Sixth annual Marine Heritage Festival kicks off

Chelsea Rutherford (left) and Adrienne Mason manned the HMS General Hunter Replica at the Marine Heritage Festival kick-off, July 22, at the Bruce County Museum and Cultural Centre.

Megan Dunn, Saugeen Shores Hub

Southampton’s sixth annual Marine Heritage Festival held its kick-off party at the Bruce County Museum and Cultural Centre, July 22. The Friday night museum experience was free to the public and included music, fun activities and museum employees teaching attendees about the HMS General Hunter, the local shipwreck that saw a full excavation in 2004 with the help of the Marine Heritage Society.

Marine Heritage Society Co-Chair, Stan Young said that the Friday night is an opening night for the Festival, that includes a Southampton Rotary barbecue and is designed to help invite people to the event, which, Young felt is growing and drawing a larger audience.

“We’ve realized that there is a lot more that we can do to get it out to people,” said Young who added that he had people from Burlington tell him they had heard about the Marine Heritage Festival down in the GTA. “Anything that goes on around here people talk and they tell them about the Festival. The more people that know about it, the more people that talk about it.”

Young added that the Festival grows every year and teaming up with the Southampton Business Improvement Area (BIA) has brought business into the downtown area. Young said that the Marine Heritage Society has considered extending the event to four days, Thursday to Sunday, to incorporate Cruisers Cruise Nights.

The three day festival is highlighted with Cardboard Boat Races at Pioneer Park, that features family, business and community group entries. The judging of the boats begins at 10:30 a.m., with the races taking place at 11:00 a.m sharp. Surrounding the park itself are nautical booths and community entries, a beer garden and a barbecue.

There is also a “Jack Sparrow’s Gold Hunt” around the area for kids and kids at heart at 1:30 p.m., with a Fish Fry dinner and Beach party.

Sunday activities include the War on the Shore Bike race, presented by Martin’s Bike Shop, taking place form noon until 5 p.m. Cyclists will compete for the best time in a number of heats around Southampton. Southampton Rotary Club will be on hand to serve some tasty barbecue and there will be a non-denominational Ecumenical Sunset Service hosted by St. Paul’s Anglican Church at 7:30 p.m.

Bruce County Museum and Cultural Centre employees Christine Brown (left) and Harrison Tew stood proudly in front of the museum’s cardboad boat entry, that will be manned by Tew and fellow co-worker Adrienne Mason.