Curious about what happens at the Campobello Island Seaglass Festival? Of course you are!
You’re in luck; it’s not a mermaid secret!
But where to find all of these incredible stoppers, collected by Festival Founder Stephanie Anthony, may still be a mermaid secret!
Following last week’s newsletter, where I hinted at the possibility of sharing a recap of our trip to Campobello Island for this year’s Seaglass Festival, your enthusiastic encouragement made it impossible for me to resist.
Mama Mermaid and I have been attending the Campobello Island Seaglass Festival since the first year of the festival in 2019. It’s one of the highlights of our summer every year and the only place I’d want to spend Labor Day.
Each year, I’m reunited with all of my seaglass besties from across the Maritimes, and it truly feels like Seaglass Summer Camp. We beachcomb all day and sit around the bonfire at Pollock Cove at night, making memories and talking about all of the treasures we found that day. It’s truly the best.
If you haven’t been and ever have the chance to go, I can’t recommend it enough!
Here’s a look at this year’s adventure!
Whenever travelling to the Fundy Isles, I’m a big fan of being out the door by 8:00 am to make the most of the day, and this year, that put us in L’Etete, New Brunswick shortly after 10:30 am to catch the 11:00 am ferry to Deer Island.
This was my third trip to Deer Island this summer, and I was so hopeful that the “ferry geese” would be around for my mother to see them. I saw them earlier this summer when Dan and I popped over to Deer Island, and they are the cutest.
Within minutes of pulling up and parking in the ferry lineup, we quickly spotted the geese. I’ve heard their names are Statler, Waldorf, and Beaker. Too cute!
We had the most beautiful sail over to Deer Island. The weather was perfect. We didn’t spot any marine life on this crossing, but if you’re ever on either the Deer Island or Campobello Ferry, make sure to watch for porpoises, seals, whales, and even sharks!
Want the whole scoop on visiting Deer Island? Catch my 2024 guide here.
Once on Deer Island, we couldn’t resist popping into two of my favourite island gift shops – Maritime Texture and Boatique! We got a few treasures from both shops – stay tuned to see the new wine glasses Mom and I couldn’t resist later in this post!
We caught the noon ferry to Campobello Island and were treated to another beautiful sail. Seriously, we could have asked for better weather to travel to and from the islands. If you’re taking the Campobello ferry, a reminder that it is a privately owned ferry (running from June to September) and costs $30 for a car and two passengers per crossing.
After checking in at Pollock Cove Seaside Retreat, which is forever my Campobello Island home away from home (seriously, I could never stay anywhere else now – it’s so magical) and being reunited with the resort cat, Freckles – we headed over to The Pier Waterfront Restaurant, which is conveniently located on the same property as Pollock Cove. It’s now closed for the 2024 season, but make sure to add it to your list for next summer!
The Pier has the best patio on the island, and you can often be treated to whales, boats, and even cruise ships sailing by when you’re sitting on the patio. They have a fantastic cocktail list and a delicious Caesar. I tried their Fish Tacos with sweet potato fries, which were DELICIOUS.
Despite the high tide, we spent the afternoon exploring some of the island beaches and found a few treasures before it was time to get ready for an evening sail with East Quoddy Tours.
This was our second summer sailing with East Quoddy Tours, and I can’t say enough about how wonderful these cruises are if you want to see the island and Head Harbour Lighthouse from a whole new perspective from the water.
We were treated to some stunning views of cliffs, mermaid caves, and beautiful homes sprinkled along the coast of the island, as well as eagles, blue herons, and plenty of gulls. We also spotted a humpback whale and got a few great views of him.
On the sail back home, we stopped to check out Old Sow, the largest whirlpool in the Western Hemisphere, located just off the southern tip of Deer Island and visible from land if you’re at Deer Island Point Campground.
Old Sow is formed by the unique interaction of strong tidal currents; the higher the tides, the gnarlier Old Sow can be. It is best viewed two hours before high tide, and its roar can often be heard from the land. It’s been said that Old Sow gets its name from the sound it produces, which many describe as similar to a pig’s grunting. Crazy, right?
I’ve sung Old Sow’s praises many times (you can check out my Reel about Old Sow here), but this experience, just before high tide and paired with the sunset, was an experience to remember.
We finished the cruise by sailing past Eastport, Maine’s beautiful waterfront and by squinting hard enough, I could spot the famous Mermaid statue that I’ve always wanted to see but never had the chance to view in person.
All in all, it was an absolutely swell first day!
I absolutely love waking up at Pollock Cove, brewing a fresh cup of coffee and sitting out on the deck to watch for whales, listen to the gulls, and dream about all of the seaglass treasures I might find that day.
We started our Saturday morning slow with coffee and my homemade Sea Salt Wild Blueberry Muffins on the deck before heading to the festival’s High Tide Market at the Campobello Island Seaglass Festival.
This was the first year that I chose not to set up a table and sell my mermaid treasures, and while I worried I might feel a little FOMO not being a vendor, the opposite was true! I loved attending as a shopper and picking up treasures from my friends.
I came home with treasures from Beachcombing PEI, Joy Designs, Novelty-Ish, and, of course, Salisha’s Sea Gems. I’ve linked each so you can visit their social media and shop for their treasures if you’re interested. Each of these mermaids creates beautiful designs, and I encourage you to check them out.
After the market, we popped over to the Roosevelt Campobello International Park to have lunch at the Prince Cafe – always a must for us when on the island. I had the smoked salmon and bagel with capers and cream cheese, with a side of chips and dill sauce, while mom had the fish chowder and a sandwich. Both were so tasty.
