Parents will find plenty for their youngsters to do while everyone enjoys the Lake Ontario Waterfront Festival Saturday, May 20. The festival is free of charge and takes place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the H. Lee White Maritime Museum at the end of West First Street Pier in Oswego.

Rochester’s Happy Pirates return to enchant young people with songs, stories and comedy about pirate life on the high seas. Kids can enjoy art activities such as sidewalk chalking and colorful printing, then checking out a bookmobile full of great stories. The demonstration of a remote underwater vehicle, the kind of unit used to help search the bottoms of lakes and rivers for sunken ships, is another highlight.

Children can imagine themselves as a member of a seafaring crew as they take on-deck and pier-side tours of ships including the LT-5, which took part in the World War II invasion of Normandy, the Eleanor D, which was the last working commercial fishing boat on Lake Ontario, the retired Derrick Boat 8 and the under-construction replica schooner Ontario.

The Oswego Fire Department will stage an exciting demonstration of the rescue of a person from the waters of Oswego Harbor during the festival as well.

“The love of being on the water starts young so we’ve packed lots of great activities into our festival for young people to enjoy. This is a great, free, family-friendly event that will remind everyone how wonderful it is to live along the Lake Ontario shoreline,” said H. Lee White Maritime Museum Executive Director Mercedes Niess.

The festival also features reduced-price tours of Oswego’s iconic lighthouse (weather permitting), the unveiling of a new exhibit in the museum’s art gallery, new boats for sale on display from two area marinas and more.

The H. Lee White Maritime Museum will be open during the event for free visitation. It is located in Oswego’s Historic Maritime District at the end of the West First Street Pier. Regular admission is $12 for adults and $6 for teens and free for children ages 12 and under. The museum is open from 1 to 5 p.m. daily, with expanded hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. during July and August.

For more information, visit www.hlwmm.org or facebook.com/hlwmm for upcoming events or call 315-342-0480.