2023 Sea Glass Festival
The International Sea Glass Association celebrated the 17th Annual Festival on the Village Green of the Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, Connecticut. The Festival took place on Saturday and Sunday, July 29–30, 2023, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Over 8,000 visitors attended the festival, there were more than 650 entries in the Sea Glass Contest, and all the lectures were standing room only.
The International Sea Glass Festival is the premier sea and beach glass event in the country celebrating the history and beauty of genuine sea and beach glass.
A summer visit to the nation’s number one maritime museum, talented artists and jewelers, knowledgeable speakers, the sea glass contest, and an opportunity to connect with fellow sea glass enthusiasts made for an unforgettable weekend.
Highlights from the 2023 International Sea Glass Festival
All photos ©Joe Michael, Mystic Seaport Museum.
Tickets
General Admission Tickets to Mystic Seaport Museum covered admission to the Festival for two days. Tickets provided admission to both days of the festival, lectures, and the Sea Glass Contest, as well as the Mystic Seaport Museum grounds. Mystic Seaport Museum members get free admission to the festival and grounds.
Lectures • Exhibitors • Jewelry • Décor • Art • Sea Glass Contest
2023 Festival Schedule
Saturday, July 29, 2023
10 am Festival Opens
11:30 am Presentation: Zen Sea Glassing, Guy Fleming
2 pm Presentation: A History of Maritime Mystic, Rich Froh
5 pm Festival Closes for the day
Cocktail reception and meeting for ISGA Professional Members, Community Members, and Volunteers.
Sunday, July 30, 2023
10 am Festival Opens
11 am Presentation: Sailing for Sea Glass, Ky Davis
1 pm Sea Glass Contest Entries Close
2 pm Presentation: New England Sea Glass Stories, Roxie Zwicker
3 pm Sea Glass Contest Awards
5 pm Festival Closes. See you next year!
View the 2023 Sea Glass Festival program (PDF) ›
Vendors
Following was the line up of 2023 Sea Glass Festival Vendors.
Acorn Beach Glass and Artistry • Beach Baubles • Beach Glass Bingo • Beachcombing Magazine • Bead Boutique • Bling Beach Glass Windows • Cape Cod Gypsea • DMG Creations • Erie Hound Dogs • Frosted Trash • funky bijoux • Gull Cottage Crafts • Heart to Heart Designs • HKM Jewelry • HL Sea and Beach Glass • Kate Samson Design • Lovely Glassworks • Marooned Crab Creations • New Beginnings Sea Glass • Ocean Sea Glass Creations • Prime Hook Beach Studio • Rainbow by the Sea Jewelry Designs • Rubtoys sea glass • Sea Glass and Shore • Sea Glass Compositions • Sea Glass Designs • Sea Glass Heart Art • Sea Glass Jewelry by Nora • Sea Glass Journal • Sea Shimmer • Sea Witch Jewlz • Sharon Brubaker, Author • Silver Coqui Sea Glass • Skeezel Press • Stacey’s Sea Glass Shop • ST Beach Finds • Still Waters USA • Surfside Sea Glass Jewelry • The Sea Glass Grotto
Learn more about the 2023 vendors ›
Collectors Showcase
The Collectors Showcase presented extensive collections of sea glass collectors from the Northeast. Sea glass, beach pottery, sea marbles, antique bottles, and more treasures found on the beach were featured in the Collectors Showcase Tent on both days.
Presenters
The festival hosted educational presentations about sea and beach glass, local coastal information, and more. These presentations took place in the historic 1850s Meeting House, part of Mystic Seaport Museum’s seaport village. This bustling village was recreated with trade shops, businesses, and buildings that were transported to the museum grounds.
Sailing for Sea Glass
Sunday, July 23, 2023, 11:00 am
Ky Davis
Captain Ky Davis lives on a Ta Yang (Tayana) 50′ Flying Dutchman sailboat and travels the Caribbean in search of rare sea glass. Ky will share some of his experiences hunting for sea glass on beaches, in underwater caves, and down cliff sides, where he finds beautiful, rare sea glass and more. You’ll get a peek at his life living on his sailboat as he travels the seas to find untouched sea glass beaches.
Captain Ky the Sea Glass Guy from LC’s Glass is a treasure hunter circumnavigating the world on his sailboat, The Emerald of Pleiades, with his Yorkshire Terrier, LC, in search of the world’s greatest unknown sea glass beaches. He has spent time as a firefighter, combat medic, explorer, adventurer, survivalist, farmer, and ship captain. Find Ky on Instagram @suns_out_tonguesout, on Facebook at @SunsOutTonguesOut, and on YouTube at The Bored Pirate.
