We celebrate everything sea glass. Its origins, its brokenness, its tumbling into smoothness, its shapes, colors and distinctive marks, its discovery, its inspiration into works of art.
ANNUAL MERMAID TEARS SEAGLASS FESTIVAL (EST. 2008)
The Festival began as an idea amongst sea glass lovers in Wood Islands, PEI. It was the first and largest sea glass festival in Canada. In 2011 we moved to the scenic community of Souris, going from a one to a two day event.
From its inception to 2019, the festival hosted over 30 seaglass/nautical vendors, entertainment, children’s activities, food vendors, demonstrations, sea glass bingo, lighthouse tours, and guest speakers. The highlight of the 2-day festival was the shard contest with its many entries, categories and prizes. Oh how exciting it was to wait in anticipation as the judges painstakingly judged each shard before announcing the winners.
From the festival grounds you can walk to the heart of the historical town, visit the Matthew McLean Historium, tour the many shops, enjoy some local cuisine and watch the ferry arrive and depart that connects PEI to the Iles de la Madeleine and of course you searched the many nearby beaches for SEAGLASS. Sadly, we did not hold the festival in 2020 but are so excited to be able to bring it back to you in 2021 virtually. So sit back and enjoy. We look forward, when able, to seeing everyone again.
QUICK SEAGLASS TIPS: “ A SEA GLASS JOURNEY, EBB AND FLOW, TERI HALL”
Seaglass starts out as trash, mainly glass bottles discarded near the shoreline.
Broken glass requires three things to transform into seaglass: time, constant tumbling upon a gravelly shoreline, and long-term hydration.
The best spots to look for seaglass are beaches located near old town dumpsites with an abrasive shoreline at water’s edge and subject to strong onshore winds.
The best time to look for seaglass is one to two hours before or after low tide, preferably following a storm.
It’s your personal preference how to search for seaglass: walking on the high-tide mark, along the water’s edge, or both; sitting in an area with piles of stones, gravel and shifting through the debris; going alone or with friends.
White, brown, and green are the most common seaglass colours (mass-produced bottles). Red, yellow and orange (decorative tableware) are the most rare colours.
Thick shards and those with bubbles are most likely older.
Seaglass is disappearing from our shores and is becoming harder to find with each passing year.
