The 21st annual Boast the Coast event will take place on Saturday, October 1, 2016 with some modifications to the schedule due to the one year cancellation of the other event associated with the Lewes Maritime Festival weekend. Boast the Coast was conceived in 1996 to showcase Lewes’ nautical heritage and to feature activities that complemented the previously established “Coast Day” event, sponsored by the University of Delaware’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment that annually takes place on the first Sunday in October. This year, due to a major construction project on their Lewes campus, it will not be taking place.
The annual Lewes Merchants’ Fall Sidewalk Sale has long been associated with Boast the Coast. It is a three day event, wrapped around Saturday’s Boast the Coast Day events, beginning on Friday, September 30, Saturday and Sunday October 1 & 2 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Lewes Historical Society’s maritime history museum, located in the historic Cannonball House, will be open for tours on October 1st and they will be free on that day only to showcase Lewes’ nautical heritage. Additionally, the Society’s Life Saving Station on the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal will also be open Saturday for free tours. Another Lewes nautical treasure, The Lightship Overfalls, located a little further down Front Street, adjacent to the Society’s Life Saving Station, will also be open for free tours on Saturday and Sunday if the vessel is on-site, pending the vessel’s maintenance schedule. On Sunday, October 2, the Canalfront Park will be bustling with activity because the Friends of the Lewes Canalfront Park’s fundraiser - Picnic in the Park - will be taking place. Their original date in June needed to be rescheduled after inclement weather forced the postponement. The Picnic in the Park will offer an alternative activity on the day after Boast the Coast since the always popular Coast Day will not be staged this year.
Many of the activities previously staged as part of the Boast the Coast Day on Saturday have been linked to Coast Day. Because of Coast Day’s cancellation this year, the activities previously staged at Boast the Coast Day in 1812 Park on the canal will not take place this year including the boat tours, entertainment under the tent and the seafood tasting. The Lighted Boat parade that was the culmination of previous years’ Boast the Coast activities was discontinued in 2013 due to lack of entries.
Other events associated with Boast the Coast Day are appropriately taking place either on, in or adjacent to the Delaware Bay. The Lewes Historical Society’s Fall Craft Fair is taking place this year on the grounds of the Cape May-Lewes Ferry terminal due to construction on the Society’s campus located at the end of Second Street. It takes place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the grounds adjacent to the Ferry Terminal, overlooking the Delaware Bay. Admission is $5. Another event taking place Saturday, October 1 is also being staged at the Lewes Ferry terminal. The inaugural Escape to Lewes Open Water Swim Classic, presented by chamber member Delmo Sports, takes place in and on the water when entrants will begin their races by jumping off the deck of a ferry and racing 3 mile or 1 mile courses. The event begins at 11:15 a.m.
Several other Lewes Chamber members have scheduled events on Boast the Coast Day. They are as follows: Friends of Lewes Public Library Book Sale at 111 Adams Avenue from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. - LewesLibrary.org; Cape Artists of Lewes Gallery Open House at 110 W. 3rd Street from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. - Cape Artists.org; “The Artists’ View” by multiple artists at Peninsula Gallery at 520 E. Savannah Road from 5 - 7 p.m. - Peninsula-Gallery.com; Zwaanendael Museum Maritime Program - History.Delaware.gov.
For more information on the Craft Fair, contact the Lewes Historical Society at 302-645-7670; for the Escape to Lewes Swim Classic, contact Delmo Sports - DelmoSports.com and for the Picnic in the Park event on October 2, contact Friends of the Lewes Canalfront Park - LewesCanalfrontPark.org.
