News

Mayor: Marketing firm will raise funds for Tall Ships visit

Greenport
JUDY AHRENS FILE PHOTO | With tall ships as backdrop, Colin Van Tuyl directs the Greenport Band in Mitchell Park during the 2004 Tall Ships of America's tour.

Greenport Mayor David Nyce said the village is drafting a contract with a marketing firm that will organize and raise funds for the Tall Ships of America tour, set for Memorial Day weekend.

Mr. Nyce said the marketing firm’s work will have a net-zero cost to the village because its fee will be taken from the total amount raised. The village’s goal to pay for ships’ appearances and other costs involved with the event is $150,000, he said.

The village is also drafting contracts with the owners of some class A vessels, which are the largest of the tall ships. Those include the Bounty, based in Greenport, and the Pride of Baltimore and the Picton-Castle, whose home port is Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

The mayor added that the village is also negotiating contracts with smaller ships, known as schooners, including the Lynx, a replica of an 1812 warship, and the Unicorn from New Jersey, which has an all-female crew.

In addition to negotiating these contracts, Mr. Nyce said the Village Board will create a steering committee comprising representatives from the Business Improvement District, the fire department, the Greenport School District and other community groups to assist in preparing for the event.

“It should be really exciting,” Mr. Nyce said of the planning effort. “These ships are awesome.”

Read more from Monday’s work session in Thursday’s Suffolk Times.

[email protected]