Hungry for a taste of the real Maine? Feast upon this tasting portion of some of Maine’s best food festivals and events. (Updated April 2, 2024)
March
• Maine Restaurant Week
Restaurants from throughout Maine participate in this annual 10-day event. Take advantage of set-price menus and enjoy special food/drink-oriented events. Note: most participants are in Greater Portland, but each year more and more participate from other parts of the state.
• Maine Maple Sunday
The sweetest day of the year! Maple sugar houses statewide are open for tours, tastings, and other activities.
April
• Smelt Fry Dinner, Columbia Falls
Never tried a smelt? Here’s your opportunity. The menu at this annual community supper might include Pleasant River smelts, Maine Potato Growers potato, salad, moose stew, coleslaw, Maine-grown baked beans & DSF-grown organic blueberry cobbler; hatchery tours, music, and more.
• Seaweed Week, statewide
Celebrate Maine-grown and harvested seafood with food and drink specials and events, such as seaweed field ID workshops, science cafes, and a seaweed art, film, and science expo.
June
• Maine Whoopie Pie Festival, Dover-Foxcroft
Make whoopie! More than 20 bakers from throughout Maine offer their versions of Maine’s official state treat at one of Maine’s best food festivals. Also on tap: concerts, activities, and other whoopie-themed family fun.
• South Berwick Strawberry Festival, South Berwick
Strawberry shortcake! And live music, artisans, children’s activities, and more. Dishing out the sweetest berries since 1976.
• Ploye Festival, Fort Kent
Celebrating the traditional buckwheat pancake with the world’s-largest ploye and ploye-eating and ploye-wrestling competitions.
• Portland Wine Week, Portland
This full week of events highlights Portland’s independent restaurants, chefs, and sommeliers through collaborations with Maine-based farmers, fishermen, cheese mongers, and specialty purveyors, along with wine distributors.
• Maine Oyster Festival, Freeport
Go ahead and slurp! Your world is an oyster — tastings, tours, demos, and much much more.
• Maine Donut Festival, Rockport
New in 2023 and back for 2024: According to the organizers: “Rockport is widely celebrated as the home to the creator of the donut, Captain Hanson Crockett Gregory – commemorated on a plaque in Rockport and acknowledged by the Smithsonian. Given this, it is a great reason to bring the community together to celebrate – on a weekend that also happens to coincide with National Donut Day – the first weekend of June each year!”
July
• Moxie Festival, Lisbon
Patented as a medicine by Dr. Augustine Thompson in 1876, Moxie was guaranteed to cure such ills as paralysis, softening of the brain, and loss of manhood.” Maybe not, but it’s always worth celebrating this unusual soft drink. Always the second weekend in July.
• Yarmouth Clam Festival, Yarmouth
Awe shucks, always the third Friday in July, always crowded, always worth it.
• Maine Potato Blossom Festival, Fort Fairfield
Celebrating the Maine spud since 1937 with farmer Olympics, road races, arts & crafts, fireworks, river races, mashed potato wrestling, and more.
• The Kneading Conference & Artisan Bread Fair, Skowhegan
You knead to attend this: Promotes grain traditions from earth to the hearth. A must for bread bakers and/or lovers.
August
• Maine Lobster Festival, Rockland
The Jaws of claws when it comes to Maine’s lobster festivals. Five days of food and fun, including arts and crafts, entertainment, steins and vines, a seafood cooking contest, an international crate race, a huge parade, races, competitions, children’s events, and more.
• Frenchboro Lobster Dinner
Annual shindig with music, silent auction, the All the Road We Got footrace, and a lobster+ dinner. The ferry makes a special run from Bass Harbor on Mount Desert Island to the island for this event.
• Winter Harbor Lobster Festival, Winter Harbor
Lobster, of course, but also a craft fair, parade, and lobster boat races.
• Red Hot Dog Festival, Dexter
It’s a Maine thing. And yes, there’s a hot dog-eating competition.
• Machias Wild Blueberry Festival, Machias
Feeling blue? This will cure ya. Wild times in Machias with blueberry everything. Themed events include a musical, baking and eating contests, food vendors, and public breakfasts and suppers. Note: Other blueberry festivals are held in Wilton and Union.
• Chili-Fest, Wells
Hot enough for ya? Category winners at this International Chili Society-sanctioned event may qualify for the World Chili Championship Cook-Offs.
September
• Maine Salmon and Seafood Festival, Eastport
Celebrating the salmon; always Labor Day weekend
• Maine Cheese Festival
Cheese it’s good to see you at this all-cheese, all-the-time annual winding.
• Common Ground Fair, Unity
Annual agricultural fair sponsored by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. Organic foods, progressive organizations, traditional fair fun without the carnival, sideshows, or usual fried fare. Always the third weekend in September.
• Maine Lobster Week
This week-long celebration held during the week of National Lobster Day (Sept. 25) highlights Maine’s favorite crustacean with lobster-focused specialties and menus at participating lobster shacks, food trucks, and restaurants, from fish shacks to fine-dining venues.
• Maine Lakes Brew Fest, Point Sebago
A real brewhaha. Always the last Saturday in September.
October
• Maine’s Garlicfest, Skowhegan
Come for the music, crafts, and kids’ activities at this annual harvest festival highlighting the stinking rose.
• Harvest on the Harbor, Portland
Maine’s biggest foodie event, with workshops, tastings, celebrity chefs, cook-offs, and more.
November
• Maine Harvest Festival, Bangor
Celebrating farm-fresh fare, of course.
