**NIGHT LIGHTS.** The annual Harbor Illumination is set for Saturday and lights up the shoreline from James Avenue in Hull Village to A Street. [Photo courtesy of the Hull Lifesaving Museum]

By Carol Britton Meyer

The harbor will be lit with more than 1,000 flares on July 20 as part of the Hull Lifesaving Museum’s 15th eye-dazzling Harbor Illumination event to celebrate the town’s maritime heritage.

In carrying out this time-honored tradition. often referred to as “magical” by spectators, residents and visitors gather along the bayside shoreline to view the flares in a spirit of camaraderie, engaging the entire town and many non-residents as well.

Hull Lifesaving Museum Director of Development Maureen Gillis said this year’s theme is “honoring, celebrating, and remembering the lifesavers from the past and our loved ones from today.”

The illumination will extend from the A Street Pier to James Landing in Hull Village, with a day of special activities planned:

⦁ 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.: The Point Allerton Coast Guard is partnering with the lifesaving museum for the Harbor Illumination by hosting an open house at the Point Allerton Coast Guard Station. This is an opportunity to meet local Coast Guard members, tour the station and boats, learn how to tie knots, play a game of cornhole with the “Coasties,” and for the whole family to enjoy a fun-filled day.

⦁ 5 p.m.: Coast Guard City Commemoration, Hull Village Cemetery

⦁ 6 to 8 p.m.: Open house, Hull Lifesaving Museum

⦁ 7:30 p.m.: Forever Flare Ceremony, A Street Pier. This year’s ceremony “will shine brightly as we honor our brave lifesavers and pay tribute to two remarkable individuals who were very special to the Hull Lifesaving Museum family – Tracy Hyde and Neilie Ann Heffernan Casey,” Gillis told The Hull Times. “With the support of participants from the Cardinal Cushing Centers and friends of the museum, we will lovingly recite the names of all our Forever Flare honorees, ensuring their memory and contributions are celebrated.” Forever Flares are lit in a special location during the current Harbor Illumination.

⦁ 8:30 p.m.: Harbor Illumination begins.

The flares are set up by volunteer “captains” along the shore. Those who sponsored the flares have the opportunity to light them or to ask the captains to light the flares for them. To sponsor flares to honor, remember, or celebrate an individual or a meaningful cause, visit the museum’s website at www.hulllifesavingmuseum.org. Individual flares are $10 each; Forever Flares are $300 each.

“We invite the Hull community [and beyond] to come together with us to reflect on the courage and dedication of our lifesavers, celebrate the lives of our honorees, and remember the loved ones who have touched our hearts,” Gillis said. “This ceremony is not just a commemoration, but also a celebration of the spirit of our community and the enduring legacy of those who have served it.”

In Hull, lighting the harbor with candles and torches began as an end-of-summer celebration, with the first illumination organized by the yacht club in 1881. It continued until the early 1900s when it was discontinued, but in recent years has once again become an annual event sponsored by the museum.

This year’s Harbor Illumination sponsors include Keohane Funeral and Cremation, Procopio Companies, Save the Harbor/Save the Bay, Local 02045, Clean Harbors, Safe Harbor Sunset Bay, Nantasket Beach Salt Water Club, Nantasket Chamber of Commerce, O’Donoghue Insurance, Rockland Trust, Cohasset Collision, and Woodard and Curran.

“None of this would be possible without these generous sponsors,” Gillis said. “All proceeds go to keep HLM’s year-round programs affordable and in some cases, remove the financial barrier altogether.”

The HLM mission celebrates the lifesaving spirit of skills, courage, and caring and the relevance of that history to Hull residents’ daily lives. Those driving principles of the 19th-century coastal lifesavers are the foundations of the museum’s commitment to impact individual lives for the better.

For further information about the Harbor Illumination and other HLM summer activities, visit www.hulllifesavingmuseum.org or call (781) 925-5433.