Maritime Fest – Free Admission

Foss Waterway Seaport Hours

Saturday – 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM

Sunday    – 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM

See detailed Seaport Schedule!

Maritime Fest – August 25-26, 2012

Waterside activities

Andrew Foss Skiffs – Come to the Seaport’s docks for an up-close look at these beautiful, hand-crafted, authentic reproductions of heritage rowboats – called skiffs – including an exact replica of an original skiff built by Andrew Foss, husband of Thea Foss, whose early ingenuity pioneered what became the Foss Maritime Company. These wooden vessels were constructed in the Seaport’s Working Boat Shop. Come inside the Seaport to learn about boatbuilding classes!  

[Photo credit: Jan Adams Photography]

Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain – Both Tall Ships will be moored at the Seaport from August 24-30, offering daily passage onboard and mock “battles” during public sailings. See schedule of activities

Landside activities

Seaport Parking Lot

Native Arts and Crafts – Enjoy this unique collection of Native American art at the Seaport.

Radio-controlled boats – You’re invited to join the fun as Commencement Bay Maritime Modelers engage in their favorite pastime – operating exquisitely crafted radio-controlled boats of all descriptions in the Seaport’s large pond. Come try your hand at piloting these authentic models ranging from double-masted pirate boats to modern tugs – and be prepared to get a little wet!

Photo credit: Jan Adams Photography]

Toy Boats – Children of all ages can build toy boats using wooden hulls, paper sails, and lots of special trim. Toy Boat building is a signature art project and favorite of all who visit the Seaport. Raise a mast, decorate your boat in your own colorful style, and take your customized souvenir vessel home!

[Photo credit: Jan Adams Photography]

Wooden Rowboat Restoration Exhibit – Learn how these small wooden vessels were lovingly restored.  Talk with the craftsman who can tell you all about the steps involved! 

Seaport Esplanade

Allan Hirsch – “AlleyOop!” – All ages will love these free concert performances Saturday at 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM outdoors on the Seaport’s Esplanade. Allan Hirsch – “AlleyOop” – is a storyteller, historian, poet, puppeteer, musician, singer and teacher. He knows more songs, stories and riddles than anybody else his size or shape. He’s got a story or song for every occasion, more whistles than you can shake a stick at, and an amazing toy collection, most of which he’ll let you play with!

[Photo credit: Jan Adams Photography]

Seaport Museum

Antique Outboard Motor Exhibit – Explore these antique motors representing 22 brands, forerunners of modern factory and custom-produced racing and fishing outboards. Many refurbished motors in this collection are still used today in competitive amateur boat racing organized through local clubs and sanctioned by the American Powerboat Association.

Around the Americas Exhibit - Around the Americas is a 25,000 mile daring sailing circumnavigation through the Northwest Passage around the North and South American continents with the mission to inspire, educate and engage citizens of the Americas to protect our fragile oceans. The Seaport’s exhibit tells the story of this daring journey, a collaborative effort by Sailors for the Sea, Pacific Science Center, University of Washington Applied Physics Laboratory, the Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean, and the MIT Sea Grant Program.

Balfour Dock Building Exhibit – This 3-section exhibit showcases the Seaport’s historic building and turn of the century activities on the working wharf and waterfront. Visitors can watch short videos covering the Northern Pacific Railway’s construction of the building; the journey of wheat from Central and Eastern Washington to Tall Ships bound for foreign ports; and the engineering marvel evident in the architecture of the building.

Discovery Wharf Children’s Activity Area – Our 1,300 square foot Discovery Wharf is chock full of innovative activities for children ages 4 – 10 to learn about Tacoma’s waterfront, both above and below the water.

“Port Play” – Children don hard hats, transfer goods from rail cars to container ships, and set sail for distant ports using a collection of custom-built wooden port toys. This hands-on area lets young “dockworkers” have great fun while learning about the maritime industry!

All Aboard, Mateys! – Children slip on PFDs (Personal Flotation Devices) and go aboard the Faith, our Columbia River Gillnetter retrofitted just for young guests by the Seaport’s boat builders. They learn boat lingo (bow, stern, starboard, etc.); how life vests keep people afloat; what commercial gillnet fishing is all about; and why a block and tackle system is important.

Sea Star Lab – This multi-station, interactive learning lab offers exciting, engaging education about sea stars seen throughout Puget Sound and around the globe. Children find out where sea stars live by putting together a giant floor puzzle illustrating the ocean zones sea stars call home. They learn what an eyespot is, how tube-feet work, and all about the sea star’s second stomach.

Dugout Canoe - This 18’ red cedar dugout canoe was crafted out of a single log. The vessel was built, it is believed, in the early twentieth century by a member of the Mounts family, of the Nisqually tribe. It is a shovel-nose canoe, originally crafted using an adze to carve the center of the log for river travel and net fishing. The canoe was later fitted to hold a motor so that it could be used for river racing.

James Robert Hanssen - In 2006 four University of Puget Sound students – the first Americans to set a trans-Atlantic record by rowing unassisted from New York to England in just in 71 days – rowed this “mighty boat” 3200 miles, 24 hours a day, with two rowers on shift and two off at all times. Peer inside the boat’s confined quarters to get a sense of the challenges faced by the foursome as they experienced courage, loyalty, fear, despair, human triumph and friendship to the extreme.

Maritime Exhibits

See the Seaport’s wonderful collection of classic recreational boats; distinctive maritime artifacts; exquisitely crafted ships in bottles; models of Mosquito Fleet steamships and 19^th century sailing vessels; illustrations of early ocean liners; stories of regional shipbuilders and working waterfront exhibits.

Miss Bardhal - Hydroplane and racing boat fans will enjoy touring inside Foss Waterway Seaport to view the classic unlimited hydroplane, the Miss Bardahl on loan from the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum in Kent, WA. The Miss Bardahl won her very first race, the 1958 Apple Cup on Lake Chelan, and many more championships during the sport’s golden era of the ‘50s and ‘60s.

Outboard Hydroplane Exhibit – Explore the racing passion shared by fans and families who carry on this tradition on area lakes and rivers. This display includes Outboard Light Hydroplanes from the fifties and sixties still raced today. Get an up-close look to see how drivers ride on their knees in these exciting small hydroplanes, inches above the water at speeds up to 55 mph!

Thea and Andrew Foss Exhibits – Watch a short video with archival footage and photos of the life and times of Thea Foss — namesake of downtown Tacoma’s waterway. Learn about the Thea and Andrew Foss legacy through a variety of exhibits that illustrate the spirit and ingenuity exemplifying their pioneering spirit as two of Tacoma’s earliest influential decision makers.

Willits Canoes – Experience this display of rare, handcrafted red cedar canoes built by the Day Island brothers, Earl and Floyd Willits, who perfected and built just over 900 of these double planked 17-foot crafts between 1908 and 1964. Willits Canoes are treasured today primarily for their incomparable workmanship and gloriously varnished surface with gleaming copper nails crafted into a graceful, smooth-bottomed, high-bowed silhouette.

Working Boat Shop – Watch Foss Waterway Seaport’s volunteer craftsmen handcraft replicas of original Andrew Foss skiffs and other heritage wooden boats. Our expert boat builders will be at work during Maritime Fest and throughout the year on Thursday and Saturday afternoons.