Join us at the Inn on Maritime Bay in Manitowoc for Wisconsin’s 19th Ghost Ships Festival. This year’s event features Presentations about new shipwreck discoveries on the Lakes, exhibits about Great Lakes shipwrecks, maritime history, maritime archeology and scuba diving as well as Virtual 3D Great Lakes Shipwreck Tours.

Over 30 sponsors and exhibitors will have booths, exhibits and presentations as well as merchandise for sale and opportunities for the public to participate in fieldwork & research.

The event will culminate in a presentation by Great Lakes historian Dan Fountain about his discovery of the wreck of the steamer Arlington on Lake Superior, which made national headlines last week.

The Ghost Ships Festival is brought to you by the Wisconsin Underwater Archeology Association, a 501c3 non-profit educational organization that provides opportunities for the public to assist in finding and documenting Wisconsin shipwrecks.  The Festival is also sponsored by the new Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary, the Wisconsin Historical Society Maritime Archeology Program and the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, which is next door to the hotel and offering reduced admission to Ghost Ships attendees.

Tickets for the full two-day event are $25 at the door or $20 if you pre-register online.  People 18 and under will be admitted for free.  Pre-registration is encouraged and can be done online at www.ghostshipsfestival.com.

Friday, February 28

8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Greg Such – SHIPWRECK ADVENTURES

VIP Visual Inspection Course – Scuba Cylinder Inspection Certification Course – contact Greg at 815.378.8152 to enroll.

4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

WELCOME RECEPTION

Join us across the parking lot at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum for drinks and hors d’oeuvres

6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

EXHIBIT HALL OPEN

Ghost Ships Festival kicks off with a Cash Bar and Vendor Booths open to the public

6:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

BRENDON BAILLOD, RUSS GREEN, KEVIN CULLEN

Welcome Remarks and Kick off to Ghost Ships Festival

7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

JOHN O JENSEN – PROFESSOR, AUTHOR, UNDERWATER ARCHEOLOGIST

Lost Ships and Forgotten Memories: Remembering Great Lakes Seafaring Women

8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

FLASH PRESENTATIONS

15 Minute Moderated Short Presentations on Great Lakes Maritime History and Archeology

Saturday, March 1

8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

EXHIBIT HALL OPEN

Day 2 kicks off with a Cash Bar and Vendor Booths open to the public

9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.

ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION – TOM CROSSMON, BRENDON BAILLOD, DAN FOUNTAIN

Using Sidescan Sonar for Micro and Macro Applications: Searching and Archeological Mapping

10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

TAMARA THOMSEN – MARITIME ARCHEOLOGIST – WISCONSIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY

A Record Year for Wisconsin Shipwreck Discoveries

11:00 a.m. – Noon

RUSS GREEN – WISCONSIN SHIPWRECK COAST NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY

From Moorings to Mapping: A Year In Review at Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast NMS

Noon – 1:00 p.m.

Lunch Break

Lunch options available on site, or at local restaurants. Food trucks will arrive around 11:30AM.

1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

VALERIE VAN HEEST—MICHIGAN SHIPWRECK RESEARCH ASSOCIATES

Just Waiting to be Found: The SS Milwaukee

2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

BRENDON BAILLOD & BOB JAECK—WUAA

Discovery & Documentation of the Tug John Evenson

3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

RIC MIXTER—AIRWORTHY PRODUCTIONS

The Edmund Fitzgerald Investigations

4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

BRUCE LYNN—GREAT LAKES SHIPWRECK MUSEUM

Gales of August: The Sinking of the Western Reserve

5:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.

RICHARD J. BOYD AWARD

WUAA Award for Contributions in Great Lakes Maritime Archeology

6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

LEE MURDOCK—GREAT LAKES MUSICIAN & STORYTELLER

Lighthouse Legends and Great Lakes Lore

7:00 p.m. – 1:00 a.m.

SOCIAL GATHERING AT HOTEL BAR

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