Greenport Maritime Festival postponed until October due to weather

The 36th Annual Greenport Maritime Festival has been postponed until next month given the developing weather forecast — including heavy rain and wind — for this weekend.

The Land and Sea Gala will now take place on Friday, Oct. 16, with the festival following on Saturday, Oct. 17 and Sunday, Oct. 18.

“Maritime has always been about our relationship with the water — and part of that is respecting the conditions around us,” head of the event steering committee Sarah Phillips-Loth said. “We have the opportunity to make this decision early, together, and give everyone time to adjust.

“So we’re changing course, keeping the entire weekend together and heading toward October 16-18 with three more weeks to build, promote and celebrate everything that makes Greenport Maritime special.”

This year’s stewardship transferred to the Greenport Business Owners Alliance, a group of village business owners led by and Ms. Phillips-Loth of First and South, Rena Wilhelm of The Weathered Barn, Kara Hoblin of North Fork Art Collective and Kim Loper of Harbor Pet.

The East End Seaport Museum & Marine Foundation, the organizer of the September tradition celebrating the village’s seafaring heritage for the last 35 years, initially announced it was pulling out of running the event late last October.

The Greenport Business Owners Alliance said the additional three weeks will now be put to work reconfirming participants and programming, coordinating the new weekend with the Village of Greenport and public-safety partners, and “giving the community additional time to tell the stories of the people, organizations and businesses participating in Maritime.”

“We are extraordinarily grateful to the people who have already put their time, resources, ideas and trust behind this year’s festival,” Ms. Phillips-Loth said. “Now we have three more weeks to introduce you to them. We want to use that time to share their stories, invite more of the community aboard and make October’s weekend something we’re all proud to have built together.” 

Existing sponsors, vendors, merchants and organizations will be contacted directly to reconfirm participation and provide updated logistics.

“The Village is looking forward to the festival in October and appreciates all the work to date by the Greenport Business Owners Alliance, the East End Seaport Museum and volunteers,” Mayor Kevin Stuessi said.

An updated schedule will be released as those confirmations are completed. 

For festival updates, sponsorship opportunities, participation information and the updated schedule, visit their website or follow the festival on social media.