Celebrate Labor Day Weekend at Mystic Seaport Museum with a Panorama Festival
The weather looks great for Labor Day weekend, and we are ready to celebrate the end of an amazing summer with our Panorama Festival, which runs from Saturday, September 4th – Monday, September 6th.
This adventure-packed event celebrates cultural diversity and will feature hands-on activities for kids and adults as well as food trucks, live music, dancing, crafts, demonstrations, and more. From the Azores to West Africa, and Brazil to Hawaii, visitors will experience different cultural activities and cuisine from around the world.
The festival is centered around a 1275-foot-long painting, A Spectacle in Motion: The Grand Panorama of a Whaling Voyage ‘Round the World, which details the fascinating voyage of a typical mid-19th century New Bedford whaleship on its journey ‘round the world’ in pursuit of whales. Along the way, it depicts scenes (some from the artists’ experiences, some historic, and some imagined) in such far-flung places as the Azores, Cape Verde, Brazil, Tahiti, and Hawaii. People, places, vessels, wildlife, and events spring to life as they were seen from a 19th-century perspective. The painting is being shown in sections in an exhibition at the Museum, which runs through March 2022.
Among the highlights of this event is an authentic Hula Demonstration by the Kaiholunuie Polynesian Dance Company (KPDC). Their performance company consists of a thriving multicultural group who come together as extended ohana (family), to teach the art of, and deeper meanings of the hula, as well as other forms of Polynesian dance. Their performance will be on Saturday from 3 – 3:45 p.m. and includes audience participation.
For the sea-chantey-loving crowd, the cast of the hit Off-Broadway musical comedy The Imbible: Rum and Pirates will perform a selection of sea chanteys and nautical songs on Monday from 2:30 -3 p.m. to provide a unique a cappella soundtrack to The Grand Panorama voyage.
Those who enjoy food trucks and authentic cuisine from around the world will be happy to feast on eats from Merengue & Reds (Dominican), Suya (Nigerian), Captain Scott’s (local seafood), Go Truck Yourself (Peruvian), and Hometown Poke (Hawaiian).
The Mystic Seaport Museum is happy to present this event and all its accompanying activities as part of the Museum admission, with no extra cost. It will also be the last weekend to take advantage of Connecticut’s Summer at the Museum program, where all Connecticut children and one accompanying adult are admitted free of charge. Hope to see you there!
