Avast, matey. No doubloons needed for free Maritime Festival with mermaids, boat tours and pirates

A mermaid telling stories, free boat trips and haggling over antique anchors all will seem perfectly normal this weekend in Tacoma.

The Foss Waterway Seaport is holding its annual Tacoma Maritime Festival, where all things nautical come together on and offshore. It’s the 25th iteration of the free festival that runs Saturday and Sunday.

The mermaid will be holding story time for children inside the museum. Pirates, eager to recruit young scallywags, will swarm the place.

Tug boats — both working Foss versions and radio-controlled — will be on hand.

A maritime garage sale on Saturday and Sunday (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) at the neighboring Foss Harbor Marina allows skippers to sell nautical gear and other treasures to maritime enthusiasts.

Visiting vessels include: the halibut schooner Tordenskjold; small tugs Kathy M; pilot vessel Ladyhawk; patrol boat river PBR 750; schooner Red Jacket; Sea Scout ships Odyssey and Curtis; schooner Blue Starr I; and Foss tugs Pacific Knight and Joe.

Tickets for the Port of Tacoma’s popular boat tours are sold out, but there might be some last minute seats. Check day of, the port advises.

Parking for events at the Seaport is always a challenge. To ease congestion, the festival will have free water shuttles.

On Saturday, a boat will pick up passengers from the 16th Street pier. On Sunday, a boat will shuttle visitors from the Museum of Glass.

Tacoma Maritime Fest

When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Where: Foss Waterway Seaport, 705 Dock Street, Tacoma.

Admission: Free.

Information: fosswaterwayseaport.org/maritimefest

This story was originally published July 26, 2018 at 5:47 PM.