ST. MICHAELS, MD
The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum will celebrate the Grand Opening of its new Welcome Center with a free community event offering authentic Chesapeake experiences and family fun on Saturday, December 2, 2023 from 10am-4pm.
Guests are invited to attend a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony for the transformational new building at 10:30am followed by a festival-style celebration that highlights “Winter on the Chesapeake” with demonstrations, hands-on activities, campus tours, and live music. For more information and to RSVP now, visit cbmm.org/WelcomeCenterGrandOpening.
With this day of free general admission and special programming for all ages, CBMM is excited to showcase the new Welcome Center. The12,000-square-foot, fully ADA-accessible building overlooking Fogg’s Cove was designed to provide guests with a warm welcome to campus with three exhibition spaces, reception area, restrooms, and the new Museum Store.
During the Grand Opening ceremony, CBMM staff and friends will commemorate the years-in-the-making project, recognize all who have made it possible, and officially open the Welcome Center.
Afterward, guests are invited to explore the new building while also getting a taste of “Winter on the Chesapeake” through themed activities led by CBMM staff and community partners. There will be a variety of food items and beverages, including festive cocktails, available for purchase.
The entertainment is headlined by renowned jazz saxophonist and St. Michaels native Anthony “Turk” Cannon, who will take to the stage on Fogg’s Landing with his five-piece jazz ensemble at 11:30am for a special homecoming performance. Cannon’s father Wilson “Turk” Cannon was an iconic local waterman who is featured in CBMM’s Oystering on the Chesapeake exhibition.
At 2:30pm, acoustic-electric trio Big Tribe will share “Songs About the Water,” a concert of songs and stories with a dose of science in the Van Lennep Auditorium. The group’s music video for the song “Can’t Work the River” is currently on view in CBMM’s special exhibition, The Changing Chesapeake.
In addition, local musician Joe Bryan will play on the outdoor Fogg’s Landing stage starting at 2:30pm.
Inside the new building, there will be a series of gallery talks highlighting the new exhibition Water Lines: Chesapeake Watercraft Traditions with representatives from the Frederick Douglass Honor Society and CBMM curators. Guests can also view the new orientation exhibition Navigating the Chesapeake’s Maritime Culture and get a jump on holiday shopping in the new Museum Store.
Other festival highlights include an invasive species cooking demonstration with Chef Zack Mills of Baltimore’s True Chesapeake Oyster Co., a scrapple-making demo with butchers from The Village Shoppe, and presentations from Minorities in Aquaculture and local decoy carver Bill Collins.
CBMM’s Shipyard staff will share demonstrations on constructing a traditional Chesapeake hunting icebox and boat nameboard carving.
Guests are invited to try their hand carving designs out of soap, decorate an oyster can to help build a holiday “oyster can tree,” and make an ornament to decorate CBMM’s Chesapeake Bay log canoe Edmee S. ahead of its appearance in the Talbot Street Parade as part of Christmas in St. Michaels. Other family-friendly activities include Chesapeake-themed games, face painting, and storytime.
More programming and activities are expected to be added as the schedule is finalized for the Grand Opening celebration. Head to the event page at cbmm.org for the most updated list of offerings leading up to Dec. 2. The event is generously supported by Maryland Public Television and Forever Media.
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