From a celebration of clams to explorations of culture and music, there are festivals this summer across Maine to fill your calendar.
The Beartracks, a band from New York, performing in Litchfield during the Blistered Fingers Family Bluegrass Festival in 2024. (Joe Phelan/Staff Photographer)
June 18-21 and Aug. 27-30. Litchfield Fairgrounds, Litchfield, $124.23 four-day June pass, $108.75 four-day August pass, single day tickets available starting at $10. blisteredfingers.com.
Twice every summer for more than 60 years, music fans have gathered for the Blistered Fingers Family Bluegrass Festival in Litchfield. The event, which also offers camping, has a wide range of bluegrass acts. A sample of the June lineup includes The Gibson Brothers, Southern Grass, Nothin’ Fancy and Katahdin Valley Boys. August features Ironwood Drive, Back Woods Road, Beartracks and Larry Efaw & The Bluegrass Mountaineers.
A parade through downtown Biddeford kicks off the annual La Kermesse Franco-Americaine Festival. (Derek Davis/Staff Photographer)
June 18-21. St. Louis Field, Biddeford. lakermessefestival.com.
The 43rd annual La Kermesse Franco-Americaine Festival is a four-day celebration of Biddeford’s rich Franco-American and French-Canadian heritage. The schedule features a wide range of live music and entertainment, traditional food, parade, fireworks, cultural exhibits, craft vendors, kids activities and more.
The schooners Eastwind, Spirit of Massachusetts and Harvey Gamage, right to left, sail around Boothbay Harbor as part of Windjammer Days. (Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer)
June 21-27. Boothbay Harbor. boothbayharborwindjammerdays.org.
This year marks the 64th anniversary of Windjammer Days, and this year’s theme honors current and retired members of the U.S. Navy. Events include the Decorated Boat Parade, Pirates of the Dark Rose, Gathering of the Fleet, Cod Fish Races, street parade, fireworks, Artist’s Alley marketplace and Vintage Boat Parade & Pier Party. You can also splurge and treat yourself to a ride on one of the windjammers (advance registration required).
June 25-27. Greek Orthodox Church, 133 Pleasant St., Portland. htrinityportland.org/greek-festival.
The Greek Festival in Portland always draws a huge crowd, especially because it’s a short jaunt from the heart of downtown and its heavenly aromas have a magnetic pull. You’ll savor the flavor of classic Greek dishes including lamb souvlaki, dolmades and spanakopita. Sweet lovers can indulge in pastries like baklava, koulourakia, finikia and kourabiedes. If you have no idea what these are, this is the place to find out.
A customer takes in the menu of Greek classics at Holy Trinity’s annual Greek Festival in Portland in 2025. (Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer)
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June 26-28. Freeport and surrounding areas. visitfreeport.com/themaineoysterfestival.
The Maine Oyster Festival is a three-day celebration of Maine’s beloved bivalve. Friday features oyster farm tours in South Freeport, Yarmouth and Phippsburg, plus a Meet the Farmer party at Freeport Oyster Bar. Saturday includes oyster tastings, shucking lessons, live music, tours, a screening of “Tending the Tides” at L.L. Bean’s Discovery Park and the Oyster of the Year announcement. Sunday wraps things up with tours, food trucks, kids’ activities, live music and the Big Shuck professional shucking contest.
June 27. Central School, 197 Main St., South Berwick. southberwickstrawberryfestival.org.
The Strawberry Festival draws thousands of visitors every summer, and with good reason. The schedule features a craft fair with more than 100 New England artisans and entertainment from South Side Blues and Wes the Magician among others acts. There are also games and amusement rides, and kids can hop on a trackless train and arctic slide. Best of all, there will be a whole lot of strawberry shortcake to enjoy.
July 11-12. Public Landing, Rockland. northatlanticbluesfest.com.
If you’re a fan of blues music, the North Atlantic Blues Festival is a hallmark event of the summer. This year’s lineup includes Memphis Lightning, Tasha Taylor, Eliza Neals, Rodd Bland and Roomful of Blues, among several others. There’s are also Friday and Saturday night Club Crawl performances happening at several spots along and near Main Street along with daily sunset cruises.
