Annual Events & Festivals - Annual Events
You might expect Maine to have windjammer races and blueberry fairs. But conferences about the future of technology? And nationally regarded blues festivals? The calendar down east is not only full, it’s full of surprises. Who would ever have guessed that there would be as many concerts of world-class classical music in Brunswick and Blue Hill and Hancock as there are in Portland? Or that famous thinkers and politicians from around the world would gather every year in Camden to discuss solutions to the world’s problems? You never know what you’ll find on the Maine coast if you look. What follows are some of the highlights.
City: Coastal Maine, ME
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Address: Old Orchard Beach
2. Maine Maple Sunday
City: Coastal Maine, ME
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Description: Maine is second only to Vermont when it comes to maple sugar production in the United States, and on the last Sunday of March every year, the state sponsors an open-farm day during the annual harvest. The public is invited to sample the goods and see how the delicious amber delicacy is produced. More than two dozen farms along the coast participate. Sweet.
3. Down East Spring Birding Festival
City: Coastal Maine, ME
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (207) 733-2201
Description: More than 400 species of birds visit Maine annually, and about 75 percent of those have had the good sense to visit the “real Maine,” the Down East coast. The area sits along the Atlantic Flyway, that superhighway for migrating birds, and every May these summercators make their way back to the coast in big flocks. It’s a sight to see, and folks in the Eastport, Calais, and Lubec areas put together quite a welcoming party in their communities.
4. Great Schooner Race
City: Coastal Maine, ME
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Description: People often refer to Penobscot Bay as one of the finest sailing grounds in the world, second only to the Mediterranean for its views and cruising conditions. And if salty panoramas are your thing, there’s no better time to pay this Midcoast bay a visit than during the Great Schooner Race, when as many as 28 old windjammers vie for top honors in the competition that began in 1976. The sight of these pretty three-masters—most more than 100 feet long—straining in the breeze, huge sails taut, crashing through the chop, crews rushing about—harks back to the great age of sail in Maine and won’t soon be forgotten. It’s the largest annual gathering of tall ships in North America.
5. Fourth Of July Celebrations
City: Coastal Maine, ME
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Description: Used to be the Fourth of July was the official beginning of summer and tourist season in Maine. That changed long ago, when people started pushing the shoulder seasons as far as possible, but Mainers still enjoy their Independence Day festivities. From Kittery to Calais, there are celebrations up and down the coast and they are especially big in Portland, Bath, Thomaston, Bar Harbor, and Eastport. Check local listings.
City: Coastal Maine, ME
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
City: Coastal Maine, ME
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
8. Capriccio Ogunquit Performing Arts
City: Coastal Maine, ME
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (207) 646-6170
Description: The tiny beach town of Ogunquit has been a haven of the arts since before the turn of the 20th century, and in the early days of September every year they take to the fore, with a weeklong celebration on the beach and in the village. Events include live theater, ballet, poetry readings, a fashion show, an art show, and musical performances—last year by such names as Kaki King and Tom Rush. The largest spectacle just might be the Festival of Kites at the end of the week. This annual event fills the skies over Ogunquit Beach with color and movement—and sometimes awful tangles.