Fireworks display off Portland’s Eastern Prom seen from Bug Light Park in South Portland in 2024. Gregory Rec / Portland Press Herald

The city of South Portland and the South Portland-Cape Elizabeth Rotary Club will celebrate Bug Light’s 150th anniversary on Saturday, July 26.

From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the event will feature crafts, games, speakers, a book sale, poetry, photography and more.

The 24-foot tall lighthouse — formally named the Portland Breakwater Lighthouse and nicknamed Bug Light — first opened in June 1875. The city took ownership of the lighthouse in 1985 and a partnership quickly formed with the Rotary Club after it helped fund a rehabilitation project in 1991. The partnership soon became official through a memorandum of understanding between the two.

“The [memorandum] says that the city owns it, but the club will fund all the maintenance, organize tours, maintain it as a private aid to navigation, and field all of the requests to use Bug Light,” said Sue Sturtevant, chair of the Rotary club’s committee that is organizing the celebration.

The South Portland-Cape Elizabeth Rotary Club takes its stewardship of the city landmark seriously. Members are often the first on the scene to inspect the lighthouse for damage, according to Jenna Martyn-Fisher, special events coordinator for the city’s Community Services Department.

“During the bad storms we had last year, they were out there to see how the lighthouse was weathering those storms and what repairs might need to be done,” said Martyn-Fisher.  “They are also fantastic in being able to fundraise for any repairs. They have a lot of different connections to the community to be able to raise money and get volunteers as well.”

There are already nearly 20 activities scheduled for the event. “We still have a few months to go,” Sturtevant said, and they are pursuing more activities.

Already planned activities include presentations on the lighthouse, photography featuring its past and present, crafts, music and more. The South Portland Public Library and park ranger Sydney Raftery also collaborated on a children’s story walk about Bug Light.

“It will be a very family-friendly event,” Martyn-Fisher said.

Tours of the lighthouse will not take place at the event, but will be available during the Bug Light Car Show on Sept. 3 and for Maine Lighthouse Day on Sept. 13.

Overflow parking will be available at Southern Maine Community College with shuttles running to and from Bug Light Park.

For more information and updates, visit buglight150.org.

Editor’s note: This story was updated on Tuesday, April 15, to correct the date of the event. It will be held Saturday, July 26.