Tilghman Island Day 2015: Local watermen and community members will give exhibitions and demonstrations about their way of life on the Chesapeake Bay. Beginning at 11:00 a.m., visitors can watch or play a range of waterman’s games.
The workboat docking competition starts at 1:00 p.m. The workboat race at 2:30 p.m. is a feature of the event. Local artisans’ displays are another highlight of the celebrations. “Bird Dog and the Road Kings,” a popular Bay Area ensemble, will play live music throughout the day at Kronsberg Park. At 4:00 p.m., professional and amateur competitors will participate in crab-picking and oyster-sucking competitions.
Visiting Tilghman Island would be complete with tasting the fresh seafood that grows there. Fried clams, barbecue chicken, hot dogs, hamburgers, French fries, cold beer, soft drinks, raw and cooked oysters, oyster stew, oyster fritters, steamed crabs, crab cakes, and crab soup are all choices. The price of each food item changes.
Children under the age of 12 are admitted for free, and the Tilghman Volunteer Fire Company offers parking. Admission costs $5 per person. Every penny raised goes to help the Tilghman Volunteer Fire Company. Spend the day with your family, but arrive early to make sure you get all of the fun. For more information, check the Tilghman Island Day Facebook page.
Top 3 Reasons to Enjoy Tilghman Island Day Food
Tilghman Island is the place to go if you want to experience the unspoiled natural beauty and wonderful seafood on the Chesapeake Bay. It is necessary to attend the Tilghman Island Day Festival if you want to experience everything that makes this location truly special! This exciting event is held every October and features delicious food as well as entertaining activities for people of all ages.
See why it’s a must-attend event this year, and browse our selection of Tilghman Island holiday rentals to find a great place to stay near the action.
The event includes a diverse selection of delicious, fresh seafood, as one might expect, given the location. Oyster stew, crabcakes, raw or steamed oysters, and other seafood dishes are offered from the boat. Individuals who do not eat seafood can choose from a variety of choices, including hot dogs, hamburgers, and barbecue chicken. Furthermore, regional artists show nautical-themed crafts, allowing you to browse unique products ideal for gifts or souvenirs commemorating your visit to Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
A Day on the Bay: Tilghman Island, St. Michaels, and Sailing on the Selina II
Travel to Tilghman Island, Maryland, and spend some time visiting the island’s attractions before deciding on a good lunch spot. After that, take a quick trip to St. Michael’s, where you can visit the town at your leisure and enjoy some ice cream cones for dessert. Finish the day by sailing the Selina II with Captain Iris and Frank, her first mate. That ends the enjoyable itinerary.
Tilghman Island has gone by a number of names over the years. Originally known as the Great Choptank Island in Maryland’s land records, it later took the names of its owners. It was given to Seth Foster in 1659 and named Foster’s Island. The Tilghman family were the most recent owners, having owned the property for more than a century beginning in 1752. By the middle of the nineteenth century, local farmers and oystermen had been able to buy portions of the island from James Seth, cementing the name Tilghman.
The island prospered over the next century, with fishing, oyster dredging, boat construction, blacksmithing, and farming being the main industries. The 1890s saw the rise of oyster-sucking and canning businesses, as well as the expansion of guest houses catering to Baltimore families wanting relief from the city’s heat. Tilghman Island, located at the end of the Bay on a long peninsula, remains a popular tourist destination despite a decline in the seafood business and a rise in luxury waterfront homes.
Things to Do on Tilghman Island This Fall
This peaceful town on the Eastern Shore of Chesapeake Bay hosts a variety of winter events and parties.
We’ve picked the top ten things to do, including fishing in the marina, eating blue crabs at the Crab Shack, and participating in the annual Oysterfest.
Additionally, the Wylder Hotel offers waterfront lodging, delectable dining choices, and a plethora of outdoor activities for tourists looking to escape to Tilghman Island.
Enjoy Tickler’s Maryland Blue Crabs.
To truly capture the flavor of October, try Maryland blue crabs at Tickler’s Crab Shack, a seafood paradise that serves beautifully prepared newly caught delicacies. Fall is the best time of year to enjoy seafood with tasty sides, cool drinks, and rich desserts because crabs are at their juiciest and softest.
Day at Tilghman Island
Tilghman Island Day is an excellent choice for an unforgettable fall adventure. This small-town celebration, held every October, highlights the island’s vibrant culture, rich past, and strong sense of community. At this fun event, you can stroll around booths, try different dishes, and watch exciting boat races!
Wylder Hotel Live Music
This small venue hosts an exciting events calendar containing a diverse range of musical styles to suit all tastes. Weekend nights are filled with exciting acts that create an unforgettable atmosphere, ranging from soulful jazz to toe-tapping country.
S’mores by the water.
