Over Labor Day weekend in 1994, several friends from the Sayville-Bayport area organized a day of music, food and fun that proved to be a rousing success. The event was held in the backyard of Bayport resident Bradley Ringhouse and was coined "Bradstock."

Spurred on by the enthusiasm of the participants, the all volunteer organizers planned for "Bradstock II" to be held the following Labor Day. An extra ingredient was added to the successful formula of the first Bradstock - a focus on our environment and a determination to raise funds from the party to be given away to area organizations. The good time had by all was to be complemented with a good cause supported by all. And that is what has happened.  Bradstock III and IV were held on the grounds of Meadowcroft, the former John Roosevelt summer home and current County park in Bayport. The festival  was becoming more successful than anyone would have ever imagined - artists were invited to display their art, various not-for-profit environmental organizations set up booths to inform and educate the attendees and musicians far and wide were contacting Bradstock asking for a chance to play! Best of all, profit from the event (and canned foodstuffs) was growing and being distributed to local good causes - the South Shore Estuary, the Audubon Society, St. Ann's Episcopal Church, Friends of Connetquot River State Park, the L.I. Maritime Museum, the Bayport Historical Society and a fund to help a young girl, Katie Daley, receive a liver transplant. In 1998, due to a philosophical difference over the use of Meadowcroft as the site for Bradstock, the festival's organizers were forced to look elsewhere to hold an event heading into its fifth year.  Reluctantly leaving the South Shore, Bradstock V and VI have been held at Flower fields Fairground, St. James - an ideal spot in every way except its location and the costs associated with the venue that were not a part of earlier years. And though in terms of fun and music 1998 and 1999 out shone the previous festivals, Bradstock V ran in the red and Bradstock VI just barely broke even. Other than the canned foodstuffs brought by the guests and given to the Sayville Food Pantry, the contributions made by Bradstock to the not-for-profits stopped. A change in management at Flower fields necessitated a change in location for Bradstock and a reason for reflection on the part of Bradstock's organizers. Over the past two years, the good time component of the festival was unsurpassed but the good cause component had dwindled. An emphasis on charity and a focus on the environment were called for to realign the festival with its raison d'etre and to justify all the many hours of hard work the organizers and musicians put into making Bradstock happen. As well there was a strong desire to bring the event back to the South Shore.A conversation in May 2000 with the Director of the L.I. Maritime Museum opened our eyes to what has been in our back yard all along - let's have Bradstock VII on the grounds of the museum! The site is ideal, the overhead minimal, and best of all, the money that is raised can be given right back to the Museum - a museum that in large part celebrates the Great South Bay as both an co-system to be conserved and a recreation resource to be enjoyed.

Moreover, the Museum has a track record of hosting numerous events, many far larger than Bradstock, and a Director who has a knowledge of Bradstock and who has indicated a willingness to work with the organizers. Several meetings, phone calls and letters later, the site was secured and here we are today.