Chestertown Tea Party Festival

When

May 23, 2026    
11:00 am - 4:00 pm

Where

Event Type

Ampersand brings “Music of a New Nation” to the Garfield Theater as part of this long-standing Chestertown Tea Party tradition.  (Concert time to be announced in early spring).

In response to British Parliament’s closing of the port of Boston, the citizens of Chestertown, Maryland met in May of 1774 and set forth “Resolves” forbidding importing, selling, or consuming tea in Chestertown. According to local legend, residents then gathered at the town center, marched down High Street to the brigantine Geddes, which was anchored in the Chester River, and tossed her cargo of tea overboard. The annual reenactment of that event is the centerpiece of the Chestertown Tea Party Festival. The re-enactment is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. All Festival events take place along the Chester River and in the historic district of 18th-century Chestertown, Maryland. There is no admission charge to the Festival.

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