Discovering Quincy

Mary Read the Pirate gestures out to sea.

This weekend, I finally got to see Mary Read the Pirate (also known as Norah Dooley the storyteller) in action at the Discover Quincy Beach Bash on Wollaston Beach. Along with a bunch of enthusiastic kids and their families, we Save the Harbor staff danced in the sand to tunes played over the speakers by "DJ Butters," raked our names in the sand, and used eyedroppers to create patterned flounder-prints, including a "Finding Nemo" clownfish-inspired ink design by Rusenny. The folks from Discover Quincy had set up some awesome beach games, including giant chess/checkers, big Jenga, corn-hole, adult-sized Connect Four, and a colorful array of buckets. Passerby on a windy Saturday afternoon paused to check out these toys and hear Norah's in-costume pirate tales and sea creature fables. "Mary" even brought some of her loot in the form of coins from faraway lands, and we hid our own real-life treasure: blue marbles for a chance to enter the Jet Blue sweepstakes!

Two young Beach Bash-ers rake their names in the sand.

During the week, I continue to "discover Quincy" on a day-to-day basis while running programming at Blacks Creek. Each day, we have new kids eager to sign up and take part in a morning of harbor exploration. Some of them are a bit shy at first, but soon the search for hermit crabs and the larger green crabs draws them (ironically enough) out of their shells. Recently, we've had a lot of kids excited about building sand castles, which are larger, more elaborate versions of the "crab habitats" from weeks past. I can't wait to see what we create next!

The Blacks Creek crew (silly faces edition).

~Emily B.