Mystic, Conn. (December 4, 2015) – Mayflower II is scheduled to arrive by tugboat at the mouth of Connecticut’s Mystic River on Saturday, December 5 at 3:30 p.m., and pass through downtown Mystic at 4:30 p.m. (all times are approximate). Although Mystic Seaport grounds will not be open to visitors for the ship’s arrival, the public will have the opportunity to view the ship as it makes its way upriver. The ship will pass close by Mystic River Park and through the historic bascule bridge in downtown Mystic on its way to the Museum.

Mayflower II, Plimoth Plantation’s 1957 replroduction of the ship that carried the Pilgrims to Massachusetts in 1620, departed Plymouth, MA Tuesday, December 1 to head to Mystic Seaport for preservation work during the winter at the Museum’s Henry B. duPont Preservation Shipyard. The ship stopped at New Bedford, MA to wait for favorable weather conditions to make the final leg of the journey.

Accompanied by a crew of eight from Plimoth Plantation’s Maritime Preservation and Operations group, the 106-foot ship will be towed by the tug Jaguar. The public can track Mayflower II’s progress online using Jaguar’s Maritime Mobile Service Identity number 366934810.

In the second phase of a multi-year preservation initiative for the nearly 60-year-old ship, Mystic Seaport shipwrights and Plimoth Plantation maritime artisans will be replacing the half-deck area as well as working on the tween deck and topmast rigging. The restoration is being undertaken in advance of celebrations of the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrims’ arrival in Plymouth in 1620.

Plimoth Plantation, in partnership with Mystic Seaport, expects to make possible some opportunities for public engagement with the ship over the winter. Mayflower II will return to Plymouth in the spring.

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 state-of-the-art 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 $25 for adults and $16 for children ages 6-17. Museum members and children 5 and under are admitted free. For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/  and follow Mystic Seaport on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Show Features Small Paintings by Top Maritime Artists

Mystic, Conn. (November 18, 2015) – The Maritime Gallery at Mystic Seaport presents its annual winter exhibition and sale, Maritime Miniatures by Maritime Masters, November 22, 2015 through April 3, 2016.

The invitational exhibition features more than 100 small paintings displayed and available for purchase – each no larger than 10 inches in height or width (excluding frame). The exhibition includes works with a maritime winter theme among others by more than 50 top Maritime Gallery artists, and features scenes of majestic ships, yachting and working boats, coastal landscapes, marshes, and marine wildlife.

Participating artists include Joel Popadics, Kim Muller-Thym, David Bareford, James Magner, Al Barker, Del-Bouree Bach, Russ Kramer, and Robert Noreika.

One of the most popular shows on the Gallery’s annual schedule, the exhibition provides an opportunity for collectors to own original work by their favorite artists at affordable prices.

“Each one of these miniature works of art, created by some of the most respected and leading contemporary maritime artists, capture the beauty of the maritime experience of the sea,” said Monique Foster, director of the Maritime Gallery.  “These original small masterpieces are framed, very affordable and perfect gifts for the holidays.”

The Gallery will host a public opening with an “Artists’ Walk” on Sunday, November 22 at 1:30 p.m. where some of the participating artists will be on hand to discuss their works in the show. Admission to the Artists’ Walk and the Gallery is free.

A special discount of five percent off the sale of all original art in the Maritime Gallery will be available for Mystic Seaport members (Gallery Patrons receive a 10 percent discount) through December 31.

For more information, visit mysticseaport.org/gallery or call 860.572.5388.

About the Maritime Gallery
The Maritime Gallery at Mystic Seaport is the nation’s foremost gallery specializing in contemporary marine art and ship models. Through its parent organization, Mystic Seaport, the Gallery is proud to offer access to the world’s leading experts in the marine field, and the highest standards of scholarship, integrity and connoisseurship that the nation’s finest maritime museum represents. The Gallery is free to the public. Please visit mysticseaport.org/gallery for current hours.

Holiday Tradition Takes Visitors Back to Christmas Eve, 1876

Mystic, Conn. (November 11, 2015) – Mystic Seaport will open the 2015 season of its Lantern Light Tours on Friday, November 27.

A New England holiday tradition, Lantern Light Tours is a 70-minute progressive play that is set on Christmas Eve in 1876. Featuring actors from Connecticut and neighboring states, the cast weaves a heart-warming holiday story in the setting of the historic buildings and vessels of the Museum.

The Lantern Light Tour plot is changed every year and the writing and production planning begins early in the spring. For 2015, the story focusses on the Sawyer family, a young couple expecting their first child who come to Mystic and are not able to find lodging for the night. There is a surprise inheritance, a villainous Mr. King, a rousing tavern dance, and a visit to Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas in their busy toy shop.

