Heather / CC

Sea glass enthusiasts will descend on Saint John in late August for the city’s first sea glass festival.

The festival will take place at Market Square uptown from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 27.

It is meant to celebrate the collection of sea glass and the art created with the naturally weathered pieces of glass.

Karla Rodriguez Moran came up with the idea after attending similar festivals in the region.

“My idea was to have something small like more than 20 vendors,” Rodriguez Moran said in an interview.

But, to her surprise, Rodriguez Moran ended the first call for submissions with 50 vendors.

She immediately began working with the staff at Envision Saint John to begin organizing the event.

“I know that here in Saint John there are a lot of people that collect sea glass and there are a lot of artisans working with the sea glass, but I never knew how many,” she said.

Rodriguez Moran, who hails from El Salvador, never heard of sea glass before moving to Saint John.

While searching for sea shells one day, she was approached by a woman who handed her a piece of sea glass.

“At the moment, I didn’t know what it was,” she recalled. “In my mind, I was like ‘why is she giving me glass?'”

“The ocean is so amazing that we throw garbage there and it gives us these beautiful pieces.”

More than 40 vendors from across the Maritimes will take part in the day-long festival. There will also be food and entertainment on site.

The Saint John Free Public Library will also be offering sea glass take-and-make kits suitable for teens and adults. They will be available from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. or while supplies last.

Rodriguez Moran said it is her hope to make this festival a yearly tradition in Saint John.