This is a busy week for maritime festivals in the US. In Grand Haven, Michigan, the Michigan Pirate Festival 2010 kicked off yesterday with a very Hollywood version of pirates and piracy. So aargh and shivery m’ timbers. If only the problem of piracy were so benign. The festival runs through Sunday. Also in Michigan, the White Lake Area Maritime Festival will be held from August 12-14th.
In Burlington, Vermont, the Lake Champlain Maritime Festival starts up this Thursday, with lots of music, exhibits and scenic cruises throughout the weekend. Not to be outdone by Michigan’s Pirates, Nightmare Vermont’s troupe of pirates will be swashbuckling and roaming the waterfront. Classic Sailing Vessel “Friend Ship” and the Spirit of Ethan Allen will be offering cruises from the Burlington Boat House.
On Saturday the Connecticut River Museum’s Annual Family Maritime Festival starts in Essex, CT., with maritime games, songs, and schooner deck tours offered free of charge throughout the afternoon. There will be demonstrations on how to make rope, caulk a ship, and sing a sea chantey. Tickets for afternoon sails on the the historic schooner Mary E will also be available. In the evening, a picnic concert will feature sea chanteys sung by the Freemen of the Sea and folk rock performed by Amalgamated Muck.