Free Family Fun!

The 20th Annual Salem Maritime Festival kicks off the annual Salem Heritage Days this weekend.

The Maritime Festival will kick off on historic Derby Wharf at the Salem Maritime National Historic Site on Friday, August 1, 2008 with a free concert featuring Entrain, the eclectic Martha’s Vineyard-based six-piece band. Entrain will bring their unique combination of rock, blues, calypso, zydeco, jazz and funk to Derby Wharf from 7-9 PM.

The free Maritime Festival will present its usual mixture of traditional craft demonstrations, children’s activities, and demonstrations aboard the National Park Service’s tall ship Friendship on Saturday, August 2, 2008 from 10 AM to 6 PM and from noon to 5 PM on Sunday, August 3.

The musical line-up will include maritime music groups like Atwater& Donnelly and the New Bedford Sea Chantey Chorus that are maintaining traditional forms, as well as groups like Sharks Come Cruisin’, who are reinterpreting traditional sea chanteys with a rock and blues sound. The Maritime Festival will also showcase the best local talent along with groups from around New England, including Buddy Walker and his band, the New Hampshire-based rock, funk, and reggae Casual Labor Band, and Rhode-Island based maritime singer-songwriter Jon Campbell.

The Salem Maritime Festival is free and open to the public. It will take place on Derby Wharf at Salem Maritime National Historic Site on Saturday August 2 from 10-6 and Sunday, August 3 from 12-5. For more information and directions to the venue, please visit the Salem Maritime National Historic Site web site at www.nps.gov/sama.

Music Schedule for the 20th Annual Salem Maritime Festival

Friday, August 1st

7-9pm: Evening concert by Entrain, the eclectic Martha’s Vineyard-based six-piece band playing rock, blues, calypso, zydeco, jazz and funk.

Saturday, August 2nd

10 am taped music

11 am-1 pm: Orville Giddings Band—rock and blues

1 pm-2pm: Jon Campbell—contemporary maritime music

2 pm-3pm: Casual Labor Band—rock, classic rock, southern rock, pop, funk and reggae,

3 pm-4pm: Warszawiaki Orchestra—traditional Polish music

4 pm-6 pm: Shark’s Come Cruisin’—punk rock maritime music

6 pm-9 pm: Evening Concert by Squeeze Box Stompers—cajun, zydeco, and country blues

Sunday, August 3rd

12 noon-2 pm: New Bedford Harbor Sea Chantey Chorus

2 pm-3pm: Michael O’Leary and the Stroms - sea chanteys and Celtic music

3 pm-5pm: Atwater & Donnelly - traditional American folk music

For more information, visit the Salem Maritime National Historic Site web site at www.nps.gov/sama and the Maritime Festival Site at
http://www.nps.gov/sama/parknews/maritimefestival2008.htm.