Summer is here and so are Gwynn’s Island Days. The weekend festivities will be held Friday and Saturday at the Gwynn’s Island Civic Center, located at 1996 Old Ferry Road, Grimstead, highlighted by Saturday’s Gwynn’s Island Festival.
Kicking off the festivities on Friday will be a fully-loaded fried chicken dinner for $15. The meal will consist of two pieces of chicken, baked beans, coleslaw, potato salad, ham biscuit and a slice of pound cake. Dinner will be served from 4:30 to 7 p.m. and is available through both sit-down and drive-thru services.
The Coastal Reverie Photography Show and Exhibit will be at the Gwynn’s Island Museum from 6:30 to 9 p.m. On display will be a collection of photographic works that showcase the beauty of the shores through the lens of a camera. Entry is free to both the reception and exhibition; all sales and donations benefit the Gwynn’s Island Museum.
Saturday
Festivities will continue through Saturday, with a full day of fun, celebrating the island heritage with the Gwynn’s Island Festival. Saturday’s festivities will begin at 9 a.m. and last until 4 p.m. Many talented vendors have set up to show off their artistry with a variety of handmade items, such as jewelry, wood crafts, paintings, photography, pottery, quilting and sewing.
The festival will have music throughout the day for foot tapping or to get up and dance to. Plenty of food and treats will be available and for the young at heart there will be the midway games, the dunk tank, and the Krafty Kids Korner.
In addition, the Mathews Volunteer Fire Department will have the Island Express Engine 3 and the new MIRT Fire Boat on display, and Ocean Products will have their garage open with many products both on display and for sale.
This year, there will be a 50/50 raffle at the festival. The winner does not have to be present at the time of drawing to win, and the drawing will be held at 4 p.m. at the end of the festival.
Dinner and festival proceeds benefit the Gwynn’s Island Civic League and Museum; any questions can be directed to gwynnsislandfestival@gmail.com, or Jan Bassett at 804-725-7860.
Last year, the entire weekend was renamed Gwynn’s Island Days, with the festival hearkening back to the 1950s and ’60s, during the earliest days of the 77-year-old event, first held in 1948.
Islander Regatta
This weekend’s Gwynn’s Island activities aren’t confined to land only. Saturday is also the date for the third Islander Regatta, a nine-mile paddle around the island, sponsored by the Mathews Outdoor Club. The event starts at 8 a.m. from the Islander Motel.
Paddlers of non-motorized craft will launch from the beach at the Islander and proceed counter-clockwise around Gwynn’s Island. The course takes them under the bridge to Gwynn’s Island, through Milford Haven, across a short sand portage into Chesapeake Bay, down the bay shore and around Cherry Point into Piankatank River, and back to the starting point.
Check-in will start at 6:30 a.m. Paddlers will have five hours to complete the course.
According to the Mathews Outdoor Club website, the registration cost is $65 per person, not per boat. Tandem kayaks, eight-person racing shells, paddle boats and even dragon boats are permitted as long as they are human powered, non-motorized. Each paddler must register separately.
Islander Regatta water support is provided by the U.S. Coast Guard Station at Milford Haven and by the USCG Auxiliary Flotilla 66, Mathews County.
Christine Johnson of the club said that as of Tuesday, 107 paddlers had registered. They have until the end of today, June 26, to sign up at mocva.net.