“While not a direct telling of the Nativity, we adapted many details of the story to our setting in amusing and clever ways that we think the audience will enjoy,” said Denise Kegler, the program manager for Lantern Light Tours.

Visitors join a group of 16 to tour the Museum’s 19th-century village, stopping at designated points to take in the next chapter of the story. Performances are November 27, 28 and December 4, 5, 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20. Tours begin at 5 p.m. and leave every 15 minutes.

Tickets can be purchased online at mysticseaport.org/lanternlighttours, or by calling 860.572.5331. Tickets are $32 for adults ($26 for Mystic Seaport members) and $25 for children ages 5-17 ($19 for youth members). Lantern Light Tours are not recommended for children under the age of 4.

The 2015 Lantern Light Tours at Mystic Seaport is presented by Citizens Bank.

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 state-of-the-art 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 $25 for adults and $16 for children ages 6-17. Museum members and children 5 and under are admitted free. For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/  and follow Mystic Seaport on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Mystic, Conn. (November 9, 2015) – Mystic Seaport, in conjunction with the artists of the New York-based Dalvero Academy, will open a new exhibit, “Journey of Transformation: An Exploration of Our Evolving Relationship with the Whale by Dalvero Academy,” on Saturday, November 21.

The exhibit is the second collaboration with the artists of Dalvero. The Museum’s relationship with the Academy began when the artists first visited Mystic Seaport in 2009, attracted to the restoration of the Charles W. Morgan. The initial collaboration culminated in an exhibit titled “Restoring a Past, Charting a Future,” featuring art from Academy artists who documented and reflected on the restoration of the 1841 whaleship.

Building on their previous work, the artists focused on the 38th Voyage of the Morgan as the ship traveled around ports of New England in the summer of 2014. Some of the artists were on board for a leg of the voyage and others followed the vessel from port to port. The exhibit shows this latest chapter of the ship’s history in their thinking and artistic expression.

“The 38th Voyage of the Charles W. Morgan has yielded a rich treasure of ideas and artifacts born of the contemplation and experience of the many participants,” said Steve White, president of Mystic Seaport. “The work from Dalvero Academy combines thoughtful perspective with remarkable art in a wide array of media. The artists participating in the exhibit had similar experiences, but their manifestations of it are as different as the artists themselves.”

The works from the 29 participating artists include an outdoor sculpture, printed fabric, small sculpted harpoon heads,  a weaving, prints, painted ceramic tiles, videos, a mural,  ceramic sculpture, masks, a shadow box assemblage, stained glass, water colors, oil paintings, a children’s book,  and a kimono.

The exhibit is located in the Museum’s C.D. Mallory Building. It will be open through 2016.

About Dalvero Academy
Dalvero Academy was founded by Veronica Lawlor and Margaret Hurst in 2005. It is a private academy of drawing, illustration, digital photography and design. The name Dalvero comes from the Italian “dal vero,” from the truth; from life. Ms. Hurst and Ms. Lawlor are freelance illustrators and designers who also teach at Pratt Art Institute and Parsons the New School for Design in New York. The Dalvero studio is located in Brooklyn, New York. For more information regarding the Dalvero Academy, as well as bios and statements from each participating artist, please visit www.dalveroacedemy.com.

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 state-of-the-art 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 $25 for adults and $16 for children ages 6-17. Museum members and children 5 and under are admitted free. For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/  and follow Mystic Seaport on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Theatrical Performances Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe

Mystic, Conn. (October 6, 2015) — Mystic Seaport announces the return of its Halloween production, Nautical Nightmares, beginning October 16.

The performance is a dramatic experience that explores ghost tales, legends and unsolved mysteries of days gone by. This year’s production, “Tales of Terror: An Evening with Poe,” invites visitors to join “Mr. Poe” as he progresses through scenes around the Museum grounds in fear of, or perhaps to embrace, the evil that surrounds him. Inspired by the works of Edgar Allan Poe, the performance incorporates themes and bits from his works to weave a tale of eeriness and horror.

Performance nights are October 16-17, 23-24, and 30. Tours begin nightly at 6 p.m. and leave every 15 minutes from the Museum’s main entrance.

Ticket prices are $25 for adults ($21 for members) and $20 for youth ages 12-17 ($16 for members). Tickets can be purchased online at mysticseaport.org/nauticalnightmares or by calling 860.572.5331.

Nautical Nightmares is recommended for children ages 12 and older. Visitors will be walking outdoors along both dirt and stone paths and are encouraged to wear appropriate footwear.

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 state-of-the-art 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 $25 for adults and $16 for children ages 6-17. Museum members and children 5 and under are admitted free. For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/  and follow Mystic Seaport on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.