Nantucket’s famous sea monster visits our island again this week when the Nantucket Historical Association celebrates its “Summer of Sarg” on Monday, August 5 with a free Community Day from 10 am to 3 pm. The re-creation of Tony Sarg’s 75-foot sea monster balloon will be on display for all to see, enjoy, and pose with for photos at Children’s Beach during this festive event.
“To say we are excited about bringing a re-creation of one of Tony’s Sarg Thanksgiving Day Parade-sized balloons to the island this summer is an understatement. With our featured exhibition about Tony Sarg this season, our staff has been intentionally weaving Tony Sarg’s story-telling into many of our programs and offerings, and Sarg Community Day will be a great example of that for island and visiting families to enjoy. The essence of Tony Sarg is fun, and that is what this program and this recreated moment from the famous 1937 Nantucket sea serpent landing, will be all about,” says Niles Parker, NHA Gosnell Executive Director.
Tony Sarg (1880-1942) is known as the father of modern puppetry in North America and the originator of the iconic Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade balloons. Sarg was an accomplished illustrator, animator, designer, and nimble entrepreneur who summered on and took inspiration from Nantucket for nearly twenty years. In the summer of 1937, Sarg orchestrated a hoax on Nantucket with his sea monster balloon. He planned various spottings around the island, including footprints on the beach and sightings of a creature in the water. A few days later, Sarg displayed his massive sea monster balloon, which he named “Morton,” on Francis Street Beach to wow locals and tourists, and it soon became known as the “event of the summer.”
To recreate this moment in Nantucket history, the NHA worked with Bill Smith of Smith Special Productions and Balloonworks. Smith has been designing parade balloons since 1987 for Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and other parades around the country. Tony Sarg is one of his greatest inspirations, so much so that he contacted the NHA many years ago to express his desire to recreate one of Sarg’s works. When the NHA made plans to host a featured exhibition about Tony Sarg, it was the perfect opportunity to bring Bill’s vision and dream to life for a fun community program.
Morton the Sea Monster arrives at Children’s Beach at 10 am on Monday. Crafts & Activity Stations will be open from 10 am-1 pm, and a NanPuppets Show will delight children of all ages at 10:30 am. Join the Kazoo Parade at 1 pm, and between 1:30 and 3 pm, live music will be played by Susan Berman (starting at 1:30 pm) and by the Shep Cats ( starting at 2:30 pm).
Tony Sarg: Genius at Play, the NHA’s featured exhibition, is be open to the public in the Nantucket Whaling Museum until December 30, 2024, with satellite Sarg exhibits in the Hadwen House Map Gallery and in the Whitney Gallery at the Research Library on Fair Street.
The Nantucket Historical Association preserves, interprets and shares the diverse stories of Nantucket with all audiences through its collections, properties, programs, and research.
