March 29, 2024
Annapolis, US 45 F

Sock Burning Scheduled For March 22nd

Sock Burning 2013_2Celebrate the coming of spring at this feast of the Chesapeake’s most cherished shell fish. The fourth annual Annapolis Oyster Roast & Sock Burning, a fundraiser for the Annapolis Maritime Museum, will take place at the Museum’s waterfront campus from Noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 22. Last year over 750 oyster enthusiasts from nine Mid-Atlantic States attended the event.

Come out to enjoy the festivities including the burning of the socks – a tradition at the museum celebrating the spring equinox and the arrival of boating season, live music including the perennial favorite, The Eastport Oyster Boys  and the chance to show your shucking prowess in an oyster shucking competition. Boat Rides will be offered aboard an authentic Skipjack, a single-masted, Bay-built sailing vessel built in 1902 and designed to harvest oysters with a pair of dredges that are dragged across the bottom of the Bay. Of course, there will be plenty of oysters – raw, steamed and roasted plus a new addition this year, Maryland Crab Soup. For a modest fee, additional food, beer, wine and soft drinks will be available.

Guests who purchase the “People’s Choice” ticket will be wowed by samples of the best oyster dish from eight premier Annapolis area restaurants. “People’s Choice” guests will vote for the best oyster dish and can enjoy all the activities included in Oyster Roast ticket.

The Oyster Roast ticket is $25 per person in advance, $30 at the door, and free for kids 12 and under.  Admission to the “People’s Choice” Best Oyster Dish tasting competition is $50 and available to only 200 people. Tickets will be available for purchase online at www.amaritime.org January 15th.   The event is expected to sell out.

The Annapolis Maritime Museum is a 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization dedicated to educating students and adults on the area’s rich maritime heritage and the ecology of the Chesapeake Bay through programs, exhibits and community events.   The Museum partners with community groups, government entities, and other like-minded organizations to deliver high-quality educational initiatives and programs on subjects ranging from history and culture to the environment and good stewardship practices.

Ode to the Equinox
By Jeff Holland
               
Them Eastport boys got an odd tradition
When the sun swings to its Equinoxical position,
They build a little fire down along the docks,
They doff their shoes and they burn their winter socks.
 
Yes, they burn their socks at the Equinox;
You might think that’s peculiar, but I think it’s not,
See, they’re the same socks they put on last fall,
And they never took ’em off to wash ’em, not at all . . .
 
So they burn their socks at the Equinox
In a little ol’ fire burning nice and hot.
Some think incineration is the only solution,
‘Cause washin’ ’em contributes to the Chesapeake ‘s pollution.
 
Through the spring and the summer and into the fall,
They go around not wearin’ any socks at all,
Just stinky bare feet stuck in old deck shoes,
Whether out on the water or sippin’ on a brew.
 
So if you sail into the Harbor on the 22nd of March,
And you smell a smell like Limburger sautéed with laundry starch,
You’ll know you’re downwind of the Eastport docks
Where they’re burning their socks for the Equinox.

 

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