Nothing beats spending a warm night by the Chesapeake Bay and enjoying the simple pleasure of making s’mores in the cooler months. The Wylder Hotel offers build-your-own s’mores kits with your choice of wine and reservable bonfires along the water for the perfect setting. Relax and watch the sunset while toasting marshmallows.
Investigate neighborhood stores.
If you want to make the most of your afternoon on Tilghman Island, try browsing the shops. You can find the perfect gift for a friend or yourself at 2 Vintage Chicks, Tilghman Island Country Store, or Fairbank Tackle, where you can browse fishing gear, Chesapeake-themed souvenirs, and retro clothes.
Tilghman Island Day features crabs, boat races and great weather
The Tilghman Island Day celebration on Saturday was blessed with perfect fall weather, attracting hundreds of guests to try the local fare, which included oysters, crabs, BBQ, and mixed drinks at a variety of tents.
The food choices included delicious oyster stew, crab cake sandwiches, and oyster shooters. Billy Lednum, chief of the Tilghman Island Volunteer Fire Company, voiced joy at the return of festivities after a two-year hiatus caused by COVID-19.
It’s been a beautiful day, bright and sunny with a light breeze. This is one of the biggest gatherings we’ve seen in a long time, with people coming from all over. According to Lednum, the boat docking competition is attracting a large number of participants, and boat racing will begin soon.
To show their abilities, local watermen competed in boat races, rowboat contests, anchor-throwing contests, and docking competitions.
It’s very interesting. We hold boat races, rowboat competitions, anchor tossing competitions, and docking contests. We have local watermen from this area as well as a few visitors from other places who come to watch the contests; it’s a great time. Lednum continued, “The people of Tilghman Island always have a great time on this lovely day.
Fishermen and seafood workers kindly gave 75% of the crabs and 100% of the oysters served during the festival to help the fire department raise funds.
“We’re thankful for the weather, and this is one of the fire department’s biggest fundraisers. We are extremely thankful for the outpouring of support for our fire company, said Lednum. Volunteer firefighter Ken Lowrey, who was also present, remarked on the big turnout and ideal weather, which drew excited audiences.
Tilghman Island is where ‘laid back’ might have been invented
Tilghman is a small island off the Maryland coast split only by Knapps Narrows, a narrow channel connecting Harris Creek, the mouth of the Choptank River, and the Chesapeake Bay. The passage is crossed by a drawbridge, which frequently lifts when motorized sailboats signal to pass.
Tilghman was once a major oyster growing and fishing center, with the Tilghman Packing Co. employing fifteen oyster shuckers between 1897 and 1975. When the Tilghman family bought Great Choptank Island in 1752, it underwent several name changes before being officially renamed Tilghman Island.
At the moment, the island has few services, and it’s only three miles from the drawbridge to Black Walnut Point. On the other hand, tourists can go birdwatching, sailing, and fishing. The island has a country store, a bookstore, a quaint watermen’s museum, a newly rebuilt hotel, a few excellent restaurants, and the unique calm that comes with being on an island in the summer.
What is Tilghman Island known for?
Nestled between the Chesapeake Bay and the Choptank River, the island offers serene vacations marked by fishing, crabbing, boat rides and relaxation. This waterman’s territory brims with unmatched hospitality and is just the place to leave your stress behind — and sample the Chesapeake Bay’s best seafood.
Tilghman Island, which is about three miles long, is approachable via a drawbridge across Knapps Narrows, which separates it from the mainland. This island is situated on the Chesapeake Bay and the Choptank River, eleven miles west of St. Michaels.
Tilghman Island is well-known for its seafood, friendly residents, and numerous boating options. It also has a number of marinas, making it an ideal location for sport fishermen. Harrison’s is a popular fishing spot on the island, and it’s located on the east side of Dogwood Harbor. Harrison’s sites include a country inn, two cruise ships, a fleet of fourteen charter boats, and Harrison’s Chesapeake House, which serves family-style seafood and prime rib.
Tilghman Island is home to North America’s only commercial sailing fleet, the Chesapeake Bay skipjacks, which adds to the island’s nautical draw. There are currently only nine of these famous vessels in the Bay. Skipjacks moor at Tilghman Island’s Dogwood Harbor, including the Rebecca T. Ruark, which gives sailing tours from April to December.
Dogwood Harbor and the skipjacks can be seen about a half-mile after crossing the Knapps Narrows bridge.
What is the history of Tilghman Island?
Originally called the “Great Choptank Island”, it was known also as Foster’s Island, and later Ward’s Island. In the mid-1700s the island was inherited by Matthew Tilghman who changed the name to Tilghman Island. During the mid-1800s General Tench Tilghman bought the body of land and established two steam sawmills.
The Lee House, located half a mile south of the Knapps Narrows Bridge on Tilghman Island Road, is a distinguished historic “W” house with a rich past on the island and has become a central location for telling legends about this narrow stretch of land. The house was heavily restored and renovated after being abandoned in 1971. It currently serves as the main home for the Tilghman Watermen’s Museum. It was earlier housed in the former barbershop across the street.