July 10-12. St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church, 186 Bradley St., Saco. stdemetriosofmaine.com/festival.
This year is the 31st anniversary of St. Demetrios Greek Festival. For three days, you can enjoy all sorts of homemade Greek food and pastries, including baklava, gyros, ravani, souvlaki, spanakopita and much more. The festival also includes church tours, a traditional Greek market, Greek music and dancing, and kids’ activities.
Frank’s Restaurant & Pub owner Camden Poisson pours a tall glass of Moxie during the 2025 Moxie Festival in Lisbon. (Libby Kamrowski/Staff Photographer)
July 10-12. Lisbon High School, 2 Sugg Drive, Lisbon. moxiefestival.com.
The annual Moxie Festival offers up a good time for everyone, even if you don’t love the actual soda. Events and activities include the Moxie Day parade, car show, 5K race, fireworks and a battle of the bands competition. There’s also a whoopie pie eating and Moxie chugging contest. This year’s theme is “Moments in History with Moxie.”
July 17-19. Downtown Yarmouth. clamfestival.com.
The 61st Yarmouth Clam Festival promises to be a shell of a good time. The schedule features the legendary parade on Friday along with the shucking contest, carnival rides, live music, fine art + craft show, 5-mile road race and clams as far as the eye can see. Be sure to grab a selfie with Steamer and hit the pancake breakfast on Saturday and Sunday.
Steamer, Yarmouth Clam Festival’s mascot, offers high-fives to children sitting on West Elm Street during the annual parade Friday. (Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer)
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July 23-26. Ossipee Valley Fairgrounds, Hiram, $45-$230 (multiday passes available), free for under 18. ossipeevalley.com.
If you’re a fan of roots, folk and bluegrass tunes, the annual Ossipee Valley Music Festival offers up four days of performances, workshops, dances, yoga classes, food trucks, craft beer and more. You can immerse even more by camping there. This year’s lineup features a huge swath of national, regional and local acts including Punch Brothers, Big Richard, Damn Tall Buildings, Tricky Britches and Caroline Cotter.
Paul DeSaulniers of Rockland unloads a fresh batch of lobster at the food tent during the Maine Lobster Festival in Rockland. (Ariana van den Akker/Staff Photographer)
July 29-Aug. 2. Harbor Park, Rockland. mainelobsterfestival.com.
The Maine Lobster Festival has been drawing crowds for nearly 80 years. This year’s lineup includes the International Great Crate Race, a seafood cooking contest, parade, Steins and Vines tasting event, road race, fun run and walk, dog show, artists and crafters marketplace, live entertainment and plenty more. And yes — there will be lots of lobster.
Aug. 8. Windsor Fairgrounds, Windsor. mainehighlandgames.org.
The Maine Highland Games & Scottish Festival returns for its 47th year. The lineup features the Scottish Heavy Athletics Championship, sheepdog herding demonstrations, solo piping competitions, stone lifting, border collie agility, armored combat, kilt-making demonstrations, pipes and drums, food vendors and more. You can also raise a pint at the Three Robbers Pub and explore the popular Clan Village.
Gabrielle Lamb, 17, of Springfield, New Hampshire, competes in the Scottish hammer throw event during the 2025 Maine Highland Games and Scottish Festival in Windsor. (Anna Chadwick/Staff Photographer)
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10 a.m.-5 p.m. Downtown Dexter. redhotdog.org.
The Maine Red Hot Festival features a 5K Bun Run, beer and wine tent, Dexter Hannaford’s Red Hot Dog Eating Contest, kids’ games, Dexter Fire Department’s Red Hot Duck Race, five stages with entertainment and a whole bunch of W.A. Bean & Sons red hot dogs. Frankly, this sounds delicious.
Aug. 14-16. Centre Street Congregational Church, Machias. machiasblueberry.com.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Machias Wild Blueberry Festival. The three-day gathering features a parade, crafts, food, entertainment, contests and all sorts of blueberry treats. You can also see the musical comedy “The Rhymes of the Ancient Mariners.” The show is a retrospective of the festival’s five-decade history. Tickets go on sale in early July at machiasblueberry.com.
