FEATURED EVENTS

The 2nd Annual CT Sea Music Festival drops anchor in historic downtown Essex on June 9-12, 2023. Free weekend festivities include a Symposium on the Music of the Sea, daytime workshops, a parade, a family stage, demonstrations of sailor skills, a Sunday morning revival-style hymn sing, and late-night Chantey Sings in the historic Griswold Inn! Evening concerts held on the main stage are ticketed events. Stroll Essex with ice cream in hand and hear sea chanteys and maritime music from all over the world. You might even find yourself singing along by day’s end! The Festival started from the ground up last year after a 40-year run at Mystic Seaport. A mix of new administration and COVID halted that beloved streak and the heartbroken die-hards were forced to reorganize. The town of Essex embraced the opportunity to host, with sea chanteys ringing out every Monday night for the past 50 years at The Griswold Inn, and gave the Festival the necessary footing to start anew. (ctseamusicfest.org)