Zwaanendael Maritime Festival set May 24 in Lewes

The adventure, romance, excitement and hardships experienced by 18th- and 19th-century seafarers will be brought to life at the third annual Zwaanendael Maritime Festival: A Sailor’s Life for Me that will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, May 24, at the Zwaanendael Museum, 102 Kings Highway in Lewes.

The festival will provide opportunities for adults as well as children to experience the everyday lives of sailors by scrubbing the deck, learning about shipboard food, playing Crown and Anchor and other Colonial-period games, exploring a vessel’s cargo and the merchants who shipped it, and serving on a block-and-tackle station where visitors will be drilled by a demanding mariner looking for new crew members.

In addition, the following organizations will be exhibiting at the festival: Archaeological Society of Delaware, Fort Miles Historical Association, Indian River Life Saving Station, Lewes Education Coalition, Lewes Historical Society, Lightship Overfalls and the Marine Education, Research and Rehabilitation Institute.

Museum hours from April 1 to Oct. 31 are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; and Sunday, 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. From Nov. 1 to March 31, museum hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; and Sunday, 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. With the exception of DeBraak tours, all programs are free and open to the public. For more information, call 302-645-1148.