Spring is in the air and it smells like burning socks.

Every March, Annapolis, Maryland, and other ports, welcome spring with a curious ritual: A bonfire stoked by socks.
  "In the '70s a guy working in a boatyard in Annapolis on a beautiful day when everybody was getting their boats ready for the season, he'd ben wearing the same socks all winter while working on the boat and he took 'em off and burned them to symbolize the  end of sock wearing season," explains Ryan Newland, adult programs manager at Sail Nauticus in Norfolk, Virginia during an interview. "It was all on from there."

"We do Mariner's Olympics with teams of three," Newland adds. "Last year team Rainbow-Unicorn-Sparkle Pony won and they're returning this year. We'll have like an Olympic torch runner who comes in and lights the socks. We race RC boats."

He adds, "We've even got a sock burning chantey and an ode!"

Sock Burnin’ Chantey

(Words and Music by Bob Zentz)

Now we all meet here on the Nauticus docks,
Round the time of the vernal equinox,
And we make a vow to burn the socks,
That we wore all winter long!
Chorus: So, peel off yer socks and dump ‘em in,
    But don’t forget to stand up-wind,
    Cause smelly socks ain’t a sailor’s friend
    When it’s sailin’ time again

Just make a vow on New Year’s Day,
You won’t throw last year’s socks away
‘Til Daylight Savings comes to play
And the clocks just spring ahead!
When Cabin Fever’s got ya down,
When the days are short, at home you’re bound
With the ice and snow, still on the ground
You begin to dream ‘bout the boats

[Chorus]
So, when it comes that time of year
When Spring has sprung and Summer’s near
You can eat some oysters, drink some beer,
Foot loose and fancy free!

[Chorus]
When the water calls you must obey
It’s time your anchor for to weigh
And get out on the Chesapeake Bay
Where you can toe the line [Chorus]
You can celebrate with a song or joke
As you watch your socks go up in smoke
Just stick your trotters in your Dock Siders,
And dance the sailor’s horn pipe! [Chorus]
So we’ll meet next year, on the Nauticus docks,
Round the time of the vernal equinox,
And we’ll make a vow to burn the Socks,
That we wore al winter long!

[Chorus]

Then peel of your socks and dump em in,
    Don’t forget to stand up wind,
    Cause smelly socks ain’t a sailor’s friend
    When it’s sailin’ time again (My friend)
    When it’s sailin’ time again!

Ode to the Sock Burners
By Jefferson Holland, Poet Laureate of Eastport, 1995

Them Tidewater folks got an odd tradition
When the sun swings to its equinoxical position,
They build a little fire down along the docks,
They doff their shoes and they burn their winter socks.

Yes, they burn their socks at the Equinox;
You might think that’s peculiar, but I think it’s not,
See, they’re the same socks they put on last fall,
And they never took ‘em off to wash ‘em, not at all…

So they burn their socks at the equinox
In a little ol’ fire burning nice and hot.
Some think incineration is the only solution,
‘Cause washin’ ‘em contributes to Virginia’s pollution.

Through the spring and the summer and into the fall,
They go around not wearin’ any socks at all,
Just stinky bare feet stuck in old deck shoes,
Whether out on the water or sippin’ a brew.

So if you sail into the harbor on the 20th of March,
And you smell a smell like Limburger sautéed with laundry starch,
You’ll know you’re downwind of the Nauticus docks
Where they’re burning their socks at the equinox.

Event Locations and Details:

March 18th: NOON-4 p.m. Annapolis Maritime Museum’s 7th Annual Oyster Roast

Admission includes unlimited raw and roasted oysters, live music, admission to the Museum’s exhibits and a chance to enter the oyster shucking competition. Barbeque, lobster rolls, beer, wine, Bloody Marys, dark & stormies and more will be available for purchase. A display of waterman’s workboats will be at the Museum’s waterfront campus.

The general admission ticket is $25 per person in advance, $30 at the door, and free for kids 12 and under.

The “People’s Choice” ticket, $75, will feature samples of oyster cuisine from twelve premier Annapolis restaurants; includes 2 beverage vouchers. “People’s Choice” guests vote for the best oyster dish and enjoy all the activities included with general admission ticket.

Because of County Health regulations no dogs are allowed at this event.

People's Choice Restaurants include, Annapolis Smokehouse, Azure at the Westin, Blackwall Hitch, Chart House, Main & Market, Skipper's Pier.

If you'd like to sponsor this event contact MK Richardson, [email protected], or 410-295-0104 x3.

Docking on the piers at the Museum is for Sponsors and Museum Members only.

March 18th: NOON-4 p.m. Sail Nauticus at Nauticus Naval Museum Admission is $5 or bring a new paior of socks to give to the Union Mission. Mariner's Olympics. Food trucks available. Children's Sockless Soiree. Sign-up for Sail Nauticus classes. One Waterside Drive, Norfolk, VA 23510
Phone: 757-823-4242.

March 25th: Hampton Yacht Club Sock Burning on March 25th at 5 p.m.

March 25th: Havre de Grace Yacht Club's Sock Burning Party will be held later on March 25th at 6 p.m.