9:30am – 5:30pm Lighthouse Tours during the Festival
(Admission required).
Wood Islands Lighthouse“Mermaid Tears” Sea Glass Festival 2009
The Wood Islands Lighthouse was opened in 1997 by a group of volunteers. Through various grants and fund raisers, the volunteers were able to the present day to restore eleven rooms which have different themes depicting the history of the Northumberland Ferries, rum running, the Burning Ship, all the Island lighthouses, the fishing industry, and a 1950’s style kitchen and bedroom. Lighthouse guides give tours of the lighthouse to an average of five thousand visitors a year. Two astronauts have visited the lighthouse as well as 45 members of the American Lighthouse Society. Weddings, bus tours and school classes are frequently found at the Lighthouse.
Every year a new event is introduced at the Lighthouse along with other annual events. Moonlight tours, Ferry Festival, lighthouse teas and Taste our Island are some of the successful events that have taken place. These events have helped the Lighthouse earn the Museum Heritage Award in 2006 and the Operator of the Year award in 2008.
In 2007, funded by a museum grant, a new exhibition was undertaken using a privately donated collection of sea glass found along Northumberland Strait. The interest in this collection has been high. Mary MacKay, a Guardian feature writer, wrote a full-page story, “Jewels of the Sea,” about the collection and finding sea glass on the shores of PEI. The Canadian press picked up the story, and it has appeared in newspapers across Canada. The article also mentioned a proposed sea glass festival in 2009. (see home page for article) This article served as a rally cry for many Sea Glass enthusiasts and artisans on PEI and soon folks were lining up to help organize the first Sea Glass Festival on the Island.
The Wood Islands Lighthouse will play perfect host to this seaside event. Join us!
