UpDate - Vol. 16, No. 4
September 26, 1996
20th anniversary:  1996 Coast Day celebration in Lewes on Oct. 6

     Porthole to Discovery," the 20th annual Coast Day festival
will be held from 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 6, at the Hugh R.
Sharp Campus, 700 Pilottown Rd., Lewes.
     Sponsored by the College of Marine Studies and Sea Grant
Program, Coast Day is designed to be a day of discovery filled
with fun and interesting activities, focusing on ocean and
coastal resources.
     Coast Day is free of charge; there is a $2 parking fee.
     Among the 100 activities featured this year will be the
Exploring the Sea Lecture Series, which will take audiences on a
journey from the bottom of the sea to far above the Earth. The
talks will be complemented by exhibits at the Virden Center's
Lighthouse Room, including a display featuring the Alvin, Woods
Hole's famous submersible.
     Once more, crab is king at the festival, with many crabby
events planned around Delmarva's favorite crustacean. Visitors
are invited to bring their favorite bait to Charles Epifanio's
laboratory, 121 Cannon Lab, to challenge his scientifically
formulated bait in The Great Crab Race, with 20 well-trained
contenders at the starting gate. There are prizes for winners.
     Other crab events include a video, feeding crabs, The Blue
Crab Quiz and plenty of crab cake sandwiches available from
seafood vendors.
     Last but not least is the traditional favorite Crab Cake
Cook-Off, when crabby chefs compete to create the best crab
cakes.
     Horseshoe crabs get their time in the sun as well, since
Delaware Bay is the horseshoe crab capital of the world. "Meet
the Horseshoe Crab" will take place all day in 104 Cannon Lab.
The exhibit will feature live crabs and continuous hands-on
activities and short presentations on this under-appreciated
natural resource.
     In the harbor, everyone is invited to visit the UD research
vessel, Cape Henlopen, and the oil skimmer, Delriver. Chester
Porches Jr. will be on hand throughout the day to talk about his
adventures with building and operating his submersible, the
Searush, which will be near the harbor.
     Other Coast Day activities include an air-sea rescue
demonstration, marine critter learning tanks, seafood seminars,
research demonstrations, a wind-wave tank demonstration, a
muckless marsh walk and children's activities. In addition, there
will be fresh-cooked seafood and other foods available, a
nautical flea market, musical entertainment and awards for the
fifth-grade essay contest and the coastal photo contest.
     For more details, free programs will be available at Coast
Day.
     For further information, call the Marine Communications
Office at 831-8083 or the University of Delaware Sea Grant Marine
Advisory Service at 645-4346.