There are literally hundreds of events that happen in our region over the next two months, and it will be hard, even for the most community-minded people, to hit all of them. The best we can do is plan for the ones we can’t miss and take the rest as they come. Here are five big ones to keep an eye on just between now and early August:
50th Bath Heritage Days begins July 4
No list of summer activities is complete without our region’s biggest Independence Day celebration as Main Street Bath is bringing us the 50th Bath Heritage Days. This is a full community event that takes many hands to do the work, but all of it is coordinated through the efforts of Main Street Bath Executive Director Amanda McDaniel and the team at Main Street Bath.
Every year, the event schedule needs to adjust to whichever day of the week July 4 lands on. With July 4 being a Thursday, the event opens with several signature events at the opening of the festival rather than closing it, including the legendary Independence Day parade, the road races and the fireworks. That doesn’t mean the fun stops after the first day, though, as four full days and nights of activities are planned, including the fireman’s muster, crafters, dozens of music acts and so much more.
Go to visitbath.com for the full list of activities.
Six nights of free live music
After July 4, our region has the unique distinction of having six nights per week of live music for free! No other area of the state can claim this, and it makes us truly unique. Here are the dates, listed by day of the week rather than by town, as it’s just easier:
• Tuesdays: Summer Concert Series, Library Park (City Park), Bath, 6:30 p.m.
• Wednesdays: Music on the Mall, Brunswick Mall (downtown), Brunswick, 6 p.m.
• Thursdays: Bandstand by the Sea, George Mitchell Field, Harpswell, 6 p.m.; and Alive on the Common, Wiscasset Town Common, Wiscasset, 6 p.m.
• Fridays: Summer Concert Series, Library Park (City Park), Bath, 6:30 p.m.
• Saturdays: Summer Concert Series, Waterfront Park, Bath, 5 p.m.
• Sundays: Sunday Summer Concert Series, Mailly Park, Bowdoinham, 6 p.m.
Thanks to the various groups that schedule these events, including Main Street Bath, Brunswick Downtown Association, Town of Harpswell, Wiscasset Parks and Recreation, Wiscasset Area Chamber of Commerce, the Chocolate Church Arts Center, Town of Bowdoinham and the business sponsors who support these concerts as well.
57th Yarmouth Clam Festival begins July 19
Our Bath-Brunswick Regional Chamber has a sponsorship agreement with the Yarmouth Chamber of Commerce, so I spend 16 hours per week helping down there. The Yarmouth chamber is the organizer of the gigantic Yarmouth Clam Festival, and I’m helping the festival director with this year’s event.
Here’s some facts about the festival that I didn’t know until this year:
• Over 80,000 attendees descend on Yarmouth every year.
• The parade on July 19 is one of the biggest in the state (and you can be a part of it if you want) — people put their chairs out weeks and sometimes months in advance.
• There are four stages of entertainment, a carnival and a shucking contest.
• There is a diaper derby, running race, touch-a-truck and antique car rumble.
• It is the lone fundraiser for nearly every nonprofit in Yarmouth, so they don’t need to fundraise other times of the year.
• They need volunteers!
I’m sure it’s no surprise that an event this large needs volunteers, but they do. The roles are varied, but it’s a great way to meet people, and volunteer teams from the same business are encouraged to wear their company gear when volunteering.
If you have questions on the parade, volunteering or anything else, contact me at my Yarmouth email address: cory@yarmouthmaine.org.
Claws n’ Country Music Festival, July 21
Cook’s Lobster & Ale House is loved by so many for the great food they serve but also for how they give back to the community. Their home heating assistance fundraiser in December has now covered all home heating requests in Harpswell for the past two winters, and that is just one event they do. For years they have been an integral part of fundraising for the Brunswick Naval Aviation Museum, and Claws n’ Country Music Festival is the next big step in that fundraising.
On July 21, six country music acts will perform back-to-back-to-back (you get it) as Cook’s has partnered with 101.9 WPOR to host the concert at the Brunswick Naval Aviation Museum from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The event will include 10 food trucks, a lobster bake, Maine brews and so much more, with proceeds going to the museum.
For tickets or more information, you can either visit eventbrite.com and search for the event, find Claws n’ Country on Facebook or visit the WPOR website.
Great State of Maine Air Show, Aug. 3-4
The air show is back at the Brunswick Executive Airport for the first weekend in August, which will bring thousands of people to Brunswick Landing. The best way to get tickets and information is to either find the Great State of Maine Air Show on Facebook or go to its website directly at greatstateofmaineairshow.us.
Brunswick Landing block party, Aug. 2
Along with the air show, Wild Oats Bakery, Flight Deck Brewing, Spark Cycling Studio, the Brunswick Landing Y and a dozen or so other businesses and entities are looking forward to bringing back the annual block party for its third year on Aug. 2, which will double as a Meet the Pilots event. The block party has drawn thousands of people annually to the Wild Oats and Flight Deck part of Brunswick Landing, and they expect to again this year.
I will have more info on the block party and air show as they get closer, but for now mark, the dates of Aug. 2-4 in your calendar as “fun on Brunswick Landing.”
Cory King is executive director of the Bath-Brunswick Regional Chamber of Commerce.
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