The museum was created in 2008 by Hall and Mary Kellogg, two Tilghman residents. Its main goal is to preserve the watermen’s experiences and stories prior to the extinction of their traditional way of life. Recognizing the importance of preserving the island’s history and culture, the Kelloggs set out to build a repository that would preserve these stories for future generations. As Hall puts it, “What was once a thriving watermen’s community was changing into a retirement community.”
Audio and video records of watermen’s lives and stories have been added to the museum’s collection over time. Many kinds of things, like art, model boats, and things connected to the island and watermen, have been generously donated by locals.
How long is Tilghman Island?
three-mile long
Located at the southernmost tip of Talbot County, Tilghman Island is a three-mile long stretch of lowland nestled between the Bay and the Choptank River.
Since it was founded in 1650, Tilghman Island has become a historic village for harbor workers. In the early 1800s, oyster farm owners bought land and built homes near the best places to catch oysters. People from Baltimore, Washington, and other places found it easier to get here as the 20th century went on, thanks to steamboat services. There are interesting stories and pictures in the Tilghman Watermen’s Museum that show off the area’s rich marine history.
The island is still a popular place for tourists to visit because it promises good fishing and fresh seafood. People who come to the neighborhood feel welcome and enjoy the easygoing pace of island life, even though the neighborhood is relatively easy. Once guests have checked into a nearby inn, they can relax on the beach before going to one of the island’s delicious fish restaurants for dinner. Anyone can eat fresh fish and crack crabs and hang out with the friendly locals at these places, which all have delicious seafood menus.
If you want to enjoy the culture of Tilghman Island Day fully, you have to travel around the island. You can enjoy live music, fresh oysters, boat docking events, and other fun things at this lively celebration of Tilghman Island’s unique identity.
Is Tilghman Island a good place to live?
Living in Tilghman Island offers residents a rural feel and most residents own their homes. Many retirees live in Tilghman Island and residents tend to be conservative. The public schools in Tilghman Island are above average.
Property tax rates in this area are low, which makes it more affordable for people to buy their own homes. In addition to making homes easier to get into, low property taxes also lower homeowners’ yearly tax bills, which is good for their finances.
A 10- to 50-mile radius around an airport also makes it easier to move within the area and connect with other places. For business, pleasure, and family visits, the option to fly both domestically and internationally is very helpful. By bringing companies to the area, being close to an airport can also help the economy grow.
Public services, infrastructure, and educational tools get better when the government spends a lot of money in this area. This area has a high standard of life for its residents because of its well-kept roads, great parks, great schools, and effective public transportation systems.
Who is Tilghman Island named after?
The island was named for the Tilghman family who owned it for about a century, until it was sold as tracts to farmers and oystermen in the mid-nineteenth century. Once a flourishing watermen’s community, Tilghman is now home to many retirees who treasure the island’s history and relaxed way of life.
With its location on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, 11 miles west of the more famous and fancy St. Michaels, Tilghman Island gives you a real taste of the Chesapeake Bay. With its boating, seafood restaurants, past of watermen, and small-town adventures, the island has its unique charm. With the 50-foot-wide Knapps Narrows separating it from the shore, Tilghman is only three miles long and one mile wide. A single drawbridge can reach both.
Later, in the middle of the 1800s, pamphlets of Tilghman were sold to farms and oystermen. The name comes from the family that owned it for almost a hundred years. It used to be a busy place for sailors, but now it’s a retirement haven for people who love the island’s past and easygoing way of life, according to what the US said. The census says that about 800 people were living in Tilghman in 2018.
Opening over 10,000 times a year, the Knapps Narrows Bridge lets boats cross the Narrows from the Bay to the Choptank River. It may be one of the busiest bridges in Maryland and the whole country. The National Register of Historic Places now has the original Tilghman Island Bridge, which opened in 1934 to connect the island to the shore. Since a new bridge was built in 1998, the old one was moved to The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels and now stands at the entrance to the museum to meet visitors.
Getting from St. Michaels to Tilghman Island can be done in a number of ways. People who like to drive, ride bikes, go on boat trips, or take ferries can all find something they like. Getting around the Chesapeake Bay and its charming neighboring towns can be done in a number of different ways.
On a peaceful trip, people who want to relax can enjoy the beauty of their surroundings without any disturbances. You can take a passionate bicycle tour and pedal through the beautiful scenery if you want to do more than look around.
Communication links on Tilghman Island make it easy for everyone to get there, and guests can tailor their trip to their hobbies and energy levels. A smooth boat ride, the freedom of the open road in a car, the rhythm of pedaling a bike, or the appeal of a ferry ride are all welcome ways to get to Tilghman Island.