Your Weekly Guide to Life in Midcoast Maine

Lobster Festival kicks off

ROCKLAND — The 55th annual Maine Lobster Festival will open Wednesday and run through Aug. 4 in Harbor Park. This year’s theme is “A Special Spirit.”

The five-day celebration features fresh boiled lobster dinners, cooked in the world’s largest lobster steamer and lots of other great food, beginning 11 a.m. daily in the large eating tent. The marine tent will offer exhibits and displays, while other tents will offer fine arts and children’s activities, crafts and live music. Carnival rides and games will add to the fun.

Wednesday is Home Town Day, which means free admission. From 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., there will be free shuttle service between Rockland District High School, 400 Broadway, and the festival grounds. Gates will open at noon, when King Neptune and his court, including last year’s Sea Goddess, arrives from the briny deep at the public landing for opening ceremonies.

All vendors and carnival rides will be open for business at noon. From noon to 5 p.m., the festival photography contest will be up for view and there will be People’s Choice voting in the art tent; see the Art section for entry details. Those who wish to make their own photographic mark may take advantage of the photo opportunity with King Neptune at 12:45 p.m.

Highlights of the day will include a 1 p.m. coronation rehearsal on the main stage; jazzy dinner music by the Chris Rogers Combo from 5 to 8 p.m. in the eating tent; and the second annual Side Fest, a gathering of youthful bands, which will be presented in two parts either side of the Sea Goddess Coronation.

From 5 to 8 p.m. in the North Tent, Side Fest will feature performances by Photon Man, Bottom Line, Longest Barrel Ride and Tarantula. At 8 p.m., attention will be directed to the main stage as the Sea Goddess pageant reveals who will reign over the festival this year. At about 8:45 p.m., Side Fest will resume in the North Tent with Overhaul, Skatistics and Jam on the Side. The grounds will close for the night at 10 p.m.

AL JARDIN

Things will really get cooking Thursday, Aug. 1, when the entertainment will include juggling, Maine humor, bluegrass and jazz music and a street dance. The evening concert will be one big beach party, thanks to Al Jardine’s AllStar Beach Band, featuring Beach Boy Jardine; Carnie and Wendy Wilson, two-thirds of the group Wilson Phillips and daughters of Beach Boy Brian Wilson; the Surfaris; and the Rip Chords. Local harmonists Fascinatin’ Rhythm will open at 7:30 p.m.; the crowd will catch the beach music wave beginning around 8:15 p.m. Festival grounds will close at 10:30 p.m.

Festival admission Aug. 1 will be $5 for those older than 12 between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., then $10 after 3 p.m. Admission for ages 6-12 will be $2; there will be no charge for those younger. There is limited seating for the concert’s reserved section available for $25, which includes festival admission; call 596-0376.

DWIGHT YOKOUM

The Aug. 2 schedule includes a children’s costume parade, seafood cooking contest, Coast Guard station tours, strolling entertainers and more. Entertainment will include Celtic and polka groups, Canadian country singer Debbie Myers’ “Tribute to the Ladies of Country Music” and a children’s performer. The evening concert will be one for the country fans, thanks to Dwight Yoakam, a Grammy Award-winning singer as well as film actor. Maine’s Erica Brown and The Bluegrass Connection will open at 7:30 p.m. and Yoakam will take the main stage at 8:30 p.m. The festival will close at 11 p.m.; admission policy is the same as for Aug. 1.

THE MARSHAL TUCKER BAND

A pancake breakfast will provide the fuel for Aug. 3rds many activities. The 10 a.m. big parade down Main Street is one of the state’s biggest parades. Activities will include the comical Blindfolded Rowboat Race. Music will range across all genres, from country to steel band to jazz, ending with American country rockers the Marshall Tucker band at 8:30 p.m.; comedian Mike McDonald will open the evening show at 7:30 p.m. The festival will close at 11 p.m.; admission policy is the same as Aug. 1-2, with the exception of a $20 reserved ticket price.

The festival’s finale on Aug. 4 offers lots of activities for the little ones, including a children’s 1-mile fun run (the adults have a 10-K), diaper derby, lobster eating contest, codfish carry and the Great International William Atwood Lobster Crate Race, open to all ages but usually won by a youngster. Admission will be $5; $2 ages 6-12; free for those younger.

For information about the Maine Lobster Festival, call 596-0376 or visit its Web site: www.mainelobsterfestival.com. All events are subject to change without notice.