Salem Maritime Festival

Salty Raven Studio

SAVE THE DATE! The 2025 Salem Maritime Festival will be held on Saturday, August 9th from 11 AM to 4:30 PM.

 

Join us for the annual Salem Maritime Festival on Saturday, August 9, 2025, at Salem Maritime National Historic Site on Derby Street. This event is free and open to the public. Salem Maritime Festival will feature a cardboard boat race, free tours and programs at historic buildings and the Friendship of Salem, food trucks and lawn games.

The day will kick off the Great Salem Maritime Cardboard Boat Regatta. Teams will test their engineering, ingenuity, and artistry by building homemade boats constructed on cardboard and duct tape. Launching from Derby Beach in a series of heats, teams will race to paddle their cardboard boats in the Salem Sound.

Schedule of Events

11:00 AM - 1:00 PM: The Great Salem Maritime Cardboard Boat Regatta (races and award ceremony)
9:30 AM - 4:30 PM: Historic buildings open
1:00 PM - 4:30 PM: Friendship of Salem open
Lawn games and food trucks

 

The Great Salem Maritime Cardboard Boat Regatta (2023)

NPS Photo

The Great Salem Maritime Cardboard Boat Regatta

11:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Join Salem Maritime National Historic Site for Salem's favorite cardbord-themed event! Taking place during the Maritime Festival, local teams will race their homemade cardboard boats in Salem Harbor. Spectators are encouraged to line Derby Wharf and cheer on the racers.

All cardboard boat race spots are now full. Come down and support your favorite team!

 

NPS

Historic Buildings

9:30 AM - 4:30 PM

Take in the views of this prominent building where Nathaniel Hawthorne once worked and the U.S. Custom Service operated. Built in 1819, the U.S. Custom House in Salem contains exhibits on the tools of the Custom Service, the work of the Customs inspectors, and the office of Nathaniel Hawthorne, the famous American author whose three-year-long stint in the Salem Custom House inspired his classic novel, The Scarlet Letter.

At the Derby House tour the home of one of Salem's most successful merchants and learn about the lives of the family members and enslaved people of African descent who lived there. Explore the ways these individuals were connected to the growing conversations of freedom and liberty leading up to the American Revolution.

 

FRIENDSHIP OF SALEM

Friendship of Salem

1:00 PM - 4:30 PM

Step aboard the Friendship. Friendship of Salem will be open for deck tours from 1 PM - 4:30 PM. Learn about the ongoing construction project onboard and explore the lives of sailors past and present.

About Friendship of Salem: The original Friendship, a two-decked, three-masted, square-rigged, 342-ton vessel was built from 1796-1797. The Friendship made 15 international voyages before being captured during the War of 1812. The replica tall ship, Friendship of Salem, is docked at Derby Wharf and was designed to present the appearance an original 1797 Salem-built vessel. The keel was laid in Scarano Shipyard in Albany, New York in 1996 and uses modern technology and materials to meet today’s safety and accessibility requirements.

 

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Lawn Games

Get ready for a day filled with laughter, friendly competition, and outdoor fun at our lawn game area! Whether you're a fan of classic games or looking to try something different like Colonial lawn games, we've got a game for everyone. Perfect for all ages, lawn games are a great way to enjoy the beautiful weather and create special memories.