A float in a parade being held as part of Celebrate Bowdoinham festival. Contributed photo
Bowdoinham is preparing to celebrate its 259th birthday with special events on Sept. 11. The annual Celebrate Bowdoinham festival was canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There is a lot of community excitement about the festival, and all the events will be held like the previous years,” said Jennifer Curtis, Bowdoinham’s planning and development director. “The feeling of normalcy is what folks are excited about.”
Unlike neighboring towns like Topsham and Lisbon, Bowdoinham doesn’t organize any events or parades during national holidays, so officials said this festival is an excellent opportunity to have a community gathering and organize fun-filled events.
The daylong festival will feature a plethora of activities for children and adults alike.
The event kicks off with a farmers market at 8:30 a.m., followed by a parade at 10 a.m. The Zucchini races will start at Memorial Skatepark at 11 a.m. The citizen of the year award ceremony will take place at 1 p.m.
“Several people have expressed interest in having a float in the parade, so we are trying to get those ready. We are still in the planning stage, so more details about the parade will be available in the coming days,” said Pete Feeney, Bowdoinham Community Development Advisory Committee member.
The Lobster Crate Races and KenDucky Derby races are scheduled for 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., respectively. The event wraps up with a fireworks show at 8 p.m.
In addition, there will be boating activities and pie contests. The Bowdoinham country store will serve a variety of local food and other deli items throughout the day, said Curtis.
There are no COVID restrictions planned at the venue as of now. However, Curtis said organizers will follow Center for Disease Control guidelines as they stand at the time of the event.
“We are planning to adhere to the state guidelines and would ask everyone to do the same at the time of the event. It’s too early to predict anything right now,” said Curtis. “Considering everything is outdoors, I think we should be fine. We will try to be a little flexible in organizing the events.”
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