That afternoon, we took a drive to Head Harbour Lighthouse to look for whales and explored other island beaches, despite the high tides, including one of our favourite off-the-map beaches, where I found my first real treasure of the weekend, and Mom found what is arguably one of the prettiest seaglass blues!
It wasn’t until that evening when I was checking other pieces I found from the weekend with my black light that the light flashed on this piece, and to my surprise, it lit up, unlike any other UV glass piece I’ve ever had before. I did not have this on my seaglass bingo card for the weekend, so needless to say, it was quite the treat!
After a busy afternoon of beachcombing, we headed to the Porch at Friars Bay for dinner. Dinner at the Porch is always a favourite of ours. The outdoor deck has fantastic views of Friars Bay, the service is wonderful, and the food is always great. We began with the best calamari I think I’ve had all year. Seriously, Diana, if you’re reading this – it was UNBELIEVABLE.
For dinner, I had the pulled pork nachos, which were wonderful and mom had the pulled pork poutine! Finally, we couldn’t resist getting two pieces of homemade carrot cake with cream cheese frosting that we enjoyed on the deck back at Pollock Cove.
That evening, it was the Beachcomber’s Bonfire at Pollock Cove, which is open to all festival attendees, regardless of whether you’re staying at Pollock Cove Seaside Retreat. Mom and I had been waiting all day to sip some wine from our new glasses from Boatique that say – Let’s Get Ship Faced.
How cute are these? I’ve been using them as my water glasses ever since we got back. I love them so much.
While the bonfire was meant to be the main event of the evening, a humpback whale swimming right by the cliff and only feet away from us stole the show. I was so excited, I didn’t get a photo but you can check out the video here.
Seeing whales at Pollock Cove is quite normal and part of the reason we love staying there, but we’ve never been lucky enough to see a humpback whale swim so closely to shore while staying there, so this was amazing.
The night continued to get even better with the surprise appearance of the Northern Lights shortly after the sunset. This summer was the first time I’d ever seen the Northern Lights when I caught them from the island house on Grand Manan this August. This was my second time seeing them, and it never gets old.
We woke up to a misty morning on Sunday, which we knew was imminent when we went to bed, but it didn’t stop me, Salisha, and Lindsay from squeezing in a morning seaglass stroll on the beach with our coffee. These types of mornings at Pollock Cove are my favourite and I’m so glad we were able to squeeze this time in, despite the weather.
That afternoon, I hosted a Guided Beach Tour at two of my favourite seaglass beaches on the island – the Library Beach and Pirate’s Beach.
The Library Beach is known for being an excellent destination if you’re hunting for really old pottery pieces, stoppers, insulators, and other treasures. It’s a great beach for “sifting” as the seaglass is buried deep.
Pirate’s Beach on the opposite side of Welshpool Wharf is my favourite because it’s known for pirate glass and stoppers, in addition to the usual seaglass treasures. Over the years, I’ve found everything from pirate glass to pottery to tumbled, frosted blues and reds.
We had a great turnout for the tour, including Campobello Island Seaglass Festival Founder Stephanie and her new pup, Marigold. I also met the sweetest dog, Love Bug, who was very excited about seaglass.
On this visit, I found several clay pipes, some beautiful pieces of pirate glass, and what has quickly become one of my most treasures pieces of seaglass – an embossed black button that glows red under a light. I’ve done some Googling, and the internet leads me to believe it may be a Victorian Mourning Button dating back to the 1800s.
I can’t even believe I spotted it on the beach as it looked just like a rock until I noticed the perfectly round edges and the embossing. When I held it under the light on my phone and saw it glow red, I squealed. What a treasure!
A big thank you to everyone who attended my first Guided Beach Tour! I’m very excited to do this again next year! Thank you, Stephanie, for the opportunity!
After a misty, overcast afternoon on the beaches, we headed back to Pollock Cove to spend the rest of the evening feasting on charcuterie on our deck, making new friends by the bonfire, and I got out my watercolour paints and brushes to do a little painting from the deck.
It was another perfect day on Campobello Island.
I hate to leave every year, and this year was no exception. The last coffee on the deck at Pollock Cove is always bittersweet. The sunrise on our last day was otherworldly.
We got up early to squeeze in one last visit to that off-the-map beach I mentioned to find some smoothies before we packed up the car and said our goodbyes to our friends. And of course, snap a few last photos of my treasures from the weekend!
We caught the 11:00 am ferry to Deer Island and planned to stop for lunch at The Cap Sill. Once on Deer Island, I couldn’t resist popping into Mercury Ice Cream to grab dessert for the ferry ride. I tried Mercury Ice Cream for the first time in June, and oh my goodness, it’s the best ice cream I have ever eaten. The Butter Brickle flavour is to die for but I have heard all of their flavours are heavenly.
Lunch at the Cap Sill was amazing, as always. We had the Salmon Cakes to start – they’re my fave and I’ve had them every time I’ve gone! For our mains, I had the fish tacos while Mom had the fish and chips. The haddock was some of the freshest I’ve had in a long time and so good.
We caught the 1:30 pm ferry back to the mainland, enjoyed our Mercury Ice Cream treat on the sail and it was officially a wrap on another amazing seaglass festival weekend.
I’m already dreaming about next year’s festival and my next return to Campobello Island.
Did you attend the festival this year? I’d love to hear about the treasures you found!
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