More than 500 people came out to toast the 60th Marblehead Festival of Arts at its popular Champagne Reception at Fort Sewall Sunday evening.
Wearing hand-created hats and decked out for the annual summer event, folks sipped on bubbly, sampled food from local restaurants and danced to live music.
Here’s a quick photo gallery by Current Editor Leigh Blander. Story below….
Wearing hand-decorated hats and dressed for the signature summer event, guests sipped bubbly, sampled food from local restaurants and danced to live music by the band, Rule of Three Experience.
“What a night,” exclaimed Joe Tavano, who sits on the festival’s board. “(We have) beautiful weather, excellent music, delicious food, incredible hats and, of course, more champagne than water in Marblehead Harbor. When this community comes out to celebrate, there’s nowhere else like it and nowhere else you’d rather be.”
Chris Buchanan, who organized the event, added: “Tonight is everything I think Marblehead is about. The community coming together, and a team of close friends working together… nothing better. We blew away all records tonight and everyone had a great time.”
Artist Eleanor Fisher and Dennis Trece, of Lynn, have been attending the Champagne Reception for 15 years. This year, Fisher arrived in a Civil War-era ball gown complete with a hoop skirt, elbow-high gloves, a beaded-and-feathered hat and button boots.
“These look the same as boots from the old days,” she explained, lifting her skirt to show off her footwear.
“Except mine have rhinestones,” she added with a laugh.
In the festival’s annual hat contest, Amy Brooks, of Salem, won Women’s Most Creative for her chapeau which featured a silver pirate ship under attack by a giant octopus, or kraken. She attended with a group of friends.
“It’s magical here,” she said. “We’re drinking bubbly drinks, everyone is dressed up… it’s fabulous.”
Other winners in the hat contest were:
- Men’s Most Creative: Brian Campbell, whose hat featured dumplings with chopsticks.
- Women’s Most Elegant: Misty Wykes, whose hat was a colorful explosion of flowers.
- Men’s Most Jaunty: Peter Fallon, who wore a bowler hat decorated with a “Spirit of ’76” scarf.
The 60th Marblehead Festival of Arts features a mix of longtime traditions and new events. Programming began in January with a speed-puzzling competition and continued through the winter and spring.
The festival’s 11 exhibits open Thursday, July 2, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., joining a full lineup of events, including:
Children’s Festival
Street Festival
Model boat building & regatta
Concerts at Crocker Park
Film Festival
Literary Festival
Scavenger Hunt
Artisans’ Marketplace
Festival fitness
The Current is proud to be a lead sponsor of the festival. In this week’s paper, visit our Festival of Arts special section, including the full schedule which you can bring with you, beginning on page 9. Follow @MHDCurrent on social media for photos and updates throughout the festival.
