In celebration of National Pickle Day—yes, there is such a thing—the Whaling Museum & Education Center of Cold Spring Harbor is hosting a pickle party for kids and a Crafts & Cocktails event (pickle-flavored, of course) for adults. On two separate days, museum staff will highlight the importance of pickles, which were a staple on the menu of Long Island-area whaling ships.
“Pickle Day is really cool because we talk about the preservation of pickles and pickle items that were on whale ships, and I mean a lot of people don't know that pickles were on whale ships,” said Assistant Director Cristina Ainslie, in an interview with South Shore Press.
For those 21 and older, Crafts & Cocktails: Pickles will take place Thursday, Nov. 14, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. The event will feature the best brews to complement pickles provided by Long Island Beer & Malt Enthusiasts. The Pickle People will also be on hand with pickle-tasting samples, which the South Shore company has donated for both events, Ainslie said. After learning about the role pickles played in the diet of whalers, attendees will have the chance to make their own pickles and sample pickle-flavored beer, she added.
Crafts & Cocktails is part of an ongoing series at the museum, with a different theme each month. According to Ainslie, the series was designed to offer a fun activity for adults, complementing the museum’s existing programs for families and children. Curator of Education Brenna McCormick-Thompson and Executive Director Nomi Dayan collaborated on the program, which launched successfully about a year ago.
As Ainslie recalled, “We thought, ‘Let’s bring this out and see how it does.’ Today, we have a great following of people who love to come to all of the Crafts & Cocktails.” The cost is $35 per participant and $25 for museum members. There are still openings for pickle enthusiasts. To register, visit the museum’s events page and click the registration button.
For the younger crowd, Sunday, Nov. 17, marks the pickle party, with two sessions at noon and 2 p.m. “They’ll learn even more about what people eat on whale ships, and they’ll have pickle samples that they can taste, already all set up for them,” Ainslie said.
For their craft, kids will decorate a jar with a pickle design and take it home. To kick off the holiday season, they’ll also make a traditional German pickle ornament, called a Weihnachtsgurke, to add to their jar. The cost is $10 per participant, or half price for museum members, in addition to the cost of admission.
While at the museum, attendees are encouraged to explore their surroundings, including a new sculpture of a giant squid made entirely from ocean trash. Created by artist Cindy Pease Roe of the nonprofit UpSculpt, the squid “hangs over the only intact whale boat on Long Island,” Ainslie said.
Another new exhibit, Monsters and Mermaids, is located in the main gallery. “Mermaids have a beautiful reputation…and monsters typically are sharks or sea squid, and they don’t really get the respect they deserve, so we thought, ‘Well, let’s put them together,’” Ainslie said.
Throughout the museum, families will find craft stations set up for kids, where they can create everything from mermaid harps to shell necklaces and squids. “The crafts are included in the cost of admission,” she noted.
In addition to its pickle programs, the museum is open for its winter schedule Thursday through Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is located in Cold Spring Harbor at 279 Main St.