Gatsby on the Isles

A Jazz Age Jaunt to Star Island on the New Hampshire Seacoast

Gatsby on the Isles is no more.

After ten years, we’ve had no choice but to cancel our annual tradition due to an unforeseen island schedule change. Our Jazz Age excursion in ’21 was our last to Star Island, fitting perhaps as we enter the twenties again. We’ve made many splendid memories over the years on the N.H. seacoast and thank everyone who has made this humdinger of an event possible.

CANCELED IN 2022.

Come aboard for Gatsby on the Isles, a 1920s bash on the high seas, featuring live music by the Wolverine Jazz Band, lawn games, and a picnic on the Isles of Shoals, six miles off of the New Hampshire seacoast. Join us for the day or spend the night on the island for an evening of dancing at the historic hotel. It’s a summer jaunt guaranteed to be the bee’s knees.

Read on to learn about our vintage weekend and beautiful Star Island.

PROOF OF VACCINATION REQUIRED.

It’s Star Island policy. All guests must have received the Covid-19 vaccine in order to attend. Guests will be required to present physical or photographic proof verifying vaccination status in Portsmouth prior to boarding. It’s so we can dance together like it’s 1921!

Gatsby on the Isles is an outdoor event where masks are optional. However, masks are required indoors on Star Island at this time.

DAY TRIP TICKETS.

CANCELED in 2022. Visit the island for a seaside Jazz Age excursion. Steamship fare, island visit, musical entertainment, lawn games, and light refreshments are included in ticket price. Guests are encouraged to bring a picnic lunch, though sandwiches may be available for purchase on the island. All ages are welcome. Visit starisland.org to learn more about our timeless New England destination.

Day Trip Ticket Rates

Passenger — $58
Child (5 to 12 years old) — $34
Infants (ages 4 and younger) — Free, but require tickets for the passenger list.

OVERNIGHT JAZZ AGE WEEKEND.

CANCELED IN 2022. Rates include roundtrip steamship fare, meals, evening entertainments including our Hot Jazz Soiree with the Wolverine Jazz Band, general shenanigans, and enjoyment of the large (and curiously heavy) wooden crates of Whitman’s Chocolate Samplers.

Saturday Night Rates

$280 shared room (per person)
$350 single room (one person)

Rates include accommodations, meals, and steamship fare.

Welcome to the Oceanic.

Guests will be pleased to know accommodations at the Oceanic Hotel boast the latest amenities…for the 1870s (and we like it that way). Learn more about our charming time-warp hotel and island life here.

Also! The Star Island Corporation is a nonprofit and offers financial grants if attending a conference like Gatsby on the Isles seems out of reach. Feel free to get in touch with Star Island to learn more!

NOTICE TO TICKET HOLDERS

Your participation in Gatsby on the Isles signifies your agreement to the terms and conditions and your acceptance of the risks enumerated in the event waiver.

PLEASE REVIEW THE WAIVER BY CLICKING HERE.

If you do not agree to the terms therein you may not participate in Gatsby on the Isles.

Hot Jazz: None Better than The Wolverines.

Music by the Wolverine Jazz Band, a copacetic seven-piece gang led by Mr. John Clark on clarinet. Click here to hear them perform. No bushwa, these fellows are the berries. Hire them.

What to Wear.

Sheiks and shebas, get up in your glad rags like it’s 1921. Ladies: Doll up in your favorite summer flapper dress and cloche hat. Gents: Wear your best seersucker or linen, a sharp tie and your snappiest straw hat. If you like, bring a change of formal evening clothes for the hot jazz soiree that evening. Or, dance in your bathing suit. That’s OK, too.

If you don’t already have a closet-full, check out your local vintage shops for the Real McCoy. If you’re on a tight budget, remember that the best vintage often comes from the thrift store (don’t tell anybody, but that’s where we’ve sourced over the years).

Here’s at least one guide (though there are many online) which may prove useful to both ladies and gents. It’s tough to find 100-year-old clothing, so mix it up with later revivals and whatever you can get together.

It’s a fun and casual weekend — just in another time — so dress your vintage best, but don’t let a lack of picture-perfect duds prevent you from joining us!

What to Bring.

Bring your picnic lunch Saturday afternoon and your favorite vintage accoutrements. Dust off your vintage picnic, croquet, and bocce sets, antique beach chairs and umbrellas, and musical instruments (for those wishing to jazz up the weekend). Each year, we also have our vintage bathing party on the Gosport Harbor beach – kudos if you bring your period wool or reproduction swim suit.

Also: Please note that the Thomas Laighton has limited space, so large items may not be possible to bring aboard.

Candlestick Telephones & Kodaks Only, Please.

One of the most amazing things about choosing to step back in time is that you may find yourself more in the present. We encourage you to adopt a vintage technological mindset during Gatsby on the Isles and we ask that you not use your smartphones to text, check social media, or take photographs during the event.

Film cameras, especially vintage cameras, are welcome, but please leave digital selfies and Facebook profile pics in the past on the mainland. We will have a roaming photographer on the island if you would like to request photographs free of charge, which will be available on social media and on the website after the event. Of course, if you need to use your cell phone, you are welcome to do so, but we ask that out of respect for other guests you use it out of sight in your room or elsewhere in the hotel.

That said, we dare you to turn off your smartphone for a few hours, or, if you’re especially brave, a whole weekend! You might find the getaway more enjoyable and memorable without it. On Star Island, your status update is here and now, sharing this remote and beautiful place with good friends in the salt air living in the timeless, ephemeral moment.

Gatsby Weekend Itinerary.

Overnight Gatsby Weekend guests registered at the Oceanic Hotel are encouraged to arrive at the Isles of Shoals Steamship Company dock (315 Market Street, Portsmouth, NH) on Saturday at 1:30 pm to park and load luggage. The S.S. Thomas Laighton departs Portsmouth Harbor at 2:25. We arrive in Gosport Harbor at Star Island at 3:30. Enjoy a leisurely afternoon exploring the island and historic buildings, followed by dinner, games, and then our famous hot jazz soiree in the Oceanic Dance Hall. Sunday morning, you’re invited to play pajama croquet before breakfast. At 10:30, we’ll welcome Gatsby Day Trip guests for the lawn party and picnic.

For Gatsby Day Trip guests, we strongly recommend arriving early to check-in with your proof of vaccination. Boarding at the Isles of Shoals Steamship Company dock begins at 8:45 am. The S.S. Thomas Laighton departs at 9:25 for Star Island. Passengers arrive at 10:30 in Gosport Harbor, welcomed by the Wolverine Jazz Band and Gatsby Weekend guests (that is if they’ve recovered from the Saturday night soiree at the Oceanic Hotel). The afternoon unfolds with a lawn party and picnic, with music, refreshments, dancing on the porch, lawn games, and a swimming party in Gosport Harbor (bring your old school bathing costumes). At 3:00 pm, boarding begins for our departure from Star Island. The ship sets sail at 3:20 and docks in Portsmouth Harbor at 4:45.

Gatsby Weekend Schedule.

Questions?

Are the overnight event ticket prices out of reach? We’d still love for you to join! Visit the Star Island website to find out how.

Regarding steamship passage, departure and arrival times, parking, etc., please contact the Isles of Shoals Steamship Co. at (800) 441-4620.

All questions and requests regarding hotel accommodations (including dietary restrictions) should be directed to Star Island to Mike Bray, or telephoning the Portsmouth office at (603) 430-6272.

Chance & Patina, LLC organizes Gatsby on the Isles.

Follow the Gatsby on the Isles Facebook page for updates.