Salem Maritime Festival

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SAVE THE DATE! The 2024 Salem Maritime Festival will be held on Saturday, August 3^rd from 11 AM to 6:30 PM. Stay tuned for many more details yet to come.

 

NPS

Join us for the annual Salem Maritime Festival on Saturday, August 3, 2024, at Salem Maritime National Historic Site on Derby Street. This event is free and open to the public. Salem Maritime Festival will feature musicians, a magician, visiting vessels, historic craft demonstrators, and hands-on activities.

The day will kick off the Great Salem Maritime Cardboard Boat Regatta. Teams of two will test their engineering, ingenuity, and artistry by building homemade boats constructed on cardboard and duct tape. Launching from Derby Beach in a series of heats, teams will race to paddle their cardboard boats in the Salem Sound.

Schedule of Events

11:00 am - 1:00 pm: The Great Salem Maritime Cardboard Boat Regatta (races and award ceremony)
12:00 noon - 6:00 pm: Demonstrators, exhibits, and activities
12:45 pm - 6:30 pm: Live music and entertainment
1:00 pm - 4:00 pm: Free kayak and paddleboat rentals
1:00 pm - 5:00 pm: Reopening of the Salem Custom House

 

The Great Salem Maritime Cardboard Boat Regatta (2023)

NPS Photo

The Great Salem Maritime Cardboard Boat Regatta

Join Salem Maritime National Historic Site for Salem's favorite cardbord-themed event! Taking place during the Maritime Festival, local teams will race their homemade cardboard boats in Salem Harbor. Spectators are encouraged to line Derby Wharf and cheer on the racers.

If you would like to learn more about competing in the Cardboard Boat Regatta, please follow this link (https://www.nps.gov/sama/planyourvisit/cardboard-boatregatta.htm) to review the rules and submit an application.

 

Squeezebox Stompers

Live Music and Entertainment

12:45 pm - 2:15 pm – Squeezebox Stompers – Cajun, New Orleans Mardi Gras Music
2:30 pm - 3:15 pm – Evan The Magician
3:30 pm - 4:45 pm - Sweet Soul Sounds – Motown
5:00 pm - 6:30 pm – Luna Latin Jazz Band – Latin Jazz, Salsa
Tony Toledo - Master of Ceremonies

Squeezebox Stompers:

The Squeezebox Stompers are a Boston area Americana Roots band. They have performed Cajun, Zydeco, Blues, Folk, and originals all over New England for the past 15 years. Members of the band have received Boston Music Awards and Songwriting Awards. They are noted for their step-lively up-beat music inspiring audiences to get up and dance.

Evan the Magician:

Evan Northup has 10 years of musical theater, 15 years of musical perfomance, and 20 years of dance experience. All of these skills are brought together in his magic performances. For Evan, magic remains the perfect balance of creative outlet and challenging work.

Sweet Soul Sounds:

This Salem, Massachusetts-based cover band centers the Motown tradition in its fun, dance friendly performances. Greg Coles and Nicole Harris, Vocals. Grant Clark, Percussion. Rory McKenzie, Bass. Alton Hollister, Saxophone.

 

Schooner "Adventure"

Vessels

Schooner Adventure

Visit the 1926 dory-fishing Schooner Adventure. The National Historic Landmark Schooner Adventure is one of the last surviving Grand Banks dory-fishing schooners. She is a national treasure that sails as an icon of the American fisheries and as a floating classroom celebrating maritime history. The schooner is operated at sea along the New England coast, as a living monument to Massachusetts’ fishing heritage.

Kayaks and Paddleboards

Free paddleboard and kayak rentals will be available to use off of Central Wharf from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. An instructor will be onsite for anyone who needs a lesson. Safety equipment will be available.

 

NPS

Reopening the Custom House

After a major repair and preservation project, the Custom House will be reopened to the public. Step inside the historic structure, built in 1819, that housed offices for the officers of the U.S. Customs Service, as well as an attached warehouse, the Public Stores, used for the storage of bonded and impounded cargo. Park staff and volunteers will offer interpretive talks as you explore the historic building and exhibits.

These significant repairs helped correct years of deterioration of the historic structure and protect these important pieces of American history. The project included extensive repairs to exterior and interior features of the building, including the portico, railings, shutters, cupola, snow and ice rail, roof, chimneys and plaster walls. All wood and metal on the exterior of the building, and interior surfaces, was painted.