Going to the Boat Festival at Chesapeake Bay is a great way to celebrate Father’s Day!
Wooden and fiberglass classics, vintage racers, and other antique and Chesapeake Bay-related boats are coming to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum June 15-17 for the 31st Annual Antique & Classic Boat Festival and the Arts at Navy Point in St. Michaels, Maryland.
Hosted by the Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the Antique & Classic Boat Society, this Father’s Day weekend event brings a sense of nostalgia to the Miles River and CBMM’s docks and campus, drawing some of the area’s finest classic boats, nautical and maritime treasures, entertainment, food, and libations to this waterfront festival.
“With a juried competition among entrants for best restored and preserved boats, this festival attracts the best of the best when it comes to classic and antique boats,” commented ACBS-Chesapeake Bay Chapter Festival Chairman Bob Hamilton. “Add CBMM’s beautiful waterfront, plus family activities, boat rides, great food and a rum bar, and this makes a nice day for everyone to enjoy.”
The show attracts the finest runabouts to yachts, including race boats, work boats, launches, hydroplanes, and utilities. Chris-Craft, Trumpy, Gar Wood, Donzi, and Lyman are among some of the boats represented. 
This year’s show will be featuring ski boats and water skiing memorabilia with some of the earliest ski boats manufactured scheduled to be on display.
This water skiing theme compliments the CBMM’s largest permanent At Play on the Bay exhibit housed in a two-story exhibition building on campus which includes a 30-foot Owens cruiser as well as over 400 historical artifacts, photographs and video footage. 
In addition, over 1,000 toy outboard motors from the Toy Outboard Model Group are expected to be on display. The Toy Outboard Model Group will be holding their annual meeting during our show and their incredible variety of motors is truly impressive.
Along with the Mid-Atlantic’s largest gathering of antique and classic boats, the festival’s signature Arts at Navy Point pavilion brings more than 70 juried fine artists, craftspeople, and vendors offering nautical and maritime-themed items for boat and home.
Workshops and seminars, building demonstrations, family activities, and a nautical flea market will be available throughout the weekend, along with a selection of regional and grilled foods, music, and a waterside bar and deck for libations and other drinks.
Times and information on all seminars will be announced at a later date and will be in the Festival program given out at the event.
Along the Fogg’s Landing side of CBMM’s campus, the festival’s Field of Dreams features an array of restorable classic boats and motors, along with other items in a nautical flea market sale.
While at the Antique & Classic Boat Festival, guests can also watch the log-hull restoration of the 1889 Bugeye Edna E. Lockwood, now underway in CBMM’s shipyard through her re-launch at CBMM’s OysterFest on October 27, 2018. Special exhibitions include Exploring the Chesapeake: Mapping the Bay, and Kent’s Carvers and Clubs: Guides, Gunners and Co-Ops.
Festival hours are Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; and Father’s Day, Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The festival includes two-day admission to all of CBMM’s special and permanent exhibitions, including the 1879 Hooper Strait Lighthouse, where guests can climb to the top for views of the Miles River and St. Michaels harbor. The event is $5 for CBMM adult members or $18 for adults; $15 for seniors and students with ID; and $6 for children 6-17.
Scenic river cruises aboard CBMM’s 1920 Buyboat Winnie Estelle will be offered throughout the festival, with boat rides and food an additional cost. For safety reasons, non-service dogs are prohibited at CBMM festivals. Festival parking for all three days and a Saturday shuttle service are free, with CBMM a short walk to specialty shops, restaurants, inns, bed & breakfasts, and other attractions in St. Michaels’ historic district. For more information, visit bit.ly/oldboatscoolfun or call 410-745-2916. Classic boat owners or enthusiasts may also register via the Chesapeake Bay Chapter’s website at www.chesapeakebayacbs.org or call Bob Hamilton at 240-672-4817.
Thank you, Bob Hamilton and the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum for this invitation.
The Events Calendar on this website offers so many places to go and things to do. Check it out for yourself and make your plans now.