Summer is slowly disappearing as students head back to school and the weather reports only talk about storms with alphabetical names. We will take the time to talk about our upcoming events and the things that we have been planning and working on.
Coming up quickly is our WWII weekend on 9/4-9/6. The BROWN will be moving down the street to Pier 13 and we will be open to the public with the SAVANNAH, the JOHN ARTHUR (WWII tug)and other WWII vessels and vehicles. This is to celebrate the end of the war and to also celebrate Maryland's contributions to the war. There will be all types of museum spaces and activities for the whole family to do. On Friday, we have a signup for photographers to ride over to Pier 13 with the ship and document it and then the ship will be open from 12-4pm for the public. Saturday and Sunday our hours are from 10-4pm. On Saturday, the engines will be steaming and there is a beer tasting sponsored by Max's Taphouse, rated multiple times as one the top beer bars in the world, with over 100 beers on tap. So come out and celebrate with us and also see our engine working...it's like stepping back in time.
After that, our last Living History Cruise of the year will be on October 3rd. We still have tickets available and if you're interested, click here for the link. It's our 'Sailing Home from Victory' cruise and October cruises are usually very popular cruises.
We thought we would also give an update on our Paint the Ship fundraiser. If you remember, this project was divided into 3 parts: the foredeck, midship house and the afterdeck. The most serious job is what we are currently raising funds towards, and we are pleased to tell you that we are ALMOST to our goal of $100,000. Not quiet yet, but we are hopeful that we will be there within a week. We are working with Ocean Painting who will water blast the whole deck house, to clean and strip rusted areas to bare steel, then they will be primed and painted. Also, PPG Marine Coatings has supplied the paint at a 50% discount to us. We've applied for a matching grant to do the other parts next year, so let's keep our fingers crossed. Donations can be made on our website by clicking on the button on the home page near the bottom of the page that says Current JWB fundraiser. Work plans are looking like sometime after Labor Day.
We currently have plans for 2016!
Our Baltimore Living History cruise is set for October 1, 2016. Tickets and/or gift certificates will be available to purchase as early as December. Currently, that is our only Baltimore Cruise that is set in stone. There is the potential for more Baltimore Cruises, but that depends on our plans to other ports and the availability of the Port of Baltimore. Stay tuned for more info...
Also, we are returning to Norfolk, VA in 2016!!! This time it is not for drydock (though we DO miss Colonna's Shipyard, whose motto is Respect, Pride, Truth, Family and who treated us as family), but to participate in their celebration of Maritime Day on May 20-23. Once again, the crew of the BROWN will be returning to a really cool port with amazing history and very welcoming citizens. When we left the shipyard in December we were greeted by hundred of people who came out at multiple spots along the water purposefully to wave and wish us a safe journey back to Baltimore.
And finally, we are working on the possibility of returning to New York. Remember, the BROWN was a High School in New York City from 1946-1983. We've had lots of communication, some meetings in NYC, some more meetings coming up, and lots of crossed fingers and toes. Usually when we travel to other cities, there is at least one Living History Cruise that is held and it's been our experience that these cruises sell out. We are also open to the public for tours as well, and it's a great way to work with other cities and other organizations that want to highlight the maritime industry and history. This would be an awesome way to incorporate our history and the ship with NYC history.
So that's some of the things that are coming up and that we are working on. We always have people visiting, we always have groups training on board and you will always find crew working on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Until next week....
Project Liberty Ship, Inc is a 501(c)3 non-profit, all volunteer organization engaged in the preservation and operation of the historic ship JOHN W. BROWN as a living memorial museum. Gifts to Project Liberty Ship are tax deductible.
