LISBON

A Dallas, Texas resident with deep Lisbon roots submitted the winning theme for the 2013 Moxie Festival — Moxie: A Maine Tradition.

On Saturday, the Moxie Festival Committee announced the winner of the theme contest is John Hardesty, who resides in Dallas with wife Deborah, “but calls Maine ‘home.’” The committee chose Hardesty’s entry from a selected list from previous nationwide Moxie Festival theme contests.

A native New Englander, Hardesty was born in Lawrence, Mass., but has deep roots in the Lisbon area, according to the committee’s release. While growing up he spent many days at his grandmother and stepgrandfather’s farm on Ferry Road in Lisbon. His parents, the former Margaret Ashton and Nap Hardesty, were married in the Ferry Road farmhouse.

Hardesty attended many Moxie Festivals and enjoyed the parade with family and friends. According to the release, “He developed his strong preference for Moxie at an early age while growing up in the farmhouse and spending many holidays and summer vacations in Maine. Moxie became and remains his soft drink of choice. To this day, after spending time in Maine, Hardesty always returns to Texas with a suitcase full of canned Moxie that he carefully rations until he returns ‘home.’ He has passed on his passion for Moxie to his grandson in Texas who now requests a can whenever the two get together.”

Hardesty received a basket filled with Moxie items from the Kennebec Fruit Company store in Lisbon Falls. He will also return home to Maine to be one of the judges for the Moxie Festival Parade on Saturday, July 13.

Since 1982, the Moxie Festival has been held on the second weekend in July. The festival now includes a three-day Pow Wow; Friday night fireworks; a Saturday parade, Moxie Day 5K Race, Moxie Day ATV Charity Ride, and Family Fun Fair; and on Sunday, the Chief Worumbo Androscoggin River Race and the Moxie Car Show. Lisbon public safety officials estimate more than 50,000 people attend the three-day Moxie Festival.

Moxie was designated Maine’s official soft drink on May 20, 2005.

For more information, visit www.MoxieFestival.com.

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