Havre de Grace showcases history; Decoy Museum hosts annual festival

    The 40th annual Havre de Grace Decoy and Wildlife Art Festival is happening April 29 through May 1. This event  celebrates the show that Jim Peirce  started 40 years ago according to the website.

     The museum is located on the banks of the historic Susquehanna Flats, the Havre de Grace Decoy museum houses collections of working and decorative Chesapeake Bay decoys. 

     The museum was established in 1986 as a private, non-profit institution existing to preserve the historical and cultural legacy of waterfowling and decoy making on the Chesapeake bay, according to the museum website. 

     “This festival represents the single largest fundraiser for the Havre De Grace Decoy Museum and features vintage as well contemporary waterfowl decoys of all types and makers” According to the Decoy Museums website.

     Also according to the Decoy website, “Wildlife artists also present a myriad of flat art offerings. Carving, Gunning Decoy, and the J. Evans Mckinney Old Decoy contests lure folk artists from every talent level.”

      On Friday, April 29 from 6pm-9pm, Carver’s Reception is occurring.  On Saturday, April 30 from eight am to six pm, exhibitions and competitions will take place. Lastly on Sunday, May 1 from 10am-4pm, again the exhibitions and competitions are taking place. 

     Food and drinks will be available at the festival for guests. The tickets will cost $10 for the weekend.

     Junior Maddie Rutch said, “My family used to visit the decoy museum, I have not been to the museum in a while. I heard about the 40th anniversary of the festival through a friend.”

     Rutch added, “I remember going to the museum when I was younger and thinking it was so fun which was weird for me. Now looking back it does not seem like something I would have been interested in, but I definitely enjoyed it.”

Rutch said she loved that the water was right outside. She  would go out to the water and that was definitely her favorite part about visiting.

     Junior Reilly Holmstrum also visited the museum when she was younger as well as more recently, she said, “I definitely visited a few times when I was young but I actually  visited the museum not that long ago.  We spent the day in Havre de Grace and visited the museum while we were there.”

     She said that it was a lot of fun spending time with her family and just having a fun day on a nice day, “It was definitely a long day but I had a great time.”

     Rutch said, “When I went to the museum my goal was to look at all of the decoys and pick out my favorite, I would always pick the prettiest decoy. I was always so determined to find it.”