A committee from the Mathews Historical Museum has announced plans for May Faire, the fourth annual Heritage Spring Festival, to be held on Saturday, May 7.
This year’s theme is “Celebrating Mathews “Watermen.” May Faire started in 2017 by the museum makes its return after cancellations forced for two years by COVID-19.
The event will be held on Mathews Court Green and at the Mathews Historical Museum, located at 200 Main Street. Sandy Warhol, Barbara Bass and Cindy Roman are acting as co-chairs.
Plans for the daylong ceremony include honoring the Milford Haven Coast Guard Station during opening ceremonies at 10 a.m. “The community is appreciative of all that they do, and we are grateful that they will now remain here in Mathews County,” said museum director John Caramia, referring to a threatened seasonal closure last year which was reversed due to community opposition.
The museum will open its doors in early April, in advance of May Faire, to welcome the “Bay to Belly” traveling exhibit, on loan from the Watermen’s Museum in Yorktown. During the week the exhibit will be open to students from the Mathews schools who will be able to walk to the museum to see the display. “The museum is privileged to offer several exciting programs this year. After two years of Covid, we are ready to move forward with an expanded program for our residents and visitors,” noted Caramia.
“At May Faire, we will debut our new display of photos and stories of our watermen and women, past and present. We appreciate the support that the community has shown us to date and are eager to have them share the wealth of information that we have available at the museum. Schedules will be posted on the museum’s website,” he said.
In addition to this display, the Museum has installed two special exhibits: Captain Robert Roland Hudgins, which features a selection of photographs from his collection, and an exhibit on the life of Captain Charles Lee Forrest. Both were successful menhaden captains.
Focus on watermen
“Conversations” will take place from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. in the historic courthouse, where author and newspaperman Larry Chowning from Urbanna will moderate a panel of Mathews watermen and women who will share their life experiences with the audience.
The museum has announced a call for photographs and stories of Mathews County residents, past and present, who have been commercial fishermen. The photos and stories will be unveiled as part of the May Faire program and will be compiled into an electronic database for use in the Museum at 200 Main Street, once renovations are completed. Information for submitting stories and photos is available on the museum website, www.mathewsvamuseum.org.