To celebrate this historic link between regional farmers and the Bay’s traditional watercraft, the skipjack Nathan of Dorchester will sail from Cambridge with a load of watermelon to the Annapolis Maritime Museum’s docks and offer her cargo for sale during the fourth annual Market Day on Sunday, August 24, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The event takes place on the Museum campus in Eastport at 723 Second Street.
Watermelon won’t be the only fresh Eastern Shore produce available. Arriving aboard their fleet of pick-up trucks, area farmers will also be on hand, tailgating just-picked squash, beans, tomatoes and corn. Volunteers from the nearby Mt. Zion United Methodist Church will serve crab cakes, hot dogs and soft drinks.
The R&B group Raw Hands and the Mt. Zion U.M. Church choir will perform music to round out the afternoon. The Raw Hands quartet is comprised of Lloyd Fowlkes on bass, Mack Seay on keyboard, David Queen on drums and George “Chicky” Johnson on guitar. They will reprise some of the music played in the 1950s and 1960s at Carr’s Beach, the renowned African-American beachfront resort located on the current site of the Chesapeake Harbour development on Annapolis Neck.
The Nathan of Dorchester is the last skipjack to be built on the Bay and sails regularly out of Cambridge carrying passengers and school groups. Volunteers from Cambridge’s Richardson Maritime Museum will load the melon and sail her to Annapolis. Proceeds from the melon will help defray the boat’s travel costs. The Museum’s skipjack Lydia D will also be on display at the docks.
For more information, call 410-295-0104, or visit the museum web site at www.amaritime.org.
Directions: from Annapolis City Dock, take Compromise Street across the Spa Creek Bridge, turn left onto Severn Avenue, right onto Second Street, and stop before driving into Back Creek.