It is time to get your sea legs for the inaugural Morro Bay Maritime Festival. This young one has the spirit, so join the fun 10/9-10/13. Photo by Julie Kleckner
Consider today your special invitation to the inaugural Morro Bay Maritime Festival. In development for two years, it began with the collaborative free community event at the Morro Bay Maritime Museum, a family fun day produced by over 55 local merchants, nonprofits, restaurants, musicians, artists, first responders and MBMM volunteers. MBMM was encouraged to build on the success of their event because Visit Morro Bay Board of Directors understood visitors feel welcome and want to return when they can feel like a local and enjoy our everyday treasured lifestyle.
You won’t recognize this as a traditional festival model of an all-weekend-single venue-alcohol-enhanced festival. Rather it is a collaboration of several organizations producing ticketed and no-admission events on the Bay, the Embarcadero, and downtown Morro Bay. Some will benefit a nonprofit, many offer competition, and some offer community connections or a family free event that is just plain old-fashioned fun. Calendar October 10/9-10/13 to be all in to celebrate our Morro Bay maritime culture, although October can boast exciting maritime events happening all month long.
Flashback four years – the MBMM had survived COVID closures by expanding its outdoor exhibits, including the Kids Cove and the restoration of the historic Spindrift positioned to create a backdrop and staging area for special events and dedications. Time evolved to revive maritime activities during October since it was Morro Bay Maritime Month as designated by the Morro Bay City Council. A committee was convened. Someone asked Jeremiah O’Brien, a longtime leader with the MB Commercial Fishermen’s Organization, what the Morro Bay Harbor Festival was like in its beginning. The answer was basically a gathering of fishing families down by Morro Rock for a tailgate party. Thus, seedlings to design a retro event launched the first Morro Bay Maritime Free Family Fun Day.
A youngster dons and old dive suit at the Morro Bay Maritime Museum. Photo by Julie Kleckner.
MBMM Board President Kendall Welch said, “Our small group of volunteers have our hands full producing two events – Rock the Waterfront Fundraiser at the Yacht Club and the free Family Fun Day – so we reached out to collaborate with others. I’m pleased to announce we are adding four more events Wednesday through Sunday, October 9 through 13. For local and visiting sailors. Paul Irving moved his Zongo Yachting Cup to October and the Morro Bay Yacht Club moved its MBYC Harbor Cup to compete start-to-finish directly in front of the South T-Pier on Saturday at noon across the street from family fun day at the museum. On Sunday all youth sailors under 17 are welcome to compete in the inaugural Chris Lockwood MBYC Junior Regatta. Yes, even non-members. And yes, we need more volunteers at the museum!” Check at www.mbyc.net.
This columnist would be remiss not to include one of the original partners, Morro Bay Rotary, which had to move their 3rd Annual Ducky Derby to October 5 due to the tide’s schedule. Ducky entry tickets are still a $10 investment to win $1000, $750, or $500. What is new is the announcement of the awards will be at an inaugural event that same evening at the Community Center for a Peel-&-Eat Shrimp and BBQ Tri-Tip dinner. Tickets available online. www.morrobayrotary.org.
To kick-off the Morro Bay Maritime Festival on October 9, Chamber of Commerce Board President Cherise Hansson invites locals and visitors to attend a mixer at sunset on the waterfront to officially welcome newly hired CEO Dina Lundquist. Hosted by the Chamber Board of Directors, Hansson’s HarborWalk Inn and Under the Sea Gallery, her neighboring Embarcadero businesses, hopped-on and will be open for business along with Lost Isle Adventures, Daisy’s Organic Coffee & Teas, and Absolution Cellars. Food & beverages available at standard pricing. For more information, go to www.mbchamber.org.
Thursday, October 10 is the 3rd annual benefit event to keep the doors open at the Morro Bay Maritime Museum. Rock the Harborfront is hosted by and at the Morro Bay Yacht Club. Dance to the tunes of Spanky Paul Band on the upper and lower decks bayside under the stars while enjoying maritime morsels by Captain Annie’s Chablis Cruises catering and MBYC cocktails. Unique silent auction adventures packages will be offered. Limited tickets are still on sale at $115. After 9/30 $125. Discounts are for MBMM members and available at www.morrobaymaritime.org.
