Get ready to celebrate the dog days of summer.
Maine’s Lobster Festival is coming up, starting on Wednesday, July 30 and will wrap up on Sunday, Aug. 2. The famed festival in Rockland will feature a seafood cookoff, the “International Great Crate Race,” and a grand parade on Saturday, Aug. 1.
Parking is free at South Elementary School, located at 30 Broadway. A free shuttle bus is available to take you downtown where the majority of festival events take place. Entrance gates are located on Main and Park streets.
Starting at noon on July 30, King Neptune and his “court” will raise a flag to mark the official beginning of the festival. The food tents will be open from noon to 8 p.m.
Music and various entertainment events will take place throughout the day during the duration of the festival.
At 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday the Maine Lobster Festival Delegate will be crowned, along with naming a runner up and Most Congenial. The winners receive a cash prize, and represent Maine’s lobster industry at events throughout the year.
On July 31, two pancake breakfasts will take place; one starting at 7 a.m. and one starting at 8 a.m. Both take place at the food tent. The breakfast starting at 8 a.m. is a collaboration between the Lobster Festival and Maine’s Wild Blueberry Weekend, and will feature an attempt to build the tallest ever stack of blueberry pancakes.
Saturday brings the lobster festival’s parade, which starts at 10 a.m. Saturday. This year’s theme is “The Dog Days of Summer.” The parade starts at the intersection of North Main & Broadway, goes down North Main, up Main in the wrong direction and ends at Pleasant Street.
Saturday is typically the busiest day of the fest, as people clamor to see the parade. This year, the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile will be joining the procession.
To get the full schedule of events, or register yourself to participate in the parade, visit mainelobsterfestival.com.
