Second Sundays TankerTime returns, 5pm to midnight, every month from May through September. FREE. Enjoy the main deck of PortSide’s historic ship, the tanker MARY A. WHALEN.  Bring dinner, drinks, a book… Lounge in a hammock, read books from the maritime library. Stretch out in a lounge chair, immerse yourself in the maritime ambiance of the location. At 9 pm, the musicians jam of Mediterranean music starts and runs until midnight.

Red Hook WaterStories: Talk with a Historian

Tuesday May 15th from 5 – 8pm

At the Red Hook Public Library or through social media, join the conversation about Red Hook history. Tell your stories, and your family stories, of living, working or playing in and around the waters of Red Hook.  Hung out on the Long Pier? Swam at Edison Beach? Worked at Todd’s or Busheys? Fishing? Hurricane Sandy? Any neighborhood story that has a water element PortSide wants to know.  Don’t have a story? Come follow along, ask questions, enjoy the anecdotes with the PortSide team working on their digital museum Red Hook WaterStories.

MARY Art Inspiration Day & Birthday TankerTours

Sunday May 20th from 8am – 6pm

Are you a painter, sketcher, illustrator, poet, photographer?  Come create work inspired by MARY and its evocative maritime location. Creatives are invited as of 8:00am; and at 1:00pm, the public is invited for TankerTours of the ship itself.

They expect many plein air painters, and the Urban Sketchers are involved. Exhibition space available on the chain link fence next to the ship. They can also offer digital exhibit space in the e-museum Red Hook WaterStories.

1:00-6:00pm Frank Hanavan will teach a water color class. PortSide will offer TankerTours of the ship. A few times a year, the ship is open up to the public to explore all the bells and jingles from wheelhouse to engine room, uncommon spaces, tech and social history.

Puerto Rican Red Hook WaterStories

Friday May 25th from 6pm – 10pm

Starting in the late 1800’s and running well into the 1900s, Puerto Ricans arriving in New York City arrived in Red Hook, because the ships docked here.  NYC’s first Puerto Rican community was here, before Spanish Harlem, and Puerto Ricans remain a significant part of the Red Hook community. The ships arrived in and near Atlantic Basin, where PortSide’s ship, the tanker MARY A. WHALEN is today.

On Friday evening May 25, the community is invited back to the spot to share their WaterStories. There will be music, potluck food and more.