The Wyoming sculpture at Maine Maritime Museum is 134 feet tall. Museum volunteers will raise the flags on the sculpture on Community Day. Contributed / Maine Maritime Museum
Maine Maritime Museum will hoist its sails and kick off its summer season Saturday with its annual Community Day, this year featuring a special guest, the Virginia.
“It’s the official start to the summer season, when all of our traditional demonstrations begin,” said Amanda Pleau, marketing and communications manager for the museum.
“The hope is that everyone in our community will come see what we’ve been up to over the course of the last year,” Pleau said. Past Community Days have drawn up to 500 people, she said, and “we’re hoping to get a really strong turnout.”
Admission to the museum will be free and tickets for cruises on the Kennebec aboard the Merrymeeting will be discounted to $10. The Donnell House will open its doors for tours and the blacksmith shop will host demonstrations.
Flags will be raised on the steel Wyoming sculpture on the museum’s lawn. The sculpture replicates historically accurate dimensions of the Wyoming, which was built in Bath early in the 20th century and was one of the largest wooden ships ever constructed.
“Members of our volunteer council will be responsible for raising the flags,” Pleau said, an honor given to them in appreciation of all the volunteers who are are “a critical part of our organization.”
There will be a cannon firing at noon. Community Day events will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The blacksmith shop will be open for demonstrations of skills and equipment.
Lawn games have been added this year, Pleau said. An activity tent featuring various local chapters and organizations, including the Girl Scouts and the Patten Free Library, also will be set up.
The Virginia, Maine’s First Ship’s reconstruction of a 1607 pinnace, will be docked outside the museum, its temporary home until its own new dock is finished. The old dock was destroyed by winter weather.
“Our dock is still under construction,” said Kirstie Truluck, executive director of Maine’s First Ship. “We’re excited to be there. They were gracious enough to host us.”
No one will be allowed aboard the Virginia because it has not yet been certified for visitors, but it will add to the overall atmosphere of Community Day and the museum’s displays, Truluck said.
“It’s just eye candy for now,” she said.
“It’s just a really wonderfully active, engaged group of people,” said Truluck of Maine Maritime Museum. “I’ve had a sense that the museum is really turning its face toward the community. You can feel the energy and effort to engage.”
Many volunteers work both with Maine’s First Ship and the Maritime Museum, so this collaboration between the two organizations is exciting for everyone involved.
For more details on scheduling, visit the Community Day page at mainemaritimemuseum.org.
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