Zen Sea Glassing
Saturday, July 29, 2023, 11:30 am
Guy Fleming
In a lifetime, change may occur quickly and sometimes very unexpectedly. After Guy lost all his worldly possessions in the severe Superstorm Sandy of 2012, he faced another tragedy when he divorced shortly afterward. Searching for solace and new beginning in life, he began walking beach, discovering sea glass and an improved quality of life. Guy will share personal stories, Zen techniques and important ways to become an environmental steward.
Guy Cash Fleming has been expressing himself creatively ever since he sat down with a bass guitar as a teenager. He spent 34 years working as a chemical operator and instrumentation technician for a major pharmaceutical company, and he is also a musician, photographer, and amateur sea glass jeweler. Although he thought he’d never write a book, six months into retirement he suddenly had the urge and honored it wholeheartedly, with the release of For the Love of Sea Glass. Since then he’s walked more than 10,000 miles on the beaches of New Jersey, found in excess of 200,000 pieces of sea glass, and wrote two additional books, entitled Sea Glass for Miles, (a sea glass color/rarity guide), and Sea Glass Stories from the Beautiful New Jersey Coast, a coffee table book. Guy lives in New Jersey with his wife Yolanda, also an author, and their two young adult children.
A History of Maritime Mystic
Saturday, July 29, 2023, 2:00 p.m.
Rich Froh
Mystic has long been a major hub of the seafaring world, playing host to shipbuilding, fishing, global trade, naval warfare, and everything in between. Come learn about our rich local history, and discover what makes Mystic such a special place.
Richard (Rich) Froh has spent his life exploring local waters and waterfronts and feeding his hunger for history, especially local and maritime histories. With his wife, June, Rich has traveled to many historic sites in the U.S. and Europe, but his appreciation for the history of the Mystic River area and Mystic’s connection to national and world events remains the center of his focus and passion. His full-time job at the Museum allows him to, as he puts it, “de-mystify Mystic” by helping history buffs and those less familiar with our past, appreciate what has happened on these grounds and the surrounding waters.
New England Sea Glass Stories
Sunday, July 30, 2023, 2:00 p.m.
Roxie Zwicker
It’s hard to resist the lure of beachcombing in New England, with tales of shipwrecks and pirates dating back to the 17th century, where there are places to walk the beach and find relics of the past with stories to tell. Roxie has amassed a collection of over 4,000 beach finds, with some dating back to the 17th century. With a focus on Boston, Cape Cod, and the coast of New Hampshire she will share dramatic stories, images of her collection, and a virtual tour of her favorite spots.
New England’s Mystery Maven, Roxie Zwicker has been entertaining the locals, visitors from away, and curious souls since 1994. Her company New England Curiosities, located in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, has been offering award winning tours, presentations, and special events since 2002 based on New England folklore and mysterious history. Roxie’s TV appearances include New Hampshire Chronicle, New England Cable News, The History Channel, and the Travel Channel. Roxie is a published author of eight books that delve into the region’s history, legends, and lore, and her next book has a focus on New England sea glass. Wicked Curious Radio is Roxie’s podcast available on all major podcast platforms. Her extensive collection of sea glass takes up an entire room in her house and her website can be found at newenglandcuriosities.com.
List of speakers subject to change. Speakers may appear in person or via Zoom where circumstances dictate.
Sea Glass Contest
The International Sea Glass Association invited collectors to enter their favorite sea and beach glass finds in the Sea Glass Contest. View the winners of the 2023 International Sea Glass Festival ›
Our judges awarded winners in the following categories:
- Find of the Year
- Frosted Bottles
- Pottery/Ceramics
- Whimsical/Toys
- Bottle Stopper
- Most Unusual
- Historical
- Art Glass
- Marbles
- Buttons/Beads
- Figural
- Vendor Entry
Prizes:
Winners of the Sea Glass Contest took home cash prizes and their pieces will be featured in Beachcombing Magazine. See photos from past festivals ›
A portion of the proceeds from this event were donated to Mystic Seaport Museum, Project Oceanology, and Mystic Aquarium Sea Research Foundation.
Thanks to our generous sponsors and partners:
Captain:
Partners:
Volunteers
The International Sea Glass Association would like to thank all those who offered to be volunteers at the festival.
2023 festival image photo by Joe Michael ©Mystic Seaport Museum.