Mystic Seaport Museum hosting special “End of Summer” celebration during last free weekend
Mystic, Conn., AUG. 27, 2021 – On the last free weekend at Mystic Seaport Museum, the museum staff wants to thank the public by making the weekend extra special! There will be fun-filled festivities celebrating The Grand Panorama of a Whaling Voyage ‘Round the World exhibit, including a Hula demonstration by a Polynesian Dance Company, Cape Verdean Music and Dance, and Sea Music. The exhibit will last through March, but this is the last chance to see it for free.
The Grand Panorama is a 1,275-foot-long painting shown in sections at the museum. Painted in 1848, it depicts in fascinating detail the voyage of a whaleship on its journey around the globe.
On top of all this, there will be a full weekend of special programs and hands-on activities for kids and adults, celebrating the cultures, food, music, and journeys, from the Azores to West Africa, and Brazil to Hawaii, of The Grand Panorama. This is one event you won’t want to miss!
“At this end-of-summer event, we want to thank everyone who visited us this summer. We had a tremendous amount of visitors during the Free Museum Program, and we want to thank everyone for coming by putting on this special event for you,” said Peter Armstrong, the Museum President and CEO.
“Also, it will be the last chance to see the stunning Charles W. Morgan whaling ship out of the water. When the Morgan is out of the water it can be observed in its full magnificence.”
The Morgan, the last wooden whale ship in the world, will go back in the water shortly after Labor Day.
The Museum was able to offer free admission to visitors through Connecticut’s Summer at the Museum program. Even though the funding for that has already been used up, the Museum decided to continue to offer free passes so the public could benefit from its offerings.
Some highlights of the Labor Day festival include:
- A flavorful trip around the world with Brazilian, Nigerian, & Peruvian food trucks from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day.
- Musical Performances.
- Hear amazing stories from a panel of sailors who circumnavigated the world.
- Dive deeper into the subject matter with a Panorama lecture.
- See the stars of the Panorama in our Planetarium.
- Brush up on your nautical fiction with our theatrical production, “Moby-Dick in Minutes.”
- Younger visitors can enjoy crafts in our Home Port activity center.
- Go on a Panorama scavenger hunt.
- Check out wood-carving demonstrations by guest artists.
- Get creative with your own chalk panorama.
All events and activities are included in Museum admission. Connecticut children and one accompanying adult are Free with Connecticut’s Summer at the Museum program all weekend.
ABOUT MYSTIC SEAPORT MUSEUM:
Mystic Seaport Museum is the nation’s leading maritime museum. Founded in 1929 to gather and preserve the rapidly disappearing artifacts of America’s seafaring past, the Museum has grown to become a national center for research and education with the mission to “inspire an enduring connection to the American maritime experience.”
The Mystic Seaport Museum grounds cover 19 acres on the Mystic River in Mystic, CT, and includes a recreated New England coastal village, a working shipyard, formal exhibit halls, and state-of-the-art artifact storage facilities. The Museum is home to more than 500 historic watercraft, including four National Historic Landmark vessels, most notably the 1841 whaleship Charles W. Morgan, America’s oldest commercial ship still in existence. At Mystic Seaport Museum, we strive to create an environment where visitors not only learn from us, but we learn from them. The concept is called Public History and it allows our visitors to experience history in ways they haven’t before.
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