The 30th annual Boast the Coast events will take place Saturday, Oct. 3, in Lewes.

Conceived in 1996, Boast the Coast showcases Lewes’ nautical heritage and features activities that complement the University of Delaware’s annual Coast Day event held the first Sunday in October.

A number of free Boast the Coast activities will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in 1812 Park near the city dock on the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal.

They include boat tours on the canal by Freedom Boat Club; children’s activities with balloon art by Chuckles the Pirate and face painting by Siobhan Duggan; and musical entertainment by Jgar Helwig.

Boast the Coast also offers free admission to Historic Lewes’ Cannonball House at 118 Front St., a short walk from 1812 Park.

Lightship Overfalls will be open for tours in Canalfront Park, another short walk down Front Street past the tennis courts. For more information, go to overfalls.org. Cape Water Tours will offer a narrated nautical history departing from the city dock at 11 a.m. Reservations are required. To learn more, go to capewatertours.com. 

Coast Day follows from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 4, at the University of Delaware campus, 700 Pilottown Road, Lewes. To learn more, go to DECoastDay.org.

The annual Lewes Merchants’ Fall Sidewalk Sale has long been associated with Boast the Coast. It is a three-day happening wrapped around Saturday’s Boast the Coast events, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday to Sunday, Oct. 2 to 4. Most retail businesses in the Historic Lewes Business District participate.

Other events taking place Oct. 3 in association with Boast the Coast are the Historic Lewes Farmers Market  at Lewes Elementary School parking lot;  tours of the Overfalls Lightship deck, tours of the Lewes Maritime Museum at the Cannonball House, a Peninsula Gallery opening reception, Zwaanendael Museum’s Mysteries of History walking tour, and Historic Lewes’ Haunting History Tour.