Mary Ellen Moriarity of Portland and her two friends set their lawn chairs up early at the Reggae in the Park festival Sunday afternoon at Deering Oaks.

Moriarty, 73, has been a fan of reggae for years and soon after the music started, she said she was dancing in her chair.

“It makes you want to get up and dance. It makes me happy,” said Moriarty.

Now in its third year, the free reggae festival is put on by Level Vybz Promotions and the Higher Eleven Movement, a Portland group of three disc jockeys who spin reggae recordings on local cruise boats and at other venues.

“We wanted to do an outdoor event,” said DJ Supa, who declined to give out his legal name.

The festival was one of a number of music events in Portland over the Labor Day weekend.

Across town on Sunday, Kiss fans in full costume were lining up outside the Cross Insurance Arena hours early for a 7:30 p.m. concert. ZZ Top was appearing at 6 p.m. at the Maine State Pier.

At the reggae festival, Emerson Boxill, a native of Barbados whose stage name is DJ Fenwick, said there is a big audience for reggae in Maine.

“It is a relaxing kind of music,” Boxill said.

The festival included a bouncy house for children, two Jamaican food stands, a food truck, a couple of jewelry kiosks, a crafter, and a laid-back crowd taking advantage of the free event.

Dennis Wardell and his family, including his wife, Andrea, and children, Christian, 9, Casey, 6 and Corrine, 3 months, drove up from Kittery, where they moved from Tampa, Florida, two weeks ago.

Wardell said his family is trying to explore their new home state and its attractions.

“I am a reggae fan, too,” he said.

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