Bayfront Maritime Center's Small Boat Festival

Bayfront Maritime Center SMALL BOAT FESTIVAL

The Bayfront Maritime Center in Erie Pennsylvania is hosting Erie’s Small Boat Festival which includes two main events: the Cardboard Boat Regatta on Saturday August 16th, and the Presque Isle Bay Messabout, August 15th – 16th.

→The Cardboard Boat Regatta on Saturday August 16th is a chance for families, students, friends and co-workers to build and race boats made from cardboard, paint, tape and glue. Teams compete in categories including Fastest Time Youth 12 and under, Teen 13-18, Adult 19+, and Mixed Crew. Prizes are also awarded for Most Creative, Most Dramatic Sinking, and Crowd Favorite. Entry fee is $35. Registration starts at 10 AM, the Cardboard Boat Parade is at 11 AM, and racing begins at noon. See construction, registration, and other event details, rules, and photos from previous years at: www.bayfrontcenter.org/events/cardboard-boat-regatta. Everyone is encouraged to build a cardboard boat, sponsor a team and cheer on local racers at this fun family friendly event!

→The Presque Isle Bay Messabout is Friday August 15th and Saturday August 16th. It features antique, traditional, and contemporary hand crafted boats on display on the lawn and in the water. Traditional Small Craft Association (TSCA) www.tsca.net/index.html boaters travel to Erie to spend the weekend sailing, rowing, paddling and motoring while competing in categories including: Traditional Design/Traditional Construction; Traditional Design/Contemporary Construction; Contemporary; Restoration; Paddling Craft Traditional design; Most Contemporary Design; and Best in Show. There will be demonstrations, presentations, a buffet dinner Saturday Night beginning at 6pm, and music. Boat registration for the Messabout is $50.

Free on-site camping is available for Messabout participants; waterfront RV camping with hook-ups minutes away at Lampe Marina Campground, www.porterie.org/camping/ .

Celebrate Erie www.celebrateerie.com/ is the same weekend with music, food, and loads of family attractions a short walk or a free trolley ride, 4 blocks away.

For more about the Cardboard Regatta or the Presque Isle Bay Messabout and sponsorship information, visit www.bayfrontcenter.org, email: info@bayfrontcenter.org, or call 814-456-4077.

The mission of the Bayfront Maritime Center is: to develop and implement unique, hands-on, maritime themed, educational, vocational and recreational opportunities for the community in a universally accessible waterfront facility. Since 1998, BMC has worked with over 16,000 youth and adults, building 92 boats, sailing, rowing, paddling, and studying navigation and environmental science. It is the home of the Bayfront Alternative Education Program for the Erie School District in collaboration with Sarah A. Reed Children’s Center. BMC hosts the National Award Winning Lake Erie Migrant/Refugee/ESL Summer Program, Pennsylvania’s only adaptive sailing program, EASE, the Erie Adaptive Sailing Experience, and an after-school program, Project SAIL. See more at: www.bayfrontcenter.org/ , or call: 814-456-4077

Proceeds from BMC’s Small Boat Festival help to fund unique and engaging, hands-on, maritime programs for the community.