The historic tanker Mary A. Whalen is turning 80 on May 21st. As part of a month-long celebration, Portside NewYork and the Mary A. Whalen is hosting an Art Inspiration Day and Birthday Tanker Tours.

The events take place tomorrow, Sunday, May 20th, from 8 AM to 6 PM on the tanker at the south end of Pier 11, Atlantic Basin, near the corner of Pioneer & Conover Streets, Red Hook, Brooklyn, New York.

To celebrate Art Inspiration Day, Portside is inviting painters, sketchers, illustrators, poets, and photographers to create work inspired by the Mary A. Whalen and their evocative maritime location.  Artists are invited as of 8:00 AM.

The public is invited starting at 1 PM to observe the artists and to take tours of the ship. Artist Frank Hanavan will teach a watercolor class. The Birthday Tanker Tours will let visitors explore all the bells and jingles from wheelhouse to engine room, uncommon spaces, tech and social history of the historic coastal tanker.