4-14. Museum members and children three and younger are admitted free. For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/ and follow Mystic Seaport on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.
Mystic, Conn. (September 18, 2017) — The Mystic River Oyster Festival at Mystic Seaport will be Saturday, September 30, offering visitors glimpses into the history of oystering and a look at (and taste of) the modern-day resurgence of the industry .
This one-day event is a celebration of all things oyster, and features six local and regional oyster purveyors who will have oysters available for tasting and will show off their shucking skills.
The festival will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Food service will be from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Mystic River Oyster Festival is free with regular Museum admission. Food is subject to an additional charge.
This year the festival includes:
Fishers Island Oyster Farm
Jonathan Island Oysters
The Noank Aquaculture Cooperative
Matunuck Oyster Bar
Walrus and Carpenter Oysters
Behan Family Farms
Visitors can learn about the history of oystering on Long Island Sound and take in tonging (harvesting) demonstrations. They can also hear firsthand about the life of a modern-day oysterman during a talk by Ben Franford, a dentist who owns Jonathan Island Oysters. His oyster trade name is “Pearly Whites.” Another talk during the Festival is by Bill Lucey, the Long Island Soundkeeper, who works for Save the Sound as the watchdog for the bays and harbors, monitoring water quality, and making sure there are no infractions of the Clean Water Act. Oysters need clean water!
Traditional sea music entertainment will be provided by the Mystic Seaport chantey staff:
Craig Edwards & David Iler, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Geoff Kaufman & Anayis Wright, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
There will be presentations and booths by:
Clean Up Sound and Harbors (CUSH), a grassroots environmental organization that operates out of Stonington in an effort to monitor water quality and educate the public about how to improve local water quality.
Connecticut SeaGrant, an environmental organization funded by NOAA and the State of Connecticut. They encourage the stewardship of marine resources through education and research and provide the resources for the Connecticut Shellfish Commission, which works with local oyster farmers to help with water quality, aquaculture, and education. They will also be offering information about shellfish conservation efforts.
Vendors during the festival include R. Murphy Knives, who sell premium oyster knives and other tools and equipment.
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, America’s oldest commercial ship and the last wooden whaleship in the world. The Museum’s collection of more than two million artifacts includes more than 500 historic vessels and one of the largest collections of maritime photography in the country. The newly opened Thompson Exhibition Building provides a state-of-the-art gallery to host compelling, world-class exhibitions, beginning with the current show SeaChange. The Collections Research Center at Mystic Seaport provides scholars and researchers from around the world access to the Museum’s renowned archives. Mystic Seaport is located one mile south of Exit 90 off I-95 in Mystic, CT. Admission is $28.95 for adults ages 15 and older and $18.95 for children ages 4-14. Museum members and children three and younger are admitted free. For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/ and follow Mystic Seaport on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.
The Adventure Series has been hosted by Mystic Seaport for more than 65 years and provides a unique opportunity for attendees to meet adventurers firsthand and experience a wide array of challenges — on the sea, in the air, and on land — all over the world. Adventure is the pursuit of life – often with an unknown ending. Hear about the amazing personal journeys of these extraordinary individuals on their quests for knowledge, conservation, and survival.
The 2017-18 series begins October 19. Each talk is held at 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. that day.
You can buy the full series of eight programs: Members: $70 • Non-members: $90. You can also purchase single program tickets: Members: $15 • Non-members: $20 • Students free. An early season special offer is buy one series ticket and receive two complimentary single tickets good for any speaker.
Call 860.572.5331 to register for any of the programs or purchase the series ticket.
The series is sponsored by StoneRidge, a senior living community.
Erica Cirino: In Pursuit of Plastic
Thursday, October 19, 2017
International science writer, artist, and wildlife rehabilitator Erica Cirino is on a mission to find out the truths about plastic pollution and its impact on the planet, wildlife, and people. Erica will share her experiences at sea and on land documenting some of the most polluted places on the planet, including the Pacific Garbage Patch in the eastern Pacific Ocean and Kamilo Beach in Hawaii, also known as “Plastic Beach” where there is now more “plastic sand” than natural sand on its shore.
Quentin Snediker and Whit Perry: Restoring Mayflower II
Thursday, November 16, 2017
Quentin Snediker, Shipyard Director and Clark Senior Curator for Watercraft at Mystic Seaport, and Whit Perry, Plimoth Plantation’s Director of Maritime Preservation and Operations and the Captain of the Mayflower II, will present the challenges and triumphs of the on-going restoration of the ship. This multi-year project is a collaboration of shipwrights from both Mystic Seaport and Plimoth Plantation in preparation to take Mayflower II back to sea in connection with the celebration of the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrims’ arrival in Massachusetts. Visitors can view the progress of the project in the Henry B. duPont Preservation Shipyard.