On Friday evening from 4-8 p.m. locals and visitors alike are invited to Tidelands Park for a free concert featuring the fan-favorite Zongo All-Stars. Local Zongo musician and avid sailor, Paul Irving, who wears too many local hats to mention, created the Zongo Yachting Cup several years ago, to sail from Morro Bay to Avila – a “party-hearty” on either end of the competition. Morro Bay’s inaugural Zongo All-Stars Launch Party features music and dancing, Captain Annie and the Chablis dockside offering maritime-approved libations and grub, plus additional vendors in the park. Saturday morning the Zongo Cup vessels are underway by 10 a.m. from Morro Bay Yacht Club. Information or sailor sign-ups at www.bigbigslo.com/zongocup24.
Saturday from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. is fun-time at the Morro Bay Free Family Fun Day at the Morro Bay Maritime Museum. Chaired by Julie Kleckner, this school-carnival-style alcohol-free event has free admission for locals and visiting families plus more free space is available for merchants, crafters or educators, who would like to create a maritime themed game, creative activity or community information. For example, the Good Flea offers a bean bag toss into the shark’s mouth for fuzzy prizes and Virg’s Landing produced a fishing booth. Central Coast Women for Fisheries teach kids how to make fish prints and sell avocado crab bowls. Kids can climb into an antique dive suit for a photo op. The Morro Bay Yacht Club Youth Group assembles paper sailboats to race down crafted wooden gutters just like sailors and fishermen remember doing in residential street gutters after a rain. The Native Salinan Corner returns to provide activities and stories all day. Marine birding is hosted by the MB Bird Festival and visit with original Dragon Boat volunteers, plus MBMM’s exhibits and films are available. Local musicians offer live music all day and Tognazzini’s Dockside Restaurants provide a fish BBQ for a fee and free hot dogs for the kidos.
This year’s blind tasting blueberry muffin contenders are the 2023 winner Rudie’s Rock Espresso along with Carla’s Country Kitchen, Rhapsody In View Boutique Hotel and Morro Bay Coffee Company. No one knows who’s blueberry muffins they are tasting until Rock Radio’s Deadair Dave announces it at Noon. Paula Radke’s Glassworks trophy is the prize the winner displays all year. Special guest servers are City of Morro Bay Councilwomen Jen Ford , who is nor running this year, and Laurel Barton, Jeff Eckles and Bill Luffee, who will assume their Council seats in 2025.
At 2 p.m., a chowder blind tasting competition is served by our first responders – police, fire, harbor, and coast guard. The Ugly Mug Ceramics donated this prized hand-crafted trophy. The contenders are last year’s favorite Hof Brau, plus Bayside Café, Dorn’s Breakers Café, and Morro Grill.
Ahoy! Pirates will assemble at the Bay Theater entrance around 5:30 p.m. Aye! Live and in-person pirates plus more pirates on the big screen will be there for the Historic Bay Theater and the Chamber of Commerce sponsored event, the 1934 classic movie “Treasure Island.”
Ray Baynham, the lead organizer for the Central Coast Renaissance Fair and son of Garden Gallery’s owners, Dick and Barbara Baynham, has confirmed several Renaissance Fair pirates will challenge movie-goers for the booty stashed in the Chamber’s Treasure Chest of worthy-wealth donated by several supportive Chamber members.
The movie is based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s unforgettable classic of swashbuckling foes and untrustworthy friends at sea. Enjoy the tale of buried doubloons and double crosse as Long John Silver and young Jim Hawkins play a high stakes game of cat-and-mouse on the high seas. Lionel Barrymore and Jackie Coogan star. Victor Fleming, famed for “The Wizard of Oz “and “Gone with the Wind,” directed. Movie tickets are $20 each; $10 for kids 12 and under. With the donation, attendees will receive a Golden Treasure Chest ticket upon theater entry. Additional Golden Treasure tickets can be purchased for $1 or earned if costumed in true pirate disguise. Arrrrrrrgh!
For information www.morrobaymovie.com To snag tickets before treasures are discovered and snatched by pilfering pirates hustle to secure access in the treasure hunt. www.morrobaychamber.org/events.
