Maine Lobster Festival

Maine Lobster Festival

Five days including first weekend in August

Claiming to be the "Original Lobster Festival," the event known as the Maine Lobster Festival has been held in the fishing port of Rockland since 1948. The festival's emphasis is on marine foods and exhibits, with special events such as lobster crate- and trap-hauling races, a Maine cooking contest, the crowning of a Maine Sea Goddess, and a lobster-eating competition. There is also musical entertainment and a big parade, featuring the Sea Goddess, Sea Princesses, and King Neptune and his court.
Although many towns in Maine hold annual lobster festivals, some have gone bankrupt by offering visitors all the lobster they can eat for a ridiculously low price. Although the prices have gone up, the lure of an inexpensive lobster meal remains one of the primary reasons people attend these festivals. At the Rockland festival, the price of the lobster meal is based on the current market price. But the lobster is fresh, and it is steamed in the world's largest lobster cooker.

CONTACTS:
Maine Lobster Festival
P.O. Box 552
Rockland, ME 04841
800-562-2529 or 207-596-0376; fax: 207-354-0128
www.mainelobsterfestival.com

SOURCES:
GdUSFest-1984, p. 78