Chris Cryder: Preserving Plum Island
Thursday, December 14, 2017*
Many mysteries and misconceptions surround Plum Island, located at the eastern end of Long Island. While Plum Island has been the home of the nation’s foreign animal disease center for more than 60 years, it is also home to several endangered species and unique habitats. The future of these species and habitats are in question with the potential sale of the island to private investors. Chris Cryder, Special Projects Coordinator for Save the Sound, will share the facts about the island, take us on a virtual tour, and discuss the latest efforts of what is being done to protect it.
*1:30 p.m. program will b held at StoneRidge, 186 Jerry Browne Rd, Mystic.
The Crew of the Oliver Hazard Perry: Life on the High Seas
Thursday, January 18, 2018*
The Oliver Hazard Perry is a 200-foot, full-rigged sailing school vessel with a mission to provide innovative and empowering education-at-sea programs. During the spring of 2017, her crew and students sailed to Cuba, providing the opportunity of a lifetime to learn sailing and experience the culture of a country that had been impossible to visit for more than half a century.
*Evening program will be at StoneRidge, 186 Jerry Browne Rd, Mystic.
Nelson Simon: The Accidental Sailor
Thursday, February 15, 2018*
When Nelson Simon signed up as a last minute crew member to transport a Norwegian schooner from Brooklyn to Bermuda, he pictured it as a sort of pleasure cruise. Instead, he found himself fighting for survival in the midst of what became known as “The Perfect Storm.” Join us as Nelson recounts his harrowing tale that began with a friendly invitation to sail on board the Anne Kristine and ended in the dead of night in a Coast Guard helicopter high above an angry sea.
*Evening program will be at StoneRidge, 186 Jerry Browne Rd, Mystic.
Syma Ebbin: Researching Native Fisheries in the Pacific Northwest
Thursday, March 15, 2018
Associate Professor in Residence at the University of Connecticut Avery Point and Research Coordinator for Connecticut Sea Grant, Syma Ebbin, has studied fisheries and environmental management throughout her academic career. Syma’s research has brought her to both Atlantic and Pacific coastal regions. At this presentation, she will share her personal experiences while researching the resources, traditions, and issues facing Native American fisheries in Alaska and Washington State.
Elizabeth Cottrell: Expedition to Artic Volcanoes
Thursday, April 19, 2018
Volcanoes are “windows to the interior” of our planet, according to Elizabeth Cottrell, director of the Smithsonian’s Global Volcanism Program. The program studies the earth’s active volcanoes and reports on their eruptions. This research helps us understand how the interior of the planet has evolved and helps us prepare for future eruptions and prevent catastrophes. Elizabeth will share her own experiences in the arctic researching the awesome power and ancient wonders held within the earth.
James L. Nelson: From Tall Ships to Viking Longships
Thursday, May 17, 2018
The Viking invasion of Ireland is the backdrop of award-winning author James L. Nelson’s latest novels, “The Norseman Saga.” In the ninth century, Viking longships invaded the Irish countryside. James will discuss the fascinating history of the Viking raiding, settling, and assimilating into Irish culture as well as share his own journey from sailing on tall ships to becoming an accomplished author.
Mystic, Conn. (September 12, 2017) — The Maritime Gallery at Mystic Seaport opens the 38th Annual International Marine Art Exhibition and Sale Saturday, September 23.
The International is the most comprehensive collection of contemporary marine art in the United States. Award-winning artists from around the world will present more than 100 examples of their most recent work. Represented in this show are exceptional paintings, sculptures, and scrimshaw. The show is a commemoration of America’s maritime heritage with both intricately researched historical scenes and contemporary images that document the relationship of man to the sea.
“We are excited and honored to gather top artists in the maritime field in one exhibition. On display will be some of the finest works of contemporary marine art produced this year,” said Monique Foster, director of the Gallery. “The show will visually inspire and delight art connoisseurs, sailors, and visitors alike.”
Participating artists include Don Demers, Patrick O’Brien, Richard Loud, Neal Hughes, Laura Cooper, Sergio Roffo, Len Tantillo, William Davis, and Scott Cameron.
The exhibition will honor participating artists with five awards of excellence and six named awards –including the Rudolph J. Schaefer Maritime Heritage Award, which recognizes the work that best documents America’s maritime heritage for future generations.
The exhibition will open to the public at 10 a.m. Saturday, September 23. There will be an artists’ walk at 11 a.m. at the Gallery. The walk is an opportunity for the public to meet some of the participating artists and listen as they share how they created their works and what inspires them to produce their art.
All works in the exhibition are available to view and purchase daily between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. The show can also be viewed on the Gallery website beginning September 18.
The exhibition runs through December 31, 2017.
About the Maritime Gallery The Maritime Gallery at Mystic Seaport is the nation’s foremost gallery specializing in contemporary marine art and ship models. For more than 35 years, the Gallery has been privileged to exhibit the works of leading international maritime artists. Located at historic Mystic Seaport, the Gallery overlooks the beautiful Mystic River attracting art lovers and collectors from around the world. For more information, please visit mysticseaport.org/gallery.
