The Gloucester Schooner Festival is an event put on by Maritime Gloucester and has become a community wide celebration of the age of sail in Gloucester Harbor. Every year schooners from all over travel to Gloucester to race and to show off their beauty and grace both under sail and as a dock-side attraction. This website is designed to offer all the information you will need to plan an exciting weekend on and off the water.

Schedule of Events:

August 31, 2023:

5:30 pm - 7:30 pm: Schooner Challenge - Gloucester Harbor

Join our local Schooner Captains as they participate in a friendly competition putting their seamanship to the test over an "obstacle" course. Passengers will be given their own set of tasks to win the coveted Rum Bottle Award. Visiting schooners already arrived will join the event. The public is invited to purchase tickets aboard participating schooners.

7:00 pm: Harbor Loop Summer Concert Series - Harbor Loop
John Raymond Jerome and Groove Therapy

September 1, 2023:

All Day: Arrival of Visiting Vessels - Gloucester Harbor

10:00 am - 4:00 pm: Maritime Gloucester Open - 23 Harbor Loop

6:00 pm - 10:00 pm: Downtown Gloucester Block Party - Main Street
Celebrate the Schooner Festival with a street party on Gloucester's Main Street. A fun night for all ages with live entertainment, al fresco dining, children's activities and fun street performances!

September 2, 2023:

All Day:

Schooner Viewing and Deck Tours Three Locations:

Maritime Gloucester - 23 Harbor Loop
Schooner Floats - I4C2, 65 Rogers St
Ocean Alliance - 32 Horton St, Rocky Neck

Thanks to generous support from our sponsors, we are again able to provide a visitor-based dockside experience that puts the public on schooners for deck tours. This is a free option for the public, but donations are always appreciated.

9:30 am: International Dory Races
Best viewing is at Solomon Jacobs Park

10:00 am - 4:00 pm: Maritime Gloucester Heritage Day - 23 Harbor Loop
Free to the public: schooner deck tours, crafts for all ages, skilled demonstrations and family activities. Plus, Maritime Gloucester's exhibits and aquarium will be open throughout the day for FREE! Donations graciously accepted.
Timed Admission to the New Maritime Science Education Center
Food Trucks on site include Beefie Boys, Uncle Joey's Cannoli, Trolley Dogs, Eclectic Clam
$20 hourly schooner sails on Schooner Ardelle!

6:30 pm - 10:00 pm: Concert on Stacy Boulevard Live Music and light effects
More details available at facebook.com/ConcertsOnTheBoulevard

7:00 pm: Boat Parade of Lights
The annual Boat Parade of Lights begins at dusk in the Annisquam River. For more information visit facebook.com/boatparadeoflights

9:15 pm: Fireworks Display Over Gloucester Harbor
Following the Parade of Lights, time approximate

September 3, 2023:

10:00 am - 4:00 pm: Maritime Gloucester Open - 23 Harbor Loop

10:00 am - 11:00 am: Parade of Sail, Gloucester Harbor

Schooners proceed from the Inner Harbor, past the Fisherman's Memorial on Stacy Boulevard and Stage Fort Park, to the race starting area off Eastern Point. Various non-profit and business organizations offer Parade of Sail or Race viewing.

11:00 am - 1:30 pm: Shuttle Bus to Eastern Point Light From Eastern Point Gate (Eastern Point at Farrington Ave) to watch the start of the Mayor's Race. Free of Charge courtesy of the Cape Ann Transportation Authority.

1:00 pm: Start of Mayor's Races for the Esperanto Cup and the Columbia Trophy Off Eastern Point - the race course is decided the morning of the race by the Schooner Festival Committee at a meeting with the captains of the participating vessels.

Dates: August 31, 2023 - September 3, 2023

Location:

Various Venues,
Gloucester, MA 01931.

Click here for more information.