GREENPORT, NY — Soggy skies in the upcoming weekend forecast has sparked a decision to reschedule the the 36th Annual Greenport Maritime Festival.
The festival will now take place on October 16 to 18, "giving Greenport three additional weeks to prepare for a full weekend celebrating the village's maritime heritage, working waterfront, businesses and community," organizers said.
Following consultation Monday morning among the Greenport Business Owners Alliance, Village of Greenport, Southold Town Police Department and festival partners, organizers agreed that moving the festival now is the most "thoughtful course" given the developing weather forecast for the originally scheduled September weekend.
The new weekend keeps the festival's full three-day format intact, starting with the Land & Sea Gala, which will take place on Friday, October 16, followed by the 36th Annual Greenport Maritime Festival, which will unfold on Saturday and Sunday, October 17 to 18.
This year, four local businesswomen have teamed up to navigate the Greenport Maritime Festival into its next chapter.
The beloved event will include traditional favorites and new offerings alike, such as the annual Maritime Parade, a Classic Boat Regatta and Reggae Celebration, a pie-eating contest, family treasure hunt, hot sauce competition, oyster-shucking contest, cardboard boat races, community rowing, music, the Land & Sea Gala, and more.
The four women who are now leading the effort to carry on Greenport's Maritime Festival tradition are no strangers to working together — or to finding creative ways to bring people together in their community, they agreed.
Sarah Phillips, owner of First & South Restaurant; Kimberly Loper, owner of Harbor Pet; Rena Wilhelm, owner of The Weathered Barn; and Kara Hoblin, owner of North Fork Art Collective, have been working together in various capacities for over a decade.
What began as an informal partnership among local business owners has now evolved into an official organization: the Greenport Business Owners Alliance, or GBOA.
The decision to reschedule the festival reflects the collaborative approach that has defined the festival's new chapter from the beginning: plan ahead, communicate early and create the best possible experience for residents, visitors, merchants, vendors, volunteers and participating organizations, all four organizers said.
"Maritime has always been about our relationship with the water — and part of that is respecting the conditions around us," said Phillips-Loth of the Greenport Business Owners Alliance. "We have the opportunity to make this decision early, together, and give everyone time to adjust. So we're changing course, keeping the entire weekend together and heading toward October 16 to 18 with three more weeks to build, promote and celebrate everything that makes Greenport Maritime special."
The 2026 Maritime Festival represents a new collaborative chapter for a tradition that has been part of Greenport for more than 35 years, organizers said.
After decades of stewardship by the East End Seaport Museum & Marine Foundation, operational leadership transitioned this year to the Greenport Business Owners Alliance through a three-year partnership designed to preserve the festival, support EESM's maritime mission and broaden community participation. That work has grown into a village-wide effort involving the Village of Greenport, East End Seaport Museum & Marine Foundation, Hold Fast, Stay True Foundation, Friends of Mitchell Park, local businesses and merchants, community organizations, sponsors, volunteers, artists, musicians and members of Greenport's working waterfront.
The Village of Greenport formally approved the 36th Annual Maritime Festival and Parade earlier this year. EESM continues to play an active role in Maritime programming, including the Bug Light Classic Regatta in collaboration with the Shelter Island Yacht Club and Stirling Harbor Foundation.
"This festival belongs to Greenport, and bringing it to life takes Greenport," organizers said.
The additional three weeks will now be utilized to reconfirm participants and programming, coordinate the new weekend with village and public-safety partners, and give the community additional time to tell the stories of the people, organizations and businesses participating in Maritime 2026.
The new dates, organizers said, also create additional opportunities for businesses, sponsors, vendors, volunteers and community organizations that hoped to participate but may not yet have gotten involved. Existing sponsors, vendors, merchants and participating organizations will be contacted directly by GBOA to reconfirm participation and provide updated October logistics.
