At Friends of Windjammer Days’ April meeting, spirits were high as the committee chairs reported in. Discussions ensued both in person, for the first time, at Brady’s, and via Zoom for some of the volunteer members.

The Tall Ships Festival, originally planned for last year’s Bicentennial, will be a stunning prelude to Windjammer Days. The Tall Ships event docks June 24-27. Ships Spirit of Bermuda, Privateer Lynx (staying on into Windjammer Days), and the Oliver Hazard Perry will be docked near one another: Lynx at Carousel Marina (and will be available for private charter), Spirit of Bermuda, 110 feet long, is staying for one week, first at the Town Dock, then Bristol Marine; Oliver Hazard Perry’s docking is TBD. There will be deck tours all three days aboard the Perry. Tall Ship Santa Maria, currently in the Gulf of Mexico, plans to attend Windjammer Days. Stay tuned.

Tickets during Tall Ships will be available by June 1 on the WJD Festival and Boothbay Harbor Region Chamber of Commerce (BHRCC) websites at $20 each: www.boothbayharborwindjammerdays.org and www.boothbayharbor.com. Be advised: These are historic vessels; everyone must be able to walk on their own power.

Mark Gimbel noted the group was still looking for sponsors at the $2,500 level for Harvey Gamage and Agness and Dell.

Given what everyone has been through since last March and the arrival of COVID-19, some  of this year’s vessel sponsors are naming a group or person who made the world brighter; showed caring for another person; or was a light in the darkness of uncertainty. To date, the following have been chosen for the spotlight: Kenzie Cox, Officer Larry Brown, the late Capt. Craig Murray, Maine Medical Center and Wreaths Across America.

Wreaths Across America will have an exhibit in Whale Park Tuesday, June 29 and Wednesday, June 30 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Socially distancing will be observed. The organization honors veterans and their families by laying memorial wreaths each December at Arlington National Cemetery.

A third category has been added to this year’s Porch Parade, in lieu of the Street Parade. The region’s nonprofits may be staging Land Ho! themed floats/displays in one spot. BHRCC Executive Director Lisa Walby and Boothbay Register/Wiscasset Newspaper Operations Manager Sarah Morley are working to find a location.

The Antique Boat Parade reception will be at Boothbay Harbor Oceanside Golf Resort. The Crab Cake Cook Off location is TBA.

Got masks? If you have not seen a Windjammer Days COVID-19 mask yet, they are selling like hotcakes, at $10 each. WJD Friend Pete Ripley said another shipment has arrived and is at Harbor Mart, 15 Commercial St., downtown. In addition to following Maine CDC guidelines, the masks support the festival. Ripley said, as of the April 13 meeting, $385 had been raised so far!

The festival is June 27 through July 3. For all up-to-the-minute details, visit www.boothbayharborwindjammerdays.org