Moby-Dick Marathon
July 31- August 1, 2013 / Noon-Noon
Join us for the 28th annual celebration of Herman Melville's masterpiece, Moby-Dick. The classic tale comes alive during this annual 24-hour reading that takes place throughout the Museum's 19th-century seafaring village and aboard the last wooden whaleship in the world, the Charles W. Morgan.
At noon on Wednesday, July 31, "Mr. Melville" himself makes his annual appearance and kicks off the reading by reciting the first chapter of the classic novel. Then visitors, volunteers, staff, and special guest readers will make the village come alive as they read chapters in turn.
Copies of Moby-Dick will be available for those who wish to read along, including some children's versions. Once the reading is complete, attendees will celebrate Mr. Melville's August 1 birthday in old-fashioned style with song and cake.
The Moby-Dick Marathon is included with Museum admission and is free for members. Those who wish to stay overnight will have the unique opportunity to sleep aboard the Morgan. Pre-register for your overnight stay by calling 860.572.5322 or email Rebecca Shea.
Additional Information
- We suggest visitors bring a copy of the book, sun protection, a sleeping bag, insect repellent, and a flashlight.
- Please be aware that no food is allowed on board the vessel at any time and visitors will have to leave the reading for meals.
- Participants may bring a picnic to enjoy on shore or purchase meals at one of the Museum restaurants.
- Please note that the Charles W. Morgan is not handicapped accessible.
Watch the marathon stream live online and follow along on Twitter!
The marathon will again be live-tweeted by Mystic Seaport on Twitter. (The hashtag for the event is #MDM2013.) Mystic Seaport staff will keep visitors near and far connected with pop culture references, connections to the Museum's collections, and facts and trivia related to Melville's famous story. Web visitors can watch the marathon stream live online, and even host their own marathon celebration.
Follow the entire "live-tweet" marathon at @MbyDickMarathon on Twitter.com. Museum staff will also tweet on four other Twitter accounts that will be visible on the main account page:
@MS_PopCulture will tweet links to images, video clips, stories, songs, and other Moby-Dick references in pop culture.
@MS_Collections will tweet links to images in the Mystic Seaport collections, images of relevant parts of the Morgan whaleship, and explanations of 19th-century vocabulary in the novel.
@MSeaportScience will tweet science-related information, videos, and images regarding whales, oceanography, and weather as they appear in the novel.
@MS_Terminology will tweet about nautical terminology relating to Herman Melville's Moby-Dick.
Watch and listen to Museum staff member Mary K Bercaw Edwards as she discusses her experience as a Melville scholar and Mystic Seaport educator:
