Sultana’s Downrigging Weekend (November 1-3, 2019) has become one of the largest Tall Ship rendezvous in the country. This year the event showcases the all-new Port of Chestertown Marina and is further enhanced by the addition of a three-day bluegrass festival.
The Town of Chestertown will host the grand opening of the newly renovated Marina on the lawn of the newly named Cerino Center, which houses the Marina and ShoreRivers offices at 207 S. Water Street, at 1:00 p.m. on November 1st, 2019.
Ships coming Downrigging Weekend include:
KALMAR NYCKEL
PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II
VIRGINIA
LYNX
LADY MARYLAND
SIGSBEE
SULTANA
New this year is a Festival Village. It’s an enclosed area at the Chestertown Marina with performance stages featuring a variety of bluegrass performers throughout the weekend, food vendors, a microbrew tent, fire pits and s’mores kits, heated tents with seating, yard games like corn hole and a giant Jenga, and much more.
Tickets are required to enter the Festival Village on Friday and Saturday. Entrance to the Village is free on Sunday. 100 percent of ticket proceeds from the festival village will go to the Sultana Education Foundation’s scholarship fund.
It’s not just Tall Ships and Bluegrass at Sultana Downrigging. The festival will feature some great lectures, all of which are free!
Kalmar Nyckel: The Forgotten Journey
Friday, November 1
Partner Event with the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation
7:00-8:30pm / Sultana’s Holt Center / 200 S. Cross St. / free
A “Forgotten Journey” no more, Sweden’s long and special relationship with America began in 1638 when the KALMAR NYCKEL made its first epic transatlantic voyage to establish the colony of New Sweden in the Delaware Valley. This exciting film features stunning sailing sequences aboard today’s KALMAR NYCKEL and commentary from some of the world’s leading experts who bring fresh insights and a maritime perspective to this overlooked chapter in America’s colonial history. The ships’s talented volunteer crew and captains star in this beautiful documentary.
Castelli Artist Talk
Saturday, November 2
Partner Event with Massoni Art
10:00am / Massoni Art / 203 High St. / free
Join renowned artist Marc Castelli for coffee as he shares his new collection of watercolors of the Chesapeake Bay.
Tim Newby – Bluegrass in Baltimore
Saturday, November 2
Partner Event with The Book Plate
11:00am-Noon/ The Book Plate / 112 S. Cross St. / free
During this talk Tim Newby will explore his new book, “Bluegrass in Baltimore – The Hard Driving Sound and its Legacy.” Based upon interviews with legendary players from the golden age of Baltimore bluegrass, this book provides the first in-depth coverage of this transplanted-roots music and its broader influence, detailing the struggles Appalachian musicians faced in a big city that viewed the music they made as the “poorest example of poor man’s music.”
Brian Hope – Bay Pilot
Saturday, November 2
Partner Event with The Book Plate
1:00 – 2:00pm / The Book Plate / 112 S. Cross St. / free
During this talk at The Book Plate, Brian Hope – author, artist, retired Bay pilot, and founder of Project Liberty Ship in Baltimore – will discuss his new book “Bay Pilots – A History of the Maryland Pilots Association.” Based in Baltimore, the men and women of the Maryland Pilots apply their hard-earned local knowledge to the safe and intricate movement of ships throughout the Chesapeake Bay. Hope brings forty years of experience to the subject, and his stories are full of history, adventure, humor, and excitement.
Tom Pelton – Chesapeake in Focus
Saturday, November 2
5:00pm / Sultana’s Holt Center / 200 S. Cross St. / free
Based on Pelton’s extensive experience as a journalist and as the host of the public radio program “The Environment in Focus,” this sweeping talk will take you on a tour of the histories of the Chesapeake, as well as the ecological challenges faced by its major tributaries. Pelton will touch on the management of blue crabs, striped bass, and other delicious wildlife, profile leaders and little-known characters involved in the restoration campaign, and warn of the dangers of anti-regulatory politics that threaten to reverse what has been accomplished. Looking to the future, Pelton offers a provocative vision of the hard steps that must be taken if we truly want to save the Bay.
Native Americans of the Chesapeake Bay
Sunday, November 3
11:00am-Noon / Sultana’s Holt Center / 200 S. Cross St. / free
Using the Sultana Education Foundation’s state-of-the art GIS presentation theater, “Native Americans of the Chesapeake Bay,” explores the history and culture of people native to the Chesapeake Bay region, spanning from 1400 years ago to present day. Make sure to stick around after the presentation to check out all of Sultana’s new Native American artifacts! Narrated by Chris Cerino.
Chesapeake Through the Ages
Sunday, November 3
2:00-3:00pm / Sultana’s Holt Center / 200 S. Cross St. / free
Chesapeake Through the Ages visualizes 35 million years of Bay history using Sultana’s GIS (Geographic Information Systems) Theatre. This cutting-edge system transforms the Swain Geography Classroom in Sultana’s Holt Education Center into a 1,000 square-foot living map of the Chesapeake. Not to be missed! Narrated by Chris Cerino.
More information about the weekend at www.downrigging.org