Spirits were sunny despite cloudy skies Saturday morning as elected officials and village residents gathered in Mitchell Park for the official opening ceremony of Greenport’s 2015 Tall Ships festival.
Former mayor David Nyce, who helped plan the event for over a year and sat on the Tall Ships committee, said the ships in the harbor are a beautiful sight.
“Our community does these events well,” he said. “It’s a great way for Greenport to showcase itself.”
Master of ceremonies Dave Berson said he ran away as a young sailor and ended up in Greenport.
Greenport, he said, is the smallest community to host the Tall Ships event, a village of less than 3,000 residents holding its own against big cities such as New York, Philadelphia and Charleston.
“It is, of course, in our DNA,” he said. “We’ve always been a harbor of refuge, a shelter for sailors.” Native American and English settlers knew this, he said, as have later generations and nationalities who all came together to live and work on the waterfront.
“That tradition of the sea is deep in our bones,” Berson said. Today, Greenport is still a place, he said, where if a person is “clever” and “lucky,” they can make a living on the water.
After a heartfelt rendition of “Star Spangled Banner,” young Annabelle Odell led the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance.
“This is our future,” Berson said, gesturing to Annabelle.
Mayor George Hubbard thanked the village board, Tall Ships Committee, Business Improvement District and all the many residents and volunteers who came together to make the event a success. He also thanked the captains of the Tall Ships docked in the harbor, for attending the event and bringing the vessels to the village.
“Happy Birthday to America,” he said.
Hubbard said the “weather gods” would keep the rain away today. “Most of all, we’re here to have fun and see some ships,” he said. The mayor said coming down First Street last night, the sight of the Tall Ships illuminated on the waterfront in the night sky was “magnificent.”
Suffolk County Legislator Al Krupski and his wife Mary also strolled by the waterfront last night see the ships. The Tall Ships event, he said, “underscores Greenport’s past as a working waterfront” and sets the direction for the future, as its longtime maritime legacy lives on.
BID president Peter Clarke thanked event sponsors individually and said the BID had created pins for all crew members and volunteers, so that they could enjoy discounts and VIP treatment in local eateries and shops.
Ringing the bell on the firetruck, Hubbard smiled. “The festival is open!” he said.
