
The Gloucester Schooner Festival is a wonderful celebration of Gloucester's fishing and maritime history during labor day weekend. This year's festival, hosted by Maritime Gloucester, is Gloucester’s major marine event, with participating vessels coming from ports along the Eastern seaboard and beyond. There will be both large and small vessels—ranging from 19 feet to over 100 feet in length. You will see new boats and old boats, from newly built (Ardelle - launched 2011) to over 100 years old!
Gloucester comes alive for this annual celebration, with lots of great family-friendly activities, music, parades (of sail) and fun events that make Gloucester a wonderful Labor day weekend destination.
Scheduled events include:
- A Boat Parade of Lights
- Parade of Sail
- Downtown Gloucester Block Party
- The Mayor's Cup Schooner Race Off of East Gloucester
- A Concert on Stacy Boulevard and Schooner Festival Fireworks
Vessels that are scheduled to appear in the Gloucester Schooner Festival 2018 included [see the updated list]:
- Gloucester’s Schooner Adventure will lead the Parade of Sail
- Schooner Thomas E. Lannon honoring her namesake– a fisherman from 1901-1943
- Schooner Ardelle the Maritime Gloucester Flagship
- Green Dragon from Manchester
- Bald Eagle of Gloucester
- Lewis H. Story of Essex
- The American Eagle of Rockland Maine
- Columbia
- Fame of Salem, Massachusetts
- Hindu of Provincetown, Massachusetts
- Ishmael
- Ishtar
- Malabar
- Renegade
- Strombus
- Tree of Life
- When and If
- Roseway
Local Museums & Vessels hosting free visiting hours during the festival include:
- Maritime Gloucester
- Essex Shipbuilding Museum
- Cape Ann Museum - Free Admission All Day Friday
- Schooner Adventure Open House
- White Ellery House - Saturday 11am-3pm
Festival-goers won’t want to miss Gloucester’s many attractions, including art exhibits, beaches, biking, hiking, adventure, fishing, museums, dining, historical sites, whale watching, great entertainment, fireworks and more!
Drone Video: Gloucester Parade of Sail