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Chesapeake Celebrations: Savor the Shore
Chesapeake Celebrations: Savor the Shore
Saturday, May 16 | 10am-5pm
New for 2026, CBMM’s Chesapeake Celebrations bring the Bay to life, inviting guests of all ages to discover our region’s vibrant history, environment, and culture through hands-on activities, engaging presentations, and on-the-water experiences with staff, volunteers, and community partners. Included with general admission, these campus-wide celebrations include Savor the Shore (Saturday, May 16), Play on the Bay (Saturday, June 27), Stories from the Shoreline (Saturday, July 18), and Love the Bay (Saturday, Aug. 15). Join us to experience our mission in action!
We are excited to invite educators from across the Eastern Shore and beyond to join us for a free day of fun at our Chesapeake Celebrations. All PK-12 teachers, administrators, and support staff—along with their immediate families—are invited to join us as a thank you for the incredible impact they make in the lives of students in our community every day. Use the educator link below to reserve your free tickets! Click here to learn more.
During CBMM’s Savor the Shore celebration on Saturday, May 16, you’ll discover the foods on your plate that tell the Chesapeake story—from muskrat and garden harvests to shoreline catches that have fed families for generations. Join us to explore CBMM’s exhibitions, gardens, and shoreline during a tasty, hands-on celebration of the foods that sustain us.
Buy your tickets now for this Chesapeake Celebration, which is included with general admission and free for CBMM members. Non-members save $2 by buying in advance online.
The festivities include hands-on presentations from CBMM’s Education Team to introduce some of the critters who call the oyster reef along our Living Shoreline home, demonstrations with CBMM’s volunteer gardeners and the Chesapeake Bay Herb Society in our Heirloom Garden, a beekeeping demo from Ole Shep’s Honey, and catch-and-release fishing from our docks.
At noon, we’re serving up birthday cupcakes from our friends at Ruby’s Cake Shoppe and Pastries on the Welcome Center veranda, a sweet way to celebrate our upcoming 61st birthday.
Fredrik Sjoelin from Secret Kitchen will present a demo preparing Chesapeake Bay blue catfish ceviche at 2:45pm in the Van Lennep Auditorium. Make sure you get a taste of this modern twist on a classic South American favorite, highlighting the Bay’s invasive blue catfish as a sustainable seafood choice. You’re invited to try it paired with a fresh, crisp white wine that will make the flavors sing.
We’re pleased to welcome the Turtle Island food truck featuring traditional Lenni Lenape foods with frybread (regular, pumpkin, and tacos), twisted potatoes and, more available for purchase. Dawn Manyfeathers will spotlight the New Jersey-based tribe’s traditions in a presentation focused on seasonings and food in the Van Lennep Auditorium at 11:30am and through an interactive touch table throughout the day.
Chief Donna Abbott and Casey and Jerry Hughes of the Nause-Waiwash Tribe based in Dorchester County, Md., will be on hand to share muskrat trapping and cooking traditions.
Scholars from nearby UMCES Horn Point Laboratory will share their expertise, including a talk from Prof. Elizabeth North on the lifecycle of oysters titled “The Tiny Life of Oysters” at 1pm and a presentation from Yumeng Pang highlighting ongoing research into sustainable seafood at 1:30pm. Don’t miss storytime with the Talbot County Free Library at 11am and more fun with our staff, volunteers, and community partners.
We’re also proud to present the Maryland Public Television film “Eatin’ Blue Catfish: Chesapeake Style” during featured screenings at 11am and 2pm in the Craig Fuller & Diane Terpeluk Theater.
In the spirit of the celebration, we’re offering our Catch of the Day guided tour at 11am. This one-hour tour shares what it means to “follow the water” in every season on the Chesapeake, highlighting seasonal harvests such as crabs, oysters, and waterfowl. Click here to buy combo tickets for the tour and CBMM general admission. They are free for CBMM members.
You’re invited to add a cruise to get out on the Miles River during the celebration. Patriot Cruises will be offering 70-minute Narrated Historical Cruises at 12:30pm and 2:30pm. Click here to buy combo tickets for a cruise and general admission. We’re also presenting an Evening River Cruise aboard PATRIOT at 5pm.
This is opening weekend for our Historic Workboat Experience cruises. These one-hour, interactive cruises offer the chance to try your hand at the traditional tools and techniques used to harvest crabs and oysters aboard a historic workboat in CBMM’s floating fleet on an authentic Chesapeake adventure! They are available at 10:30am, noon, and 1:30pm. Click here to buy combo tickets for the cruise and general admission.
Chesapeake Celebrations are supported from the Upper Shore Regional Folklife Center under the Maryland Traditions program of the Maryland State Arts Council.
Chesapeake Celebrations: Savor the Shore
Date/Time: Saturday, May 16, 10am-5pm
Location: CBMM’s Campus
Cost: Included with CBMM General Admission Save $2 by purchasing your tickets in advance online!
CBMM MEMBERS CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS
