ISGA is a non-profit organiz is a non-profit organization positively supporting sea and beach glass collectors and the beachcombing community through festivals, information, educational opportunities, membership, and more.
The International Sea Glass Association is pleased to announce that the 18th Annual International Sea Glass Festival will be held on July 27-28, 2024, at Mystic Seaport Museum.
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. With talented artists and jewelers, knowledgeable speakers, the Sea Glass Contest, and an opportunity to connect with fellow sea glass enthusiasts, the annual Sea Glass Festival is always an unforgettable weekend.
The 2024 Sea Glass Festival will be held at the Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, Connecticut, on July 27–28, 2024. We hope that you will save the date for our return to this beautiful coastal New England location.
It’s time to bring your favorite finds to the Sea Glass Festival and maybe you’ll bring home a cash prize…and bragging rights! The 17th Annual Sea Glass Contest is a chance for you to enter your favorite sea and beach glass finds in a dozen categories. Judges will award winners for Find of the Year (aka Best in Show), Frosted Bottles, Pottery/Ceramics, Whimsical/Toys, Bottle Stopper, Most Unusual, Historical, Art Glass, Marbles, Buttons/Beads, Figural, and Vendor Entry.
Judges are looking for well-worn sea and beach glass, special markings, beautiful finds, rare colors, unique shapes, whimsical finds, and large pieces that are still intact after years in the waves. While letters on pieces or shapes like hearts aren’t rare, if the wording shows that a piece is historical, or the heart is a rare color or large size, it’s a potential winner. See photos from past festivals for an idea of what judges are looking for.
You must be at the festival on Sunday to enter the contest. Entry cards are sold in the ISGA booth at the show on Saturday and Sunday and cost $5 per card, each with spots for up to three entries. You enter your card and entries on Sunday morning and at 3 p.m. on Sunday we announce the winners. Winners of the Sea Glass Contest will take home cash prizes ($250 for Find of the Year winner and $50 for winner in each category), winner certificates, and their pieces will be featured in Beachcombing Magazine. Good luck!
The 17th Annual International Sea Glass Association Festivalwill be held July 29-30, 2023, on the Village Green of the Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, Connecticut. Learn more about attending this two-day sea and beach glass festival with talented artisans, knowledgeable speakers, the annual sea glass contest, and an opportunity to connect with fellow sea glass enthusiasts in a beautiful New England coastal setting.
New England Sea Glass Stories
Sunday, July 30, 2023
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.
The International Sea Glass Festival features educational presentations about sea and beach glass, local coastal information, and more. The Festival Committee is pleased to announce the first confirmed speaker for the 2023 festival, which will be held at Mystic Seaport Museum on July 29–30, 2023.
Zen Sea Glassing
Saturday, July 29, 2023
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.
Recently at the Santa Cruz Sea Glass and Ocean Art Festival, NASGA Education Chair Mary McCarthy was on hand doing sea glass identification. A woman brought her necklace that included a UV piece with a unique curve. The size of the interior curve provided a clue: it was once a hole!
The source for the piece is a depression era vaseline glass flower frog. Flower frogs, nicknamed because they “sit in water,” feature holes that were used to hold flower stems. Often a two-piece item with a removable lid though sometimes made as one piece, water is placed inside to nourish the flowers. The identified vaseline glass, probably from the 1920s-40s was made with uranium and therefore glows under blacklight.
