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CONFERENCE DETAILS
IBC ARCHIVES
Gary's Bottles Stopper Collection
photo by S. D. Ritterbush
Conference Overview
There’s a Big, Beautiful World out There
Just Waiting for YOU!
So COME OUTSIDE and PLAY!
Join Dr. Beachcomb for another amazing beachcomb experience at the 12th annual International Beachcombing Conference. This year, we return to Canada’s Maritimes for more beachcomb adventures in New Brunswick’s historic, geographically intriguing Passamaquoddy Bay region. The Bay, an inlet off the Bay of Fundy, is one of scattered islands, calm waterways, and dense forests, which harbor over 100 species of birds and a wide array of marine life including seals, dolphins, sharks, whales, fish, and lobster. It also boasts some of the most extreme tidal shifts in the world, with tides changing up to 29 feet every six hours! Boats float on the water one hour then lay stranded on the shore the next.
It also has a very long settlement history - beginning with the Passamaquoddy Indians, then Vikings, European settlers, French militia, 19th c fishermen/rum runners, and 20th c railroad magnates and socialites – which assures the possibility of finding a wide range of beach treasures, running the gamut from colonial clay pipes stems and pottery shards to intact bottles, sea glass (including sun purples and black “rum runner” glass), buttons, intact bottles, marbles, coins and more.
Ground zero will be the charming town, St. Andrews by-the-Sea, which is 20 miles southeast of the border between Calais, Maine and St. Stephens, Canada. The town is situated on a peninsula bordered by the St. Croix River and Passamaquoddy Bay, and sits directly across the water from uninhabited Navy Island and beyond, Robbinston, Maine.
IBC ‘23
IBC ‘ 23 begins with an evening reception, welcome address and tutorials to orient you to the region, and ends 5 days later with a ‘farewell’ brunch. In between, you will visit aquariums and coastal towns, boat to uninhabited islands, meet local beachcombers and view their collections, lunch on lobster rolls, and beachcomb, beachcomb, beachcomb.
You can also enjoy our famous beach treasure swap table, receive a welcome ‘goody bag,’ and enjoy a casual arts project if your creative mood beckons. But mostly, IBC ’23 will be beachcombing-intensive.
So, get your covid shots and your passports ready, and join us for some late spring “quoddy combing” and days of exploration, comradery, and beachcomb fun the week of May 29th on the shores of St. Croix River and Passamaquoddy Bay in Canada!
Conference fees include:
- 5 nights lodging (unless you stay off-site)
- family-style meals
- lectures; museum and aquarium visits, and boat trips
- self-directed arts project
- beachcomb-related DVDs
- field trips to an historic Maine coastal town, a New
- unlimited access to the beach treasure swap table
So what are you waiting for? Treat yourself to an unforgettable experience at IBC '23. For beachcombers, it doesn't get much better than this, but space is limited so book early.
LET’S GO BEACHCOMBING!
Deacon Ritterbush, Ph.D. (aka Dr. Beachcomb)
Founder & Coordinator
