Celebrate Open Lighthouse Day Maritime Event in Maine
This year, Open Lighthouse Day will be celebrated in Maine on Saturday, September 13. This is a great way to visit Maine’s historic lighthouses for free.
Open Lighthouse Day is a very popular event, attracting between 15,000 to 18,000 visitors each year. The lighthouse event is sponsored by the United States Coast Guard, the American Lighthouse Foundation plus the Maine Office of Tourism.
In addition to being a fantastic family activity, the primary goal of Open Lighthouse Day is to both increase awareness of the state of Maine’s maritime heritage, plus teach event visitors all about the storied history of Maine’s iconic lighthouses and their devoted lighthouse keepers.
The special day will include a variety of promotions, packages and activities in addition to partnerships with local hotels and other popular state attractions.
Maine is proud to have the most coastal lighthouses found anywhere in the U.S., thus living up to its reference as “The Lighthouse State.”
Lighthouses first began appearing on the coast of Maine back in 1791. The intent was to help mariners navigate through the often treacherous, Atlantic Ocean waters. The coast of Maine also has numerous small islands, shoals and ledges that added to the danger of navigating ships.
At the turn of the 20th century, Main boasted at least 70 lighthouses to help protect the shipping and maritime industry. Today, 65 of those impressive lighthouses are still in operation.
For visitors who take part in Open Lighthouse Day, Maine’s lighthouses will be on display by a combination of ground visitation or viewings only by sea. Some lighthouses house museums or feature maritime displays within its buildings.
You can visit the following site to view a list of all participating lighthouses who are celebrating Open Lighthouse Day the Saturday, September 13. http://www.lighthousefoundation.org/news/events/maine-open-lighthouse-day-2014/.
