Welcome to Schooner Days 2009
October 17 & 18, 2009
Olde Towne Portsmouth, Virginia

Come celebrate Portsmouth's maritime heritage surrounded by the world's largest gathering of schooners! Over 50 schooners are racing from Baltimore, Maryland to Portsmouth, Virginia as participants in the 20th Annual Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race. As the finale of the GCBSR and to commemorate one of America’s oldest and most historic seaports and shipyards, PortsEvents is presenting the inaugural Schooner Days festival with FREE activities and entertainment for the whole family.

Portsmouth's maritime celebration begins on Friday with the arrival of  the schooners throughout the day as they complete the race. Cheer their arrival at the seawall and North and High Street Landings and then enjoy Schooner Fare Friday night in Olde Towne at any of our fine restaurants offering specially prepared Chesapeake Bay seafood entrees.

Visit Olde Towne’s seawall on Saturday & Sunday and discover numerous maritime-related activities including a colonial shipyard with demonstrations of traditional wooden boat building and crafts by seasoned mariners and skilled craftsmen. Children will be enthralled with colonial games, crafts -- even nautical tattoos!  Tour some of the larger schooners and learn about life aboard ship.  Be sure to bring your camera along for great photo opportunities and enter your best shots into the Schooner Days photo contest. Listen to maritime musicians including Bob Zentz performs the songs of the sea, the ship and the sailor throughout the festival.  Great fun for the whole family and it's free to the public!

Extend your visit up historic High Street by stopping in at the New Colony Theater and hear the Virginia Youth Symphony Orchestra perform music from "Pirates of the Caribbean," visit businesses participating in the Sail-a-thon, sample seafood on the Schooner Fare menu at local chef-owned restaurants. Saturday morning will also include the Olde Towne Farmer's Market as well as the opening of Andalo's Clubhouse, a satellite of the Children's Museum.  There is never a better time to visit Olde Towne Portsmouth than during Schooner Days, October 16-18, 2009.