63rd Annual Maine Lobster Festival

What started as a simple road trip to the Maine Lobster Festival for my brother, my wife, and I, turned into a wonderful experience that everyone should embark upon. The ride started in Queens, NY and took us on a memorable trip though beautiful New England. Even if you don’t eat lobster, this is something to add to your “bucket list;” should you have one. This year the festival opened on August 4th, 2010 and closed on August 8th, 2010. We spent the weekend in New England and enjoyed the festival on its last day.

Once we arrived in Rockland, found parking, and made our way to Harbor Park, I was appreciatively treated to free admission, ala Military discount. The grounds resembled that of any festival, tented areas where local merchants offered all sorts of goodies, from Maine maple syrup and fudge to alpaca sweaters and artwork. There are rides for the kids, or the kid in you, shows, tours of a U.S. Navy ship, a U.S. Coast Guard cutter, and the local Coast Guard Station. There were also events like lobster crate races, which was my wife’s favorite, where anyone can enter and run down a string of fifty wooden lobster traps that are floating in between two docks. And, of course, there’s the reason why we came.

The cuisine is a seafood lover’s dream. Lobsters as far as the eye can see, plated on cardboard trays with barely enough room for the corn and coleslaw, should you decide to pay for it – I suggest you do. I may have already been in a lobster induced euphoria, but that coleslaw was amazing! Plus you can use the lobster meat to butter your corn with the drawn butter, like we did. There are steamed clams and, oh yeah, more lobster. For the price of a lobster at a high-end restaurant, you can have three at the Maine Lobster Festival. I don’t really feel I should spend too much time explaining how fresh the lobsters are, but I will offer this comment to butter your lobster with; these lobsters were not sitting in a tank for an unknown amount of time, like at that pricey, high-end restaurant. Sure, they’re still alive in that tank, but that’s not fresh. These delectable crustaceans were pulled from the cold Maine waters, if not that morning, then the day before. The lobsters are steamed in a brick shack, permanently affixed to the park, with some of the biggest pots I have ever seen. They crank out hundreds of lobsters a day, and 2,000 pounds of lobster throughout the festival, in almost assembly line efficiency. For those who criticize with comments like “Oh, those poor creatures” I offer this rebuttal; you don’t have to eat them. That means there are more for me to enjoy. And enjoy I did! I demolished five whole lobsters and washed them down with four lobster rolls throughout the weekend.

In addition to seafood, the festival also has typical festival delights; waffles, kettle corn, and of course, fried dough. While walking through the fair, we passed the fried dough stand. The charming person behind the counter called out, “Fresh fried dough!” as we were walking by. She continued to mention that there were free samples. As I walked over to the counter, she mentioned that the free samples always bring people over. I turned to her and simply stated, “You had me at fresh, fried dough.”

Any concerns for my cholesterol levels aside, we all had a wonderful weekend. There’s something for everyone on this trip. Outlet shopping in Freeport, sightseeing, lighthouse tours, and you could stop off in one of the many New England towns, oozing old world charm from every street corner; including Boston, MA.

This weekend was one of those risk v. reward situations. Was the spike in my cholesterol, caused by all the lobster and melted butter, worth the trip? Of course it was! It would be worth it for you to go to the Lobster Festival when August comes back around. I may not be able to make this an annual trip, but there are definitely more lobster festivals in my future.

Note: This article originally appeared on Eating Everywhere in 2010.

How Would You Like to Have Lobster on Your Burger?