This story was originally published in July 2023.
Bangor Daily News readers were fascinated by a story we ran in May 2023 about the “parade of horribles,” an old New England tradition that up until the mid-20th century was commonplace in Maine, though it has since mostly disappeared.
Horribles were a chance for townsfolk to have a little fun and blow off some steam by wearing crazy costumes and making fun of each other while parading down the main drag in their wildest finery, often on the Fourth of July.
In Maine today, only the towns of Boothbay and Castine carry on with the parade of horribles traditions. But over the years, other parades and celebrations that share DNA with it have sprung up — and some of them still continue.
Whatever River Race
The Whatever Family Festival in Augusta started in the mid-1970s as a way to celebrate the fact that the Kennebec River — once a polluted, foamy mess — had been cleaned up, by order of the Environmental Protection Agency. It was held just before the Fourth of July, and over the years grew to encompass multiple days.
The focal point of the festival was the Whatever River Race, in which folks would race down the Kennebec between Augusta and Gardiner in homemade boats that could be any size or shape, as long as it didn’t have a motor. In the free-and-easy 1970s, people went all out, turning old oil barrels into boats, dressing up as Ed Muskie or making an old-timey riverboat float, or roping together multiple canoes and going down as a whole family.
It was a wild and crazy affair that reached its peak in popularity in the 1980s. But by the 1990s, cooler heads prevailed, and concerns that the alcohol-soaked nature of the race was needlessly dangerous — rushing river currents, makeshift boats and lots of beer is not the best combination. After more than 20 years, the Whatever River Race was canceled in 1997. In 2019, the festival itself ended.
West Athens Fourth of July parade
This parade in the Somerset County town of West Athens was a legendary part of Maine’s countercultural fabric for nearly four decades, drawing hippies, weirdos, anarchists, activists, artists, bikers and cannabis enthusiasts to the tiny town for a celebration of the beauty of being different.
People would bring out their wildest outfits and most ambitious artistic creations to march down the street, with giant puppets, stilt walkers, noisemakers, teams with themed costumes and modified vehicles taking over Athens, which has a population of approximately 1,000 people, for the Fourth of July. The parade would end with a party at a gravel pit featuring a performance from the In Spite of Life Players, an impromptu theater group.
Sadly, the good times began to be not-so-good times, as alcohol and drug use became a bigger focus of the event instead of creativity and fun. The 2011 parade was such a mess that it devolved into violence, with a group melee breaking out that resulted in the police being called. In 2012, organizers announced the parade was no more.
Callithumpian parade in Eastport
Perhaps the only one on this list that is a direct descendent of the parade of horrible tradition, this Fourth of July parade throughout downtown Eastport has been delighting spectators for more than a century. In the early 20th century, it was a proper horrible parade, with townsfolk dressing up in costumes that made fun of well-known local, state and even national figures.
Callithumpian as a word dates back to the early 19th century, referring to a loud, noisy gathering. As the years have gone by, however, Eastport’s parade has become less rowdy and more like a traditional Fourth of July parade, and in more recent years, it has been replaced with both a nighttime parade on the third of July, and a daytime parade on the fourth.
Eastport’s tradition of wild and wacky celebrations continues on in its annual pirate festival, held the weekend after Labor Day — a fun, but still family-friendly, end of summer affair for scallywags of all ages.
Tintamarre
Though its origins are relatively recent, according to historians, the Tintamarre parade in the Acadian regions of Maine and Atlantic Canada shares a similar sort of attitude to the parade of horribles: make a lot of noise and blow off some steam with your neighbors. The Tintamarre and parade of horribles are unrelated traditions, but they share a similar spirit.
The Tintamarre — traditionally held on Acadian Day, August 15 — takes place in French-speaking Acadian towns across Maine, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. In Maine specifically, the parade is held across the Maine-New Brunswick border between Edmundston and Madawaska. Local residents bang on anything they can get their hands on — pots and pans, metal lids and drums. Giant head puppets, or grosse tetes, are paraded through the street. It’s a loud, boisterous celebration.
