Shoveling fish bait doesn’t exactly conjure up thoughts of a good time.
Neither does trap hauling or running in foul-weather gear with an armful of cod.
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But these marine tasks make for an entertaining spectacle during the annual Fishermen’s Festival in Boothbay Harbor next weekend.
The event, now in its 38th year, is a good opportunity to “get people out and mingling … after a long cold winter,” said Brenda Blackman, festival co-chair.
It’s also a well-deserved nod to Boothbay’s hard-working fishing community — with a few laughs thrown in for good measure.
“Everyone is walking around with smiles on their faces. And there’s a lot of humor,” Blackman said.
It’s hard not to chuckle at the sight of four-person teams running through a waterfront parking lot, alternately changing in and out of a pair of oversized bibs and a fishing smock and passing along an armful of dead cod.
The cod relay at 8 a.m. Saturday is a Fishermen’s Festival staple. The race takes place in the lot adjacent to Fisherman’s Wharf Inn (22 Commercial St.), and spectators are likely to see some grand fish slips and drops.
Not long after, the shovels come out. The bait shoveling race takes place at 8:15 a.m.
“They dump a barrel of bait in the middle of the street,” Blackman said. “It is kind of hilarious. It was a new event last year. It was such a big hit, we thought, ‘We’ve got to bring this back.”‘
From Friday’s Shrimp Princess Pageant (7 p.m. at Boothbay Region High School) to Sunday’s Fishy Fest Finale and Bachelor Lobsterman Auction (4:30 p.m. at Knot Gray’s Wharf, 16B Wharf St.), the Boothbay Harbor waterfront will be busy.
“It’s really not about anybody winning or losing,” Blackman said. “It’s about having a good time.”
Saturday also includes a pancake breakfast (6 a.m., Boothbay Region Lions Club, 12 Lakeview Road), an arts and crafts show (9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Boothbay Harbor Fire Department, 11 Howard St.) and a trap-hauling competition (8:45 p.m., town dock).
Under a tent on Pier One, kids will find a host of activities, including a dunk tank and bobbing for apples, throughout the day.
And out on the water, the lobster-crate running takes place at 9:45 a.m. Courageous participants will attempt to run across a string of lobster traps tied together and stretched from one dock to another.
“The real trick to crate racing,” Blackman said, “is when you’re running, keep your feet in the middle of the crate.” Step too far to the edge of the crate and you’re likely going in.
“It is a blast until you fall over and take a dive,” she said. “It’s cold!”
All the competition will work up appetites, so festival attendees are welcome to hit the fish fry at noon at Boothbay Lobster Wharf.
From 1 to 4 p.m., locals will turn the Boothbay Lobster Wharf dock into a dance floor with the help of a dockside DJ. And at the end of the day, folks can rub elbows with the men and women of Boothbay Harbor’s lobster fishing community during a gathering and awards ceremony at McSeagull’s (14 Wharf St.).
“You get to mingle with the fishermen, hear their stories,” Blackman said. “We are a fishing community.”
And while most attendees are from the area, Blackman said there are people who return year after year from farther away.
“Once they come they look forward to it every year. You can’t go to it just once.”
Staff Writer Shannon Bryan can be contacted at 791-6333 or at:
sbryan@mainetoday.com
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