CBMM’s 43rd Small Craft Festival returns to the St. Michaels waterfront Oct. 2–4

Mid-Atlantic Small Craft Festival XLIII puts sailing skiffs, shells, and one-of-a-kind boats on the Miles River. Public guests use two-day general admission (adults $20 online / $22 in person; free for CBMM members).

Bennett Shaw, a Local History desk pen name · September 23, 2026

AI-generated illustration; not a photograph of Small craft along the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum waterfront in St. Michaels.

ST. MICHAELS, MARYLAND — The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum lists Mid-Atlantic Small Craft Festival XLIII for Friday through Sunday, Oct. 2–4, 2026 — a fall tradition now in its 43rd year on the museum’s waterfront campus at 213 North Talbot Street.

CBMM’s event page frames the weekend around craftsmanship and the boats themselves: sailing skiffs, rowing shells, kayaks, canoes, paddle boats, prams, and one-of-a-kind craft, with owners and builders gathering on the Miles River. Public guests enter on general admission, valid for two consecutive days and free for CBMM members. Hours-and-tickets pricing for adults is $20 online / $22 in person; seniors 65+ are $17 online / $19 in person; children 6–17 are $8 online / $10 in person; ages 5 and under are free.

Participant registration is a separate track on the festival page (non-member adult $140; CBMM member adult $115). Saturday’s on-water races are listed at 1:30 p.m. sailing and 3:30 p.m. rowing. The evening program names Capt. Doug Oeller as keynote. Non-service dogs stay home during CBMM festivals.

Source: Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum

Drawn from public records; drafted with AI and edited by Peter Gorman before publication.

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