Mid-Atlantic Sea Glass and Coastal Arts Festival set June 5-6

The Mid-Atlantic Sea Glass and Coastal Arts Festival is set for 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, June 5, and Sunday, June 6, at the Lewes Historical Society’s campus located at 110 Shipcarpenter St. in Lewes.

Saturday visitors can bring their favorite pieces of sea glass to talk with Eastern Shore native and author Richard LaMotte about the origins and age of shards from their personal collection. LaMotte, who wrote the popular book, “Pure Sea Glass: Discovering Nature’s Vanishing Gems,” is an expert at identifying sea glass, and will be at the show all day Saturday to meet with visitors and share his insight on sea glass.

The event will also host local children’s book author Corinne Litzenberg who will be orchestrating the Children’s Corner - Just Getting Started activities. The children’s events will include seashell identification, sea glass sorting and sequencing, as well as creating a take-home notecard. Litzenberg, a Lewes resident and retired schoolteacher, will be signing copies of her book, “S is for Sea Glass,” during the two-day festival.

Sea glass collector Stu Jacobs and his daughter Emily will be setting up their vast display of sea glass in the society’s Rabbit’s Ferry House. Festival-goers can safely walk through the circa 1740 house on campus and view the Jacobs’ educational exhibit of thousands of sea glass shards collected throughout the years, alongside examples of antique glassware from which the pieces may have originated. Emily Jacobs will be displaying a dress made from sea glass, weighing over 30 pounds.

The Jacobs will be on hand Sunday between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. to identify festival-goers’ sea glass shards. Stu started collecting sea glass almost 20 years ago mainly along the shores of the Chesapeake Bay and guesses that he has amassed over 10,000 shards. He was inspired to learn more about the origin of his pieces during a visit to Cape Henlopen State Park where he found a beautiful piece of rare turquoise sea glass. It led him to continue to search for more historic sea glass, and now his basement is full of his entire collection.

The festival will host close to 50 sea-glass and ocean artists over the weekend, rain or shine.

Amy’s Grill and Retro Street East food trucks will also be on campus along with music throughout the two-day event.

Leading up to the festival, the Lewes Historical Society will be offering a special Shipwrecked Spirits and Sea Glass Tour at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, June 3. This one-time-only experience will feature legends and lore of Lewes’ seaside past. Attendees will be treated to tales of pirates and buried treasure while touring the society’s main campus, canalfront and infamous Cannonball House. The 60-minute tour starts at Ryves Holt House, 218 Second St., and will end in the back garden of the Cannonball House. Families are encouraged to bring their children aged 8 and older. All younger attendees will receive a commemorative piece of locally collected sea glass. The tour cost per person is $5. 

Admission to the Mid-Atlantic Sea Glass Festival is $5 per person; children 12 and under are free. Tickets are available before the event online, on the LHS website and at the gate each day. The $5 admission will also allow festival-goers to enter any of LHS’s museums for free during the day of purchase only. Any entry limitations will be based upon the state of Delaware’s COVID-19 regulations as of June 5. For safety, the number of attending vendors has been reduced to provide ample space between each tent. Mask-wearing may be required and hand sanitizer stations will be available throughout the campus. One entry point and one exit will be provided as well as a suggested one-way path.

For more information, or to purchase tickets to the festival or June 3 tour, go to historiclewes.org/events.