"We are extraordinarily grateful to the people who have already put their time, resources, ideas and trust behind this year's festival," Phillips-Loth said. "Now we have three more weeks to introduce you to them. We want to use that time to share their stories, invite more of the community aboard and make October's weekend something we're all proud to have built together."
Sponsorship and participation opportunities will remain open as space allows.
The Greenport Maritime Festival celebrates the village's connection to the sea through maritime traditions, working-waterfront programming, local businesses, food, music, competitions, family activities and community partnerships throughout Greenport, organizers said.
The goal for October remains the same: honor the traditions people love, strengthen the connections that make them possible and bring Greenport together for a weekend on the waterfront, they added.
Organizers are now working directly with participating organizations, musicians, vendors, sponsors and event leaders to reconfirm the October program.
An updated schedule will be released as those confirmations are completed.
The roots of all four organizers became more deeply entwined back in 2024, when Loper spearheaded the move of the annual North Fork Dog Dock Diving Event to the Greenport Polo Grounds. Her goal, she said, was to bring more excitement and activity to the Greenport business district.
Phillips and Wilhelm quickly jumped on board to support their friend and fellow business owner. What developed, they agreed, "was a supportive and remarkably balanced team, with each person's strengths contributing to an event that was captivating for the community while also serving as a fundraiser for the Greenport Fire Department."
In 2027, the North Fork Dog Dock Diving Event will celebrate its third year at the Greenport Polo Grounds.
Hoblin brings her own event-planning experience to GBOA. She is the organizer behind Greenport's annual Holiday Stroll, hosted by Harbor Front Hotel, having successfully produced the event for the past two years. Her third—and, she promises, "extra-special" — Holiday Stroll takes place on December 18.
When the East End Seaport Museum announced late last year that it would discontinue its annual Maritime Festival, the news was met with deep disappointment throughout the Greenport community, GBOA said.
The festival was more than an annual event, GBOA said; it had been a beloved tradition for 35 years and an important celebration of the village's maritime heritage.
Village officials subsequently approached the Greenport Business Owners Alliance about working with the museum to explore whether the festival could continue under new leadership.
Those conversations ultimately resulted in a contract that allowed the museum to pass the torch to the new organization, GBOA said.
Phillips spearheaded the negotiations. Working alongside Ian Wile, owner of Little Creek Oyster Company, and his nonprofit organization, Hold Fast Fund, the group was able to take the reins of the Maritime Festival with the goal of not only preserving the long-standing tradition "but elevating it for the future," GBOA said.
As part of the agreement, proceeds from the Maritime Festival will be donated to the East End Seaport Museum for the next three years. GBOA said it has also been working with Erin Kimmel, the museum's new director, to bring new life to the event while preserving Greenport's maritime heritage.
However, GBOA said, producing an event of this scale comes with "extensive responsibilities, and each member has taken on multiple roles in bringing the festival to life."
GBOA said the four women's approach remains rooted in the same collaborative effort that made their earlier projects successful: utilizing individual experience and expertise to create something greater as a team.
GBOA has also partnered with local design team Visual Natives, which created a new website exclusively for the Maritime Festival. The website serves as the central hub for festival information, providing the community with access to schedules, events, participation opportunities and updates.
"But perhaps the most important part of this new chapter is that GBOA wants the community to be involved," organizers said.
To that end, two community meetings have been held so far., with local business owners, residents and community members volunteering and showing support.
Phillips, Loper, Wilhelm and Hoblin agreed that taking on the Maritime Festival "is about more than adding another event to already busy schedules. It is about recognizing the importance of a tradition that belongs to the entire community and doing what they can to ensure it continues."
Each woman said she brings her own business, experience and perspective to the table.
"Together, those individual strengths give GBOA the opportunity to build on what came before while creating something new for the future," they said. "As the saying goes, 'It takes a village — and a rising tide lifts all ships.' And together, Greenport is capable of extraordinary things."
For additional information and a schedule of events